Take A Leap With Horses

In September we had received an email from South Korea asking us if we would be interested in being a reference for their government initiated study for program development through horse and healing programs. How exciting is this?! A group coming all the way from the other side of the world conducting a research piece on this powerful EAL program! So of course, without any doubt in our mind, we said yes! The team that came down were composed of university professors, doctors and horse specialists. They came, researched, asked questions, ran through a couple programs, and studied our unique educational approach! However, this blog isn’t necessarily about their research. It’s about how AMAZING having a language barrier was. They had spoke some English - but not all of them. And yet, we all understood each other through the power of body language. The night before they came out to our facility, they had asked us if we would like to go to dinner, so yet again, OF COURSE! We had met up a...

Calgary AB October 3, 2011- Owner and Senior Facilitator of Spiritual Equine Connection, Kari Fulmek nearly gave up on her dream of running an Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) program after a year of trials and tribulations. This is a story of an amazing horse that has beaten so many odds to come be a part of our EAL program. EAL learning is “Where the Horses do the Teaching”. All our programs our done on the ground, “out of the saddle programs”. We work with horses and at risk youth to help build self esteem, self confidence and many life skills. We use horses because; By their intuitive nature and innate sensitivity, horses can provide facilitators with a window into the participants’ personality. They mirror back what the participants are feeling and participants need to adjust their feelings and behaviours to work successfully with the horses. Fulmek had always dreamt of being able to work with horses to help others, and her dream began to come true when she was certified as an...

It has been a cold winter in Alberta, so the opportunity to head off to Florida was perfect timing! However, our booking for this could have been thought out a bit better. The course was Starting on May 1st, but when we booked the course, we didn’t realize that Karsyn's wedding reception (Kari’s oldest daughter and Carolyn was the emcee for the event) would be the Saturday before. Generally for travelling schools we tend to get there the day before so we can check out the set up and location and to make sure we know where we are going (if you have read the rest of our travelling blogs you will understand why we need to do that). Well this wasn’t going to be the case for going to Wellington Florida. Luckily, our beautiful host Sasha was willing to work with us and send us pictures of how the set up was so we felt a little better about getting there so late. So we got up and headed straight to the airport after a beautiful reception and about 4 hours of sleep. Off to Florida we wen...

Faye came to live with me in May if 2008, she was just a year old at the time and I bought her from Bear Valley Rescue in Sundre, Alberta. She was quiet and Friendly from the start, loved being around people, getting pet and brushed. Faye grew and grew and grew, she spent most of her time eating grass and playing with her friend Gemma. My plan was to have Faye Started when she turned three, but unfortunately was a part of a terrible accident. On Monday September 28th, 2009 a terrible wind picked up and blew our horse shelter over. Faye was standing behind it and was struck by the metal roof. It cut her back open and made a huge wound. It was a big decision to save her and help her to recover in the best possible way. We didn't know if she would be rid able in the future, but deep down I knew that with her strong heart, and super spirit she would be a fighter and come back. It was going to take a lot of time. I moved her to a heated indoor stall at a barn close by and there her ...

Sydney: A Dreaded Place to a Dream Place Off to Sydney we go! We were initially nervous to see how this time would go as last time we were not big fans. We stayed in downtown Sydney and did not enjoy it at all because lets be real… We are not city people! But we knew we had to go get people certified in Sydney, so for the sake of our business we did it. We finally arrived in Sydney, far later than expected, but everything still worked out. Our lovely Australia Instructor, Jane Hemingway-Mohr, whose house we would be doing the program at, was there to pick us up and she greeted us with such a beautiful smile! Since we arrived so late we were unable to see the place where the program would take place the night before so we had no idea what to expect the next morning. Staying positive, we eagerly waited for morning as we were curious where this program would take place. Morning finally came and Jane came to pick us up bright and early to take us back to her place before...

This trip was exciting! Not only were we about to go train the largest group of facilitators yet, we were also there for the very first course for our new Australia Instructor, Jane Hemingway-Mohr! But before we even got to Australia, we figured that since we were going so so so very far, we should probably stop over in New Zealand! Karsyn and her husband had gone to Mount Maunganui before and told us it was the cat’s meow, so thats where we headed!! And they were right! After a LONG day of flying and wrapping our heads around the fact that we had just lost an entire day because of the time difference, we headed to our hotel. It wasn’t quite ready yet, but they were kind enough to offer us the pool so we could take a dip and wake up a little. As it turns out, we don’t really know what to do in a pool just the two of us… We dove in (or gently stepped in to avoid shock), commented on how great it felt, and Kari then looked at Carolyn and said “Now what do we do in here.”...

So down to N’Awlins (New Orleans) we went for Kari’s 50th birthday. Woo hoo! It was going to be the time of our lives for all 11 of us! Sunshine, Bourbon Street, and living it up!…. Just kidding about the sunshine. But 11 of Kari’s closest friends and family flew down to New Orleans for the weekend to celebrate the big 5-0. So we fly in, get picked up in a limo as it was way cheaper than all of us paying for cabs, and finally arrived at our little bed and breakfast. We then decide we are going to get going to the beautiful, infamous Bourbon Street. We all can’t wait, so of course, we beautify ourselves. We get outside, start walking, and it starts to rain. So Carolyn suggests that we stay under cover beneath the bridge until the rain passes. However, no one heard Carolyn, and so there we all are, trucking away in the rain, and what once was rain was now a torrential down pour. This was pretty much the equivalent of people pouring buckets of water over your head. By the time we got to t...

The course in Pitt Meadows came together pretty quick. Kristen, our host really did manage to pull everything together in the shortest time ever, which also meant we had to get all of our stuff together rather quickly as well. We arrived at the airport and started our drive to Surrey where we were staying… which apparently was bad… but we will tell you that story after. So we drove. And drove. And drove. And the traffic!  My goodness the traffic! Usually we can get our bearings within a couple of days, but this time, we never got ahold of it. We never even managed to play any tunes in the car as we were far to focused on what the gps was telling us to do. Speaking of the gps. This was it’s last trip. After a couple more mystery tours as a result of this thing, we will be hosting a “GPS is going in the garbage”party shortly upon our return. The traffic was unreal! And if you have read our past blogs, you will know how Carolyn feels about this. This was more of the ...

There is something comforting about heading off to a host school where the hosts are already facilitators! We were so excited to go out and see Rachel and Flo from Flar Equine in Hubley NS! The flight time was the good ol’ red eye! We figured we could fall asleep on the way so no problem!  Well, that’s not how we work so no sleep for us! We arrived at the Halifax airport and grabbed our rental car. A little different from the one in Texas, we went from the little blueberry car to a nice MASSIVE SUV! A little more fun to drive for sure, that is until we saw the underground parking at our rental apartment. Not quite the space or turning radius that was needed for pulling in and out. Every time we tried to leave the parking garage it became the scene from Austin Powers where it took 16 little turns to be able to leave. The apartment itself was lovely! Nice size and perfect location. Just a couple little things. Firstly the hallway looked almost exactly like the hallw...

South Padre Island is the kind of place that makes you sit back sigh and say “Ahhhhhhh” as you sit back and watch the waves lap up right in front of your balcony. How beautiful this place is.

 Getting there was a little more of a challenge. First of all, we got our rental car. Possibly the smallest little blue car we have ever driven. As Carolyn described it, there was simply a hamster running on a wheel under the hood where the engine should be. Getting up a hill was really an exercise in becoming the cheerleader for the little car to get to the top. “You can do it little car, just a little father!  After we get up the hill you will be able to coast down the other side!” Aside from driving a blueberry around, we, once again, utilized the GPS. Once again, It took us in the wrong direction. Once we finally got on track we were on our way to the location for the course. WOWZERS! The host facility was amazing! Gorgeous location and even the classroom was maybe the best we had e...

If you had told me ten years ago that I would be working with horses facilitating life skills, I would have called you a liar. I’m a little different than most of the people that have done this course in the fact that I had no horse experience - and never really had a desire previously to get any.  I had grown up with dogs and thought that was good enough. It was not until Kari asked me to come on board to help with marketing and technology stuff that I started to truly understand the teaching power that they possess.  So initially Kari asked me to come out to Saskatchewan with her to see some programs and meet the program designer. So I went out and it was cold. I don’t deal well with being cold and I don’t hide it well either, so Kari was very aware that I was not super impressed with being there. At first, I didn’t get it. All of these people were so in love with the horses and talking about how amazing they were, but I hadn’t yet connected the dots. In fact, they kind of ...

After completing the program, Maclean approached Carolyn and said “we all came here strangers but today we are leaving here friends.” Through the power of the horses, they were all able to bond and have a strong connection. Once strangers, now friends.

“Never give up on someone with a mental illness. When “I” is replaced by “we,” illness becomes wellness.” -Shannon L. Alder. It is very important to ensure those who feel this way, find comfort and happiness in something. Through the horses, we can make sure this can happen. Sam had always faced many mental health issues which resulted in her abusing substances and not being able to be herself. Her mental illness resulted in her life being changed drastically and she never could find true happiness in anything she would do.     A few years ago-after a bit of convincing- she decided to give the program a try. She came very scared and wasn't completely for it. But she faced through her fear and came anyways.     The first day she came; we went out to the field to caught a horse for her to work with. Due to her fear, she was hesitant to picking a horse and therefore, stayed away. Suddenly, a horse came out of the herd and picked her out. This special horse w...

If we do not listen to our horses, we might end up rewarding the negative and letting it win. It is important to always listen to what the horse is saying. This was evident through one of the kids Charlie. Charlie came to our program and did not initially have the greatest attitude. Due to his attitude he began to do things that aggravated us but we had to let the process happen.  It was the 3rd or 4th program and Charlie was slowly losing his cool. He began tearing the signs out of the pylons and making a mess in the dirt. We stepped back and just had to watch the whole situation happen. The horses were not doing anything, so since we were listening to our horses we figured it was okay. Man, those horses are good. They were so right. After 5 or so minutes, Charlie began to collect himself and he started to put the cards back into the pylons. Carolyn walked up to him and gave him an integrity card for him putting them back so nicely. Then he proceeded to clean up the mess he...

When people hear “let the horse do the talking,” they often do not take it as seriously as they should. Brandon, a quiet boy who never talked much at school, came to our program with a very talkative attitude. It was very surprising for the teachers. He began to break even more out of his shell after working with one our horses, Kokanee. During the 5th program, Carolyn put everyone into groups. Brandon was not happy about this at all. It was not long after that I heard a whimper coming from the wall. I looked over and little Brandon was standing there crying. Unsure, how to proceed or what to do-as I have never had a crying child at my program before- I decided moving was the only thing to do. It was important for me to move as it releases, just like a horse. So I go over to him and asked him what was wrong. He explained to me that he was upset because the others had taken over Kokanee.     After taking a few breaths, Brandon and I walked back over to his group where t...

  “A bad attitude is like a flat tire. If you don’t change it, you’ll never go anywhere.” When dealing with horses, it is very important to understand the the horses feel everything. This was clear through two kids named Ricki and Jonah. They came to our programs with the worst attitudes in the world. Evidently, it was through Buddy that we could see just how bad their attitudes really were. He would not responded to them at all. I proceeded to ask them what was happening and boom! They had the answer right away. They had said that they had bad attitudes so they knew that Buddy would not respond. So I stepped away from the situation as they knew what the problem was and I had to let it happen. Suddenly, out of no where, Buddy proceeded to step through the obstacle. I quickly walked over to them and said “holy jumping tuna fish! How did you guys do it?” That was when Jonah looked at me and said “Kari, I have been listening to you this whole time about how attitudes. So I did w...

“Tough times never last but tough people do,” Robert H. Schuller. Through this program, I first hand have seen that this is inevitably true. One person that sticks out is a young girl named Priscilla. She came to our program with the attitude that she was tough and nothing was going to change that. Priscilla thought this program was stupid but little did she know; this program was going to be a turning point in her life.     About the 2nd or 3rd program, she started really connecting with a horse named Pepper. Usually our kids in the program like to change horses but this was not the case for Priscilla. From the moment she started to work with Pepper, her life began to change.     Pepper would noticeably nibble at her and she would laugh and laugh. She absolutely loved it! Usually when a horse would do this, we would stop it to give the kids the space they needed. However, this was not the case for Priscilla. It was a different situation and we knew we ne...

“The shell must break before the bird can fly,” Tennyson. As Gloria progressively came to us, she was able to slowly break out of her shell and was able to acquire the skill she needed. We placed them into groups and more often than not the kids are not always satisfied with who they get matched up with. This was the case for this group of kids. No one even wanted to be with Gloria, so she began working on a horse on her own. When Gloria began to work on the horse on her own, she began connecting with him right away due to her stimulus. The horse and her were constantly eye to eye and just by a quick glance you could tell already that they were opening up to each other. The other kids began noticing and began to get jealous, which resulted in them going up and taking the horse away from Gloria. We as facilitators had to let the process happen and could not intervene. It took all the strength in us to not involve ourselves as we felt bad for little Gloria. It broke our hearts to see t...

Picture this… I wake up around 5am and look out my window as I am pouring my first cup of coffee and I see dark spots everywhere. It hits me, my beautiful horse Charlie is bleeding out. (this is another story for another time) I call the vet, she rushes over. Charlie is still grazing on grass, he does want to leave, but oh, my, gosh, I have to put him down. I had already lost my incredible mom, best friend and business partner June 1st along with our beautiful horse Buddy on June 1 and now this! (My mom and Buddy too is a complete other story) In 8 weeks I had lost 3 beautiful human beings and 4 horses for very, very, different reasons. I am not a person who shares too much of my own personal life but I have also learned through my experiences that sharing can often times help others along their way. So to continue on…it is now pouring rain and it’s takes Charlie 3 shots to put him down, I am balling my face off as my heart can no longer take so much loss in such a short period of ti...

Okay, so 2016 has been an amazing year for traveling everywhere to train other people to become certified equine assisted learning facilitators. So here I am now off to Weyburn, Saskatchewan. Now I'm thinking this is going to be a much easier run, because there's no airports, there's no airplanes, and all I have to do is drive. Oh my gosh, to get to little Weyburn, Saskatchewan and it was way longer than I imagined it to be! But I'm thinking... because this is Saskatchewan I'm not going to get lost, because in Saskatchewan it's a lot of straight roads. But guess what, that’s right, me lost once more!! At least this time was a very little bit of being lost vs the numerous travels before in busy cities. Rising Hoofs in Weyburn is absolutely a stunning place! It’s pretty, peaceful, beautiful animals and horses, PLUS colour everywhere. I was so excited to be able to work this team of incredible individuals at this ranch! The best part of all, is that they are also...

 Peace River, Alberta… It’s not a name you hear too often, but nonetheless, it is an absolutely breath taking town that everyone should visit! The trees, the river, the town! All of it is just way too sweet. We fell in love with the town itself, but also with the beautiful people that hosted our certification school there, and our ‘now’ fellow facilitators as well. This wasn’t our typical trip, because for one, Carolyn wasn’t there, and two, we didn’t get the chance to sight see because we never left the ranch! (That’s how fantastic this place is! Northbase Ranch is what it’s called - check it out if you are ever in the area!) However, the most amazing thing happened when we were down there. For the sake of this blog, we will call it “intention is everything.” And it truly is. Intention is what you put out into the world, and in return you will get back what you’ve put out there. So when we say we can do something, darn straight! We’ve set our mind to it, and now...