A restorative equine therapy program for girls and young women aged 12-24yo.
Perfect for young women and girls who are are struggling with low self-worth, and self-confidence.
Having a strong inner-critic leads to unhelpful behaviour and thought patterns. This program teaches participants an alternative way to view, and respond to, life’s challenges.
Throughout the program, the themes of Gratitude, Optimism, Resilience, Empathy, Mindfulness, Awareness, Responsibility, Kindness, Acceptance, Boundaries & Bravery, Liberty and Empowerment are explored.
The program consists of twelve, private, weekly appointments. Session lengths vary but are usually between 60 to 90 minutes.
For more information about programs at the Sanctuary, please read about our approach to equine therapy.
About your facilitator
Marie is a certified Equine Psychotherapy Institute Practitioner.
We have a unique approach to program delivery. Every program facilitator has a lived experience similar to that of the program participants. Marie dealt with feelings of unworthiness into her late 20’s and felt she lacked the tools to express herself. When she realised what a transformative experience the way of horses proved to be in improving her mental health, she became passionate about sharing it with others. She studied with the Equine Psychotherapy Institute and joined our program team. Marie now uses her empathetic and caring nature to guide other women and girls on their healing journey.
In addition to the shared experiences between participant and facilitator, the horses in our herd have also experienced trauma.
Cost and suitability
Cost is never a barrier at the Sanctuary. We work extremely hard to obtain grant funding to subsidise the cost of programs for our clients.
Standard Fee: $240 per session. This fee applies to participants that have NDIS funding, DVA funding or other government funding available. This fee also applies to participants who do not have funding but are in a financial position to pay the full standard fee.
Subsidised Fee: $120 per session. When we have grant funding to support this particular program, we can offer the program at a subsidised rate. The subsidised fee is not available to participants with government funding.
Scholarships: Full and part scholarships are available. Scholarships are funded by public donations, corporate partnerships and fundraising activities. Scholarships are not available to participants with government funding. This is an honesty-based system and no evidence of hardship is required.
Please note that a deposit of $120 will be asked of you before you start your program. The deposit will be refunded to you after the conclusion of your program. You may cancel up to two sessions without affecting your program enrolment. For more information, please see our Cancellation Policy.
In terms of fitness or physical health, the only requirement is that participants need to be nimble enough to hop out of the way if a horse moves suddenly.
NDIS Notes: We are not a registered NDIS provider and so cannot accept NDIS-managed plans, however we can accept self-managed and plan-managed NDIS packages. Please make sure that funding is available under the Assessment Recommendation Therapy or Training Supports – Other Professional line item.
The program is not suitable for NDIS clients requiring therapeutic care, supervision or support from a carer during sessions.
Our commitment to child safety
We are committed to child safety. We want children to be and feel safe, happy and empowered. We support and respect all children, as well as our staff and volunteers. We are committed to the safety, participation and empowerment of all children who attend programs at Hoofbeats Sanctuary or who may visit the sanctuary for other reasons.
We have zero tolerance of child abuse, and all allegations and safety concerns will be treated very seriously and consistently with our policies and procedures. We have legal and moral obligations to contact authorities when we are worried about a child’s safety, which we will follow rigorously.
We are committed to preventing child abuse, identifying risks early, and removing and reducing these risks. We have robust human resources and recruitment practices to reduce the risk of child abuse by new and existing board members, staff and volunteers.
Since launching in 2009, we have had zero incidents and zero complaints.
This program made possible thanks to:
