The equine training and certification program at Gateways to Transformation is designed to teach basic to advanced horsemanship, horse training skills, and equine-assisted coaching and psychotherapy practices as utilized at this center.
Equine Training Certification at Gateways to Transformation
Phoenix Rising Program Equine-Assisted Coaching or Psychotherapy Certification for Level One
The equine training and certification program at Gateways to Transformation is designed to teach basic to advanced horsemanship, horse training skills, and equine-assisted coaching and psychotherapy practices as utilized at this center.
Each participant will work with horses daily, five days a week, learning everything from how to handle a horse without harm to either the horse or the person, to cleaning barns, feeding, grooming, riding, exercising horses, cart work with minis, as well as Equine-Assisted Coaching and Psychotherapy skills.
The participation of each person will be tailored to their specific skill level and needs, with separate certification levels depending on the amount of horse knowledge and training they bring into the program.
All participants in this program are responsible for carrying their own insurance and signing our farm waiver, agreeing that they are completely aware that they are responsible for their own safety during this program, which is a horse-intensive program of groundwork, potential riding, and learning the Phoenix Rising Equine-Assisted Coaching or Psychotherapy methods used at this retreat center.
All participants accepted for this program will sign a farm waiver attesting to this.
General Goals
The Level One program is tailored to individual needs. It is understood that each intern comes into the program with different skills and goals already accomplished. However, all participants will be exposed to all aspects of learning available here in order to hone their skills, acquire more variety in how to apply what they already know, and learn new skills.
Training Philosophy
Natural horsemanship. All participants in this program are aware that this facility co-creates this program with horses. We do not subjugate or teach skills that are harmful to the horse in any way. Instead, we play with the horses, simply making it easier to do what the trainer wants and harder to do what the trainer doesn’t want. Participants learn how horses naturally interact in their world and how to work with them safely as co-creators to accomplish goals in a healthy way.
Training
The intern will be guided in learning and understanding the essentials of horse training using the Gateways to Transformation Farm and Retreat Center’s and Phoenix Rising Program’s horsemanship techniques. Specific emphasis is placed upon natural horsemanship techniques in training, working daily with and understanding what your horse is communicating to you, and how you communicate back clearly so that you and the horse work well together as a team in whatever you choose to do together, including coaching or psychotherapy.
This will include:
- Learning safe barn work from the ground up
- Natural horsemanship groundwork
- Natural horsemanship riding (if appropriate)
- Natural horsemanship training techniques
- Natural horsemanship in equine-assisted coaching and psychotherapy sessions
- Bombproofing your horse training techniques
Depending on the proficiency of the participant, riding skills will be taught. Interns will be given opportunities to ride in a large arena, round pen, and on the property as appropriate.
Participants may bring their own horse to the program; however, this requires an extra charge of $200.00 per month, with the intern paying for anything beyond the horse being on the property and being responsible for the complete care of that animal. No horse with aggression issues will be allowed at Gateways to Transformation Farm and Retreat Center.
Living Arrangements and Time Frame
Participants will be charged $2,000.00 for a two-week program. A contract will be completed with specifics for each participant, with Level One being the available program at this time.
If a participant chooses to live on site during this time, they will be provided with a room onsite at our B&B rate of $200.00 per night for the duration of their program, which would be an additional cost of $2,800. All houses on site are shared houses with full kitchens and washer/dryers.
At the end of each program, participants will be given a certificate of completion for the extent of their work in the internship program and the level of work they have accomplished.
Training Resources
Natural horsemanship is a natural horse training method that is not the Parelli method, although we do utilize some of the same types of training methods and learning materials. Natural horsemanship is a natural way to interact with horses that allows us to communicate with and work with them in a holistic horse and herd mentality. You will not be certified through the Parelli method but will integrate general skills for working with horses in a safe and holistic way.
Some of the available videos and training methods below will be utilized in each level of training. Books and videos that may be assigned:
- Parelli Training Videos 1 & 2
- Parelli Savvy Series Levels 2, 3, and 4 Books
- Parelli Horsenality Video
- Bombproof Your Horse – Sgt. Rick Pelicano
- America’s Long-Distance Challenge – Karen Paulo
- Imprint Training – Robert M. Miller, DVM
- Starting and Running Your Own Horse Business – Mary Ashby McDonald
- Western Training Theory and Practice – Jack Brainard
- Starting Colts – Mike Eval
- Western Practice Lessons – Charlene Strickland
- Head to Toe Horsemanship – Lynn Palmer
Alisha Adrian, MS, LPC, TP, EAP/EAL
Gateways to Transformation LLC
4979 4200 Road, Crawford, CO 81415
Contact: gatewaystotransformation@gmail.com or call (303) 859-7385