Back In The Saddle

Jules has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and a number of years of experience in the field of Social Work including employment as an Educational Assistant, Group Home Support Worker, Family Support worker and also as an Investigator for Child & Family Services. She is a certified Equine Facilitated Wellness Learning Professional and Equine Professional through Pro-EFW.

Jules believes strongly in ongoing education and has attended a vast number of workshops over the last number of years including many with Dr. Gordon Neufeld – an Attachment based Child Developmental Psychologist. She has taken various courses focusing on Autism, Anxiety and Trauma and has grown especially fond of helping people cope with Anxiety with the help of her team of horses!

Jules's experience with horses stems from over 40 years of Western Pleasure Riding. She has attended numerous horse clinics and received coaching in the areas of Western Pleasure Riding, Horsemanship, Reining instruction, Cowboy Challenge, Roping and Cow sorting workshops through various trainers. Jules was also a proud participant on the Wild Rose Riders Drill team for 4 years (2 of which she acted as Team Captain) and currently runs and coaches a Teen Girls Drill team

Michelle is a clinical counsellor and psychotherapist whose goal is to help other succeed. Michelle has been working with couples and individuals for the past 13 years. Michelle holds a master's degree in Psychology and is certified as a counsellor (CCPA), coach (JMT), and trainer (JMT).

Michelle has been there. Divorced in her early 20's, not knowing how to make relationships successful, to learning the necessary skills, remarrying and 15 years later still going strong.

During the course of her career, she has walked with people through some of their toughest times. She has been invited into people's most private moments and has had the privilege of seeing significant success and change.

Having been through her own series of challenges, both personal and professional, she is able to better understand some of the difficulties companies and individuals can face. She brings the fruit of her training, extensive study and reflection, and life experience to her work.

First and foremost, horses can help individuals identify their feelings. The horse provides information to the client. If one walks angrily toward a horse, snatching its halter or lead, the horse will yank its head back and pull away. The leader might ask the person, “What are you angry about?” Most of the time, the client will deny being angry and need to be shown the evidence of the horse’s behavior to identify the feeling.

Trauma survivors have to learn how to identify their emotions in order to work through them. Horses are a good tool to help clients do just that.

Horses can also open the door to re-visioning past traumatic events. Perhaps a plastic bag blows into the arena during a session, startling the horses. A client who has experienced child or domestic abuse might break down in tears upon seeing the horses frightened. It might remind him/her of experiences of powerlessness or helplessness, of being frightened, but having no-one to turn to. Any of these kinds of reactions is rich material for talk therapy and can be worked through immediately or in future sessions.

Horses require us to work. We get up early to feed and water them. We clean stalls. We earn wages to buy feed and tack and maintain horse properties. Domestic horses have to be groomed, exercised, and attended to.

It is the same in the human world. Most of us have to work. Whether it is raising children or going to an office, factory, or running a business, we get up early and show up on time. We participate in tasks that are not always easy or pleasant. We attend to our daily needs and those of others. We pay bills, clean the house, and keep the car in working order. We work hard and enjoy our moments of respite.

We also have to work to maintain our relationships. We listen to our friends, show up for our families, and provide service to our communities. Working hard and showing up in a healthy way are skills that can be learned by engaging with horses.

Horses are majestic animals that are wonderful simply to be with. Horses are gentle and honest; they do not have the ability to manipulate or lie. One common treatment technique for those who were abused as children is to put the (now adult) individual in with a large horse and allow them to interact.

Very often, the person will break down in tears and say something like, “I’ve never been treated this kindly by anything so big.” This is an experience the client can then take into the human world.