Equine Interactive - Equine Interactive 95 Raleigh Street

EQUINEInterActive is a Taranaki-based horse-facilitated learning and therapy centre located in Brixton close to Waitara. Since 2016 we have provided eagala model therapy to individuals and groups in North Taranaki. In 2020, we introduced business coaching with horses to the services that we offer. We are a social enterprise, utilising proceeds from business coaching  to deliver affordable therapy in the community.

Our Vision: Contributing to the flourishing of our community through the empowering experience of equine-facilitated learning.

Our Mission: At EQUINE InterActive we offer high performance coaching and personal development not only to the already highly successful but also to children, youth and vulnerable people within our community. We deliver opportunity to develop potential through access to the horses and the experiential learning that they can facilitate. We deliver high-performance coaching and personal development to individuals, leaders and organisations by engaging the power of the horse. We deliver personal development through equine facilitated group learning sessions for the community.

Introducing Anne
Anne Vogel's career started as a biologist and researcher. She then qualified as a veterinarian and was in practice for 24 years, exploring pathology and virology among other interests. Her journey brought her to study craniosacral therapy as a hands-on therapy for horses and then in 2013 she read "Tao of Equus" by Linda Kohanov and knew that Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy was the next step for her. Unable to spare time or resources to train in the United States, Anne signed up for the Level 1 training offered by the US-based Equine Growth and Learning Associaton (EAGALA). This organisation offers training in countries around the world, making it possible for Anne to complete level 1 in South Africa at the time. In 2015 she and her family moved to New Zealand. She did the EAGALA Level 2 in Australia in 2015 and a repeat of both levels in New Zealand in 2017. Continuing her passion for life-long learning, Anne discovered life coaching in 2018 and has continued to expand her training in this area, focusing on Life Coaching with horses in 2019. She is an Associate Coach with ANZCAL (Australia-New Zealand Coaching Alliance) and has done a full season (2018-2019) online study with WBECS (World Business and Executive Coaches Summit). In 2020 she completed an 8 week online course offered by the Academy of Coaching with Horses.  

Anne and her team of enthusiastic horses are now literally rearing to go.

Introducing HEALING WITH HORSES
Healing with Horses is the Equine Therapy branch of ​EQUINE InterActive. EAGALA model services are specifically conducted as Equine Facilitated Learning activities.
 
Mental Health and the EAGALA Model 
In this model, Anne works with a mental health professional and the horses to deliver equine facilitated learning sessions to clients. 

The model is classified under Brief Therapy and four to six sessions are offered. The client works with the horses in the arena with the mental health (MH) professional and equine specialist (ES). The ES offers activities for the client to engage with the horses. All activities are 100% on the ground and conducted under the Code of Ethics of EAGALA. We use a solution-oriented approach, allowing the client to explore and discover their own best solution. A combined support, guidance and solution-oriented approach is adopted for younger clients and children. The EAGALA team consists of equine facilitators, mental health professional and equine specialist.


Introducing COACH WITH HORSES
EQUINE InterActive is a social enterprise. All our business coaching sessions drive some funding towards making EAGALA model sessions affordable for the community. We are currently looking at funding Schools Sessions for groups of up to four participants from local schools to benefit from the Equine Facilitated Learning. At least 25% of every business coaching session is directed towards covering costs of sessions offered by Healing with Horses. If we can raise $1200 we can cover the venue and horse costs of a full term's worth of sessions for Schools Sessions next year. We are also working towards offering Coping with Bereavement sessions in 2021.

Business Coaching with Horses
Anne is now also offering Business Coaching as a new service. Business coaching with horses is a specialised and innovative approach, and is not like any other coaching you may have experienced before. We ask you, as the leader of a team, organisation or small business, to bring your specific business problem into the arena. It can be anything that you would like to brainstorm, whether developing a new product, strategic planning, starting a new project or even looking at an aspect of the business that seems to be stuck or not going very well. They say it's lonely at the top, so here is an opportunity to shake out all the cobwebs and get a good look at the problem from a strategic new angle. Anne discusses your idea with you, designs some activities to do with the horses around the idea and then discusses your findings in depth so you don't have to do it alone. This approach takes time and you would have to devote at least two hours for the session, but it is aimed at finding solutions for challenges that have been around for a long time, the ones that have already wasted hours for you and seemingly have no clear solution. Realistically, it may take more than one session to get to a solution, but sometimes one session is all that it takes to have a great moment of innovation.

Leadership Coaching with Horses
Individual personal development coaching with horses. This coaching is personal development for high performing individuals wishing to operate at a higher level without having to be stress-driven. The programme is a minimum of 6 sessions with the possibility to extend to up to 12 sessions. The programme is designed to give individuals the opportunity to develop self-awareness, self confidence, emotional intelligence and the art of being present.  The skills taught are empowering for anyone, not exclusively leaders. Sessions vary in length from 1 hour to 3 hours, depending on the skills explored for the day.

Team sessions for Business
EQUINE InterActive offers team sessions for up to 8 people, team leader included, to come and engage with the horses as a team. In a similar approach to the individual business leader sessions, we engage the entire team with the problem or challenge to be addressed, looking also at what each individual in the team can contribute. Anne will give the team activities to do in the horse arena. All activities are 100% on the ground. There is no horsemanship or horse riding involved, the activities engage what the horses can teach people. This is the learning that we bring away with us into our lives. For teams, sometimes it is the dynamics of the herd that can be significant, or the roles of individual horses. Team alignment sessions are two hours minimum.

We also offer Team Workshops if a team wishes to explore a new project or if an organisation wants to bring a new team together. These are full-day workshops requiring the team leader to do a one hour session before the commencement of the Workshop and a closing session of one hour, after the Workshop. The actual team workshop is four hours with a break for lunch.

Introducing OUR HORSES
The EQUINE InterActive  team of horses are very special. We currently have 8 horses, although not all of them are on the team yet. We have three very special miniature horses that show great talent in the learning arena and one Newbee who has to figure it all out. We also have a Thoroughbred who shows promising skills as a teacher. The remainder of the team are super special, as they are three New Zealand Kaimanawas. All the horses and ponies in the  EQUINE InterActive team have a home with us. They are either too old, too small, too wild, too young or too independent to make their living as athletes. Being therapy horses gives them a home and a meaningful purpose.

EQUINE InterActive is a sponsor of NZ Riding for Disabled (New Plymouth Group). For the last three years we have sponsored "Saffy" a sweet pony with a heart of gold that patiently and safely carries her riders on their journey towards strength and independent mobility.