Services
Trauma & PTSD
Feeling like you’re often on guard and ready to respond to threats is normal when you have faced trauma in the past. Gendron horses will teach you how to release the anxious energy of reacting to traumatic events and communicate better with others as horses help PTSD. You will also decrease your PTSD symptoms, increase resilience, have more compassion for yourself, and build on skills to cope with your past.
I have also found that in some instances, clients don’t necessarily need to talk about their struggles if they don’t want to do so. But the interaction with horses alone can help retrain our thoughts and behaviour. Using horses to heal trauma have been practice for centuries around the world.
Past Triggers
Certain events in your life can make you feel stressed, and you may feel like you want to fight, escape, or avoid the stressful event. When you work with me, you will learn to recognize the stress and name the emotion by connecting with horses and creating a safe container to express your concerns. In addition, performing groundwork with horses will allow you to improve empathy for yourself and others.
Past Therapy with Little Improvement
It is possible that you’ve tried traditional therapy and other medications with little to no improvement. You may even have no interest in talking about painful events from the past if you tend to prefer being in action. Working with me will feel different due to the healing power of connecting with horses. You will find a safe space and language to share your experiences, with the freedom to stop sharing whenever you want. If you are a veteran, you will see from yourself, that horses help veterans with PTSD.
Wellness & Growth
Do you feel like you’re constantly overwhelmed by your responsibilities and can’t seem to take a break? Or do you feel like you’re not truly present with yourself, your emotions, or your family? It’s natural to feel this way in today’s busy world, where you’re expected to take care of everyone and be strong.
Horses and mental health goes together; therefore, with Gendron Equine Wellness, you can tune into yourself and develop your overall wellness. You will develop self-compassion by working with horses, our sentient partners, who can feel their own emotions as well as ours.
Stress and Tension
Stress is ever-present in our lives and can take its toll on our bodies over time. Our sessions will include groundwork with horses, observations from across the fence, meditation, breathing exercises, mindfulness walks with horses, and time for reflection that will allow you to build your mindfulness and acquire skills to manage stress better, all while improving your wellness.
Life Purpose
Finding what is your life purpose is not easy or quick. But it can be done. The first step is to become aware of your inner world, feelings, and needs. As you journal and reflect after a day at our stables, you will find a stronger sense of your place and purpose on earth, and the meaning of your life will become clearer to you. Finding your purpose in life will become easier.
Indigenous Healing
As a person of indigenous heritage, you already have a strong connection to mother nature that teaches us many valuable lessons about life. In addition, we know that horses improve mental health, so by working with me, you will build on that connection with nature and horses to create a holistic approach to healing and learn about your emotional wellness and your mind.
Depression & Anxiety
You may spend time and energy worrying about tomorrow or what happened in the past, but feeling sad and anxious can take away wisdom and joy from the current moment. Focusing on nature and connecting with horses can help regulate depression and anxiety.
Low Self-Esteem
Low self-esteem can lead to anxiety and depression, making life even more difficult. When you work with me, we will reflect on your success with horse-related activities and identify the strengths and courage you demonstrated. Over time, you will begin to identify your potential on your own and address your critical self-talk with empathy and compassion. As a result, you will become more confident, improve your relationship skills and reduce stress and anxiety.
Mindfulness
Do time and moments slip away from you? Or do you find it hard to be fully present with your family and friends? If so, you can learn to appreciate the present moment by training yourself to become mindful through hands-on activities with our horses. We offer several approach to do mindfulness with horses at Gendron Equine Wellness.
During our sessions, you will work on grooming horses, creating a healthy attachment with horses, the groundwork for horsemanship (training horses to stand still, lead, and go in a circle), grounding exercises, meditation activities, breathing techniques, mindfulness practices, and physical contact with horses. This helps build emotional strength, create healthy narratives, connect better with your loved ones, and slowly build pathways in your brain that are resistant to unhelpful thoughts.
Life Transitions
Are you a military veteran or first responder transitioning into civilian life? Alternatively, have you been out of active duty for a while but find civilian life challenging? The life transition that you’re going through can be difficult for anyone. Your environment is changing fast, and your habits need to adapt accordingly.
The first step to this transition is to accept that this is a challenging situation. By working with my horses and me, you will find peace, patience, and a place to share your concerns. We will also find tools and strategies to ease the transition for you.
Anger Management
Anger is a healthy emotion to display, especially when you’re in the middle of a life transition. However, sometimes your anger can end up hurting loved ones or making you do things you don’t want to do. Working with me on mindfulness and meditation, you will rediscover your core values, develop skills to manage anger, and learn how to express your emotions with empathy and self-compassion.
Loneliness & Hopelessness
Life transitions can often be lonely because you may feel like no one around you understands what you’re going through. You can also feel hopeless in the process. We will collaborate with the horses to identify your transferable skills and strengths and learn to find possible gifts in your life transition. You will become more patient not only with yourself but also with your family, friends, and co-workers.