What people are saying
It is instrumental to our journey to recognize how we interpret behaviour, habits and values.
“My happy place with one of my loves – horses.
Thank you Talking Horse Equine Assisted Learning!!!
Honestly, one of the BEST experiences for personal leadership and development.
I’m so excited to introduce this into my LEAP for Girls curriculum and into a regular well-being/growth and development practice for myself!!!!”
“This is our fourth year bringing our recreational therapy groups to equine-assisted learning sessions.
We have seen so many benefits for our clients– team building, self-esteem, confidence, leadership, relationship-building. As therapists, we also see benefits that may not be as obvious.
The program at Talking Horse captures participants’ interest in a unique way. Most people, even the more quiet ones, become very engaged, taking part at an enhanced level in the activities and discussions.
Through the work with the horses, they learn skills that are relevant and transferable to their daily lives.
We appreciate the excellent communications and collaboration we have had with Betty Ann as well as her genuine understanding and appreciation for how logistics work from our perspective. The Talking Horse facility is beautiful – such a welcoming and peaceful place. Travelling from HRM, we find it’s not too far, but far enough to make it a special trip and a great get-away for the day. We feel that the sessions are of excellent value for our recreational therapy resources.
We are grateful to have the funding for this and we plan to continue applying for grants to fund us for future visits. Many of our clients return and want to return again! We absolutely recommend this to other professionals and their clients and can see that there would be benefits for a wide variety of populations.”
Alicia Dobranowski, CTRS, Recreation Therapist,
Nova Scotia Health Authority – Central Zone | HEALTH CARE SERVICES
“Working with the facilitators and horses at Talking Horse has helped our patients get out of the hospital to practice skills that will help them in the real world. The equine experiential learning program is a way to facilitate opportunities for clients to learn and practice assertiveness skills, social skills, and the ability to work as a team in a supportive, non-judgmental environment.
All of our patients who have experienced this program have had only good things to say, including how it built their confidence or helped them overcome anxiety.
I would recommend this program to others looking for an innovative way to engage clients in their treatment and care.”
Jacqueline Connors, CTRS, Recreation Therapist, Nova Scotia Health Authority
“That was a lot of fun!
Thank you. It was very enlightening.
I learned that horses will reflect you – your personality reflects back from them – they have their own personality that mingles in, and boy you can see it! I learned a lot about myself and how I work. This would benefit other entrepreneurs, especially those in a leadership position, and there are very few who are not.
This helps you to really understand your leadership style and provides tools for how to work with other personality types when you are in a leadership role.
If you are interested in learning more about how you are as an entrepreneur and a leader, do this!”
“I came in not knowing what to expect, but I enjoyed the experience and it was a very enlightening process. Working with the horses gives a different perspective on what to expect from your employees, yourself, your clients. I would highly recommend it to other entrepreneurs.”
Jamie, Entrepreneur
” The coolest experience!”
I came with an open mind and an expectation, but it was different from what I expected!
I am into self-development and this is huge. It’s about helping you to move forward with life and becoming a better person and a better business owner. This really took me out of my comfort zone and I want to do it again! This would be helpful for all kinds of people. You learn about yourself and have breakthroughs on things that you didn’t realize were holding you back. I want to thank you and I am going to tell everyone this is the coolest experience!”
Emily Fisher, Entrepreneur
“Our relationship with our teenage boys has definitely improved since we did a Family Talking Horse program.
Our youngest son who has anxiety – hardly leaves the house and he loved the horses. He participated well and got an extra boost of confidence. He actually stopped arguing with me in the car the other day and explained what he should have said. Then said ” We just need to communicate more.” We were able to refer back to discussions at the event and it got a very positive response from our older son. It showed we were listening and HE in turn was open to listen to us.
He had such a smile on his face and said: “Wow this isn’t what I expected”.
There is definitely less tension in our home and I look forward to more ripple effects. The success of any Talking Horse experience is guaranteed with Betty Ann Balcom as the Facilitator. She has the perfect balance of skilled professionalism mixed with a fun, easy going nature.
I personally love this kind of experiential learning and I am sure any group would benefit from it.”
Susan Munro MacKinnon