On a chilly evening earlier this month, Irma Schuur had just finished leading a purebred Arabian mare named Tara through a small obstacle course while blindfolded and heeding simple instructions from another participant in the exercise who was not.
“I didn’t expect to feel sheer panic,” Schuur said afterward.
The exercise, she said, really forced her to give up control and to listen to what her partner was saying.
“I wasn’t really listening until I did that.”
It’s one of many activities in which a small group of women have recently participated as part of Women of Change, a program lead by St. Albert-based psychologist Holly Tibble and Sonya Steiner, owner of Horse Sense, a horse training facility north of St. Albert.
Participants meet once a week at Horse Sense for group discussions combined with equine therapy.
While Tibble tends to the women in the group and leads the weekly discussion, Steiner looks after the horses. Working with the animals, she said, can be a huge confidence builder.
“Working with a 1,200-pound animal is very frightening so it’s very intimidating,” said Steiner, who has been working with the animals for more than 25 years.
Over a six-week period a number of exercises, from observing and grooming the animals to trying to round up a group of ponies, are meant to help participants reflect on certain aspects of their lives such as relationships, communication, body image, empowerment and problem solving.
In one activity, the group had to work together to try and get certain animals, some well trained and others not, to stand inside a circle. Only one person in the group, nicknamed the “brain,” could talk during the exercise.
Sharon Junkin admits she was terrified on the first day of the program but has since learned to relax around the animals.
“They’re just awesome animals and they’re so friendly,” she said, while a training horse named Hawk nudged her shoulder.
Tibble approached Steiner eight years ago to see if she was interested in participating in the program. The two had previously worked together to teach horsemanship classes through Paul Kane High School.
“The thing is, with humans and horses, you’ve got to trust an animal that’s normally a panic, flight-instinct animal and the horse has to trust you so there has to be leadership,” Steiner said.
“Horses are very in tune with human emotion so they can read facial expressions, they can read anxiety,” she said.
Six weeks ago when the program began, Steiner said there was a lot of anxiety among members, some of who had no prior experience with horses.
“Their anxiety was higher and the horses would run away from their anxiety,” she said.
“You can see what a difference, they’re much more calm and relaxed.”
After everyone in the group has finished the exercise, they sit down to discuss what the experience was like for each of them.
After taking part in Women of Change, Schuur said she pays more attention to her body language and is more aware of those around her.
“Sometimes we become so focused on what we’re thinking, what we’re focused on, we forget there are other people in the same situation,” she said.
“The horses have a way of reflecting back into your life and making you more aware of things in your life.”
Other participants said the bonds formed between them over the last six weeks surprised them.
After completing the program, Tibble said she hopes each woman feels more connected to herself and to the rest of the group.
“The thing that I always trust about women is that if you bring them together in a group, they’re always going to bond and love each other,” she said.
“Without fail, when women come together with purpose, we rock.”
