Horses 4 Us Team Building & Personal Development with Horses

About Horses 4 Us Workshops

Horses have an innate ability to read our energy and body language. Their intuitive nature reflects insightful, non-judgmental feedback that can improve self-awareness, communication, and body language. Working with horses can also help reduce anxiety and promote a calmer, more present state. Workshops are ground-based (not ridden) and suitable for everyone, including those new to horses or unsure around them.

Kimberley provides guidance and reassurance throughout. With 25 years of experience, she has trained in Australia and the UK, and is a licensed Horses Helping Humans™ facilitator and Eagala-trained practitioner.

 

Benefits of working with Horses

  • Calmness: Learn to influence and guide a 600kg horse through your breath and presence.

  • Body Language: Understand what your body is communicating and how to improve it.

  • Communication: Reflect on how you come across and identify blind spots to enhance self-awareness and relationships.

  • Wellbeing: Work alongside horses while learning tools to support anxiety and depression.

  • Boundaries: Develop assertiveness without triggering unwanted reactions.

Horses 4 Us: Corporate Groups‍ ‍

“Learning Without Experience Is Just Information” – Albert Einstein

Swap out the conference room for the paddock and the wisdom of a horse. Take valuable time and space to physically experiment with learning about yourself and your teammates in an enjoyable and thought-provoking way. Emotional intelligence (EQ) is required for effective team functioning; build your team’s EQ and connection by participating in one of the options below.

  • This workshop focuses on personality types, body language, and how we come across to others physically and energetically. It covers topics rarely discussed; however, it is crucial given that our body language comprises 60-80% of total communication! It is great for building imperturbability, self-awareness, communication skills, leadership skills, understanding of how others are motivated, and learning to lead from a position of respect rather than demand or plead.

    Investment

    $350 pp | 4- person minimum

  • Get into the paddock and see what horses can teach you and your team. This session packs the punch and offers a powerful introduction to the valuable insights horses can provide.

    $125 pp | 4 person minimum

  • “Fantastic team building day in a fun, thought provoking environment. Such great practical applications to the workplace & relationships.

    — Lauren Parsons, Wellbeing Specialist, Thrive, Palmerston North

    “WOW- what can happen when you're calm with great body language.”

    — Richard Gibson, Redvespa- Owner, Wellington

    “Insightful, fantastic and rewarding.”

    — Geraint Williams, Screen Vistas- General Manager, Palmerston North

    “If you are looking for something a bit different for your team, the Horses Helping Humans workshop is a fantastic team building day in a fun and relaxed environment. No matter the personality types in your business, the workshop is designed to help you understand and identify with your own personality type and others, for better communications built on trust and respect.”

    — Pnpersonnel Recruitment Specialists

 

Horses 4 Us: Youth

Troubled youth working with a horse in a equine therapy session

Horses for Youth: A Safe Space to Explore, Connect, and Learn

In our fast-paced world, with device time on the rise and the number of social interactions declining, it is little wonder why our rangatahi are experiencing increasing well-being challenges. With horse-time, youth can become present, connect with another being, and relax by resetting their nervous system. A reset precedes space for learning new tools to build the student's resilience. Horses provide the perfect teacher with non-judgmental feedback.

  • By dropping out of fight and flight to the rest and digest phase (sympathetic to parasympathetic nervous system) there is a window for the pre-frontal cortex part of the brain to be activated and accessed. When this occurs youth have the ability to learn and create new neural pathways with the quintessential component of physical experiment with the horse reinforcing and cementing learnings for a range of well-being challenges.

    Working with horses benefits rangatahi experiencing testing times with confidence, anxiety, depression, communication, ADHD, self-regulation, and PTSD. Horse’s hearts can co-regulate a human’s heartbeat, slowing it down enabling calmness. Being around a horse increases feel good hormones and helps to develop empathy. Students will ask horses to do things from an assertive but calm place and they will learn to control their horse via energy, breath, and open body language. After a session youth often report feeling calmer and happier.

    The sessions are run at Makoura Lodge. The wairua (spirit ) at Makoura is strong and the refreshing, peaceful environment plays a key role in aiding well-being and healing. Although an hour's drive from Palmerston North, caretakers often report it is a great time on the way home to have deeper and more insightful conversations.

    Kimberley runs the sessions and has the ability to make those around her feel comfortable and has the knowledge to work with youth. She has experience as a youth worker, understands the requirements under the Te Tiriti O Waitangi, and has studied a certificate in Mental Health and Education.

  • What a session looks like depends on the individual. For one student just approaching the horse for the first time and patting it is a huge step whereas another may be confident around them straight away. The student chooses the pace. The session may include moving horses, grooming, leading them over obstacles, backing them up, getting them to trot by increasing energy and stopping them by breathing out, feeding them, or even just time to be still and cuddle the horse. The session is about allowing rangatahi a safe space to explore themselves and leave feeling uplifted and mana enhanced.

  • Recommended five 1.5-hour weekly sessions

    $175 per 1.5 hour session

    Whānau welcomed and encourage to watch

    Cancellation policy- non-refundable if cancellation made within 24-hours

Horses 4 Us: One on One

Reflect, Build Confidence, and Develop New Skills with Horses

Are you in need of some dedicated time for yourself? Whatever you’re looking to gain from your session, Kim and the horses can tailor a one-on-one experience to suit your needs. Spending time with horses can do wonders for your heart, mind, and soul.

$175 for a one-and-a-half-hour session

 

Horses 4 Us: Couples & Families

Connect with Your Loved Ones Through a Fun, Experiential Workshop

Enhance your communication and connection by attending an eye-opening Equine-assisted workshop. The horses and Kimberley will take you through personality and body language tips, helping you better understand yourself and each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and how they interact and impact one another. This is a fun, non-judgmental, and practical way to learn more about each other in a way you haven’t before.

  • Two people:

    Duration- 2 hours. $350

    Families:

    Duration- dependent on numbers

    Please enquire with ages and numbers for a quote

  • “We so so loved our getaway and “the perfect date” with you Kim and your amazing horses. Thank you so much for helping us better understand oneself and each other. We will continue talking about the different personalities, how we tick, and how we can communicate better. We will recommend your workshop to others too as it was truly eye-opening and “bubbling” :)

    — Sidonia Greenbank

 
Enquire
“Fantastic team building day in a fun, thought provoking environment. Such great practical applications to the workplace & relationships. ”
— Lauren Parsons, Wellbeing Specialist, Thrive, Palmerston North