How horses are healing childhood trauma | Drive and Commence

E I seing some some pretty amazing things we don't always know what we're even witnessing hsees whole way of going is around pressure and release you know we always say well the horses don't carry Yarns there's never those.

Judgments it's never false all they respond to is your vibration and your energy and what you're putting out this hard work isn't it very hard work very clever this side now you could go oh jly life's amazing for me I'm having the best day ever but when you're going.

With the horses then I'll see the real story good boy it's a story that particularly up here in the Kimberly Young People often can't put into words 90 minutes after the hour s down with you crossing the country by the national.

Indigenous Radio Service broadcasting from y country we're speaking with n woman Professor Julie coffin why is this important why is it a program so important to broom I sort of think about not just broom but the whole Kimberly as a as a bit of a tap of um of suicide that just really.

Doesn't turn off it just keeps dripping and I feel like what we've been doing in this space for young people it's not working or it's not working quick enough it's not working well enough and we haven't really got any programs that have been sustainable I think for me the most striking part of this work was seeing.

How young our our people don't want to be here um and be members of society anymore and that's unfortunately you know around the 8-year-old Mark so you know I just keep thinking if an 8-year-old chooses death over life we're we're doing something very wrong and um and the horses are our the horses are the medicine you know the horses do the.

Work for us and and all we're really doing is setting up this opportunity for that Exchange oh yeah did you get that one Todd yeah my brother is fing today is he yeah where's he G he what for oh is he yeah oh big brother or little one Big Brother Big Brother to.

Much fighting with us M oh is he oh you're getting in too much trouble yeah no second part yesterday I just thought I'll I'll pop it all into one document and I'll get it through to you probably in the next couple of hours hopefully that great no worries and there will be some more sorry CL just give me two.

Seconds if you wouldn't mind hello and is she been hanging in Perth or is she coming back this side all right um send me a quick look the T rings a bell but it's not coming up in my diary hey hey that's right what's happened in Halls Creek oh was had power from 7:30 this morning and A bird hit.

The power line or something the whole town was out and I was stressing cuz I was like have I not paid the power or something any issues with attendance only one kid didn't come this week because they were in funeral or something in one AR Point that's what was last weekend and they haven't.

Returned yeah yep all good no worries have a good weekend so before we start off with our little session anyways we'll get tuned in to our body slow ourself down our mind while you get your eyes closed so keep us safe get yourself comfy feet on the ground deadly looking shoes thanks.

They're my basketball shoes yeah my old shoes can't fit me anymore so I got to wear these ones you get too big in a foot now if I can just get you to close your eyes you're just sitting still for a minute just connecting your feet inside your socks inside your boots notices how it's connected to the.

Ground all the way to your tummy just noticing how your tummy is feeling today if it's feeling hungry or thirsty or and just moving from the top of your head going down the back of your neck going down the back of your spine just in your own time a nice big breath.

In when you're ready leave it down and then we'll just move down towards your feet again and just reconnecting to the ground make yourself feel grounded again just connect back to the countryland just before you open your eyes I'll just get you to tune in for a couple of seconds just what you could.

Hear what you could feel maybe what you could smell or taste just open your eyes when you're ready did you feel anything yes what did you feel fly wind fly in the wind did you hear anything or smell anything smell that you can smell that I had the.

Wind I had the birds I had the cars and that's all that's all I couldn't stop opening my eyes and um um I felt the wind so if you had to imagine inside your stomach this morning what what color you it would be maybe like a yellow and orange what what you think about yellow and.

Orange Cal yeah nice all right can't believe that to you're getting I've seen a lot of youths come through the system working as a court security and uh custodial officer seeing them on the other side of the lawn and it sort of actually you know like broke me to the point point where I was like you this this is not.

Right they'll tell you how they're growing up and it really hurts you when you hear the stories that comes out that's when I told myself I was like I need to find a job where I'm actually out there with these kids trying to and I'll stop them at that point before they come into the correctional s how did that feel was you nervous was you.

Confident nervous nervous I mean some of these things where you can do with these kids really gets them to break that cycle you know and it's not going to work straight away or be done tomorrow you it's going to be years to come to really see changes happening but if you do something with them at least something positive where they feel loved.

So like you and really showing these kids that you know you care about them you you care what they do you care how they want to grow up and see them succeed hold them up you know just positive Road there negative road so if you if they can see a light and a guidance along the way then I know for sure they'll take that positive.

Road come on come on we got you go come on I want you to jump off there this way can horses swim yeah in the shallow deep they got to go really deep because you know when you swim you got to have all your feet off the ground right cuz they got four legs and they're very.

Heavy so and they swim like a dog they do this one like paddle yeah dog paddle dog paddle but horses is like horse paddle and they're so big they have to paddle really hard so yeah when they go for a swim like proper they have to be right out deep like where the sharks are mhm the yep we have to be careful we got to keep our eye out we wouldn't want.

Crocodile shark with them all right let's go grab a halter and I'm going to check out awesome we'll come back and shut that gate when we come back I didn't realize that you were stopping with Auntie with your auntie because I wasn't sure my mom passed away and then yeah yeah and then you got with.

Your auntie she got other kids right yes that's your cousins yes y so just run and grab a helmet love that's a big one like for big head okay two hands on I'm scared I got you two hands on two hands on there if you hold on to me you can't get up okay give me this leg ready sit.

Go up on your belly one you got it one two three go good girl okay big breath close your eyes for me you can select couple of pants that you would like to use yeah yep p it onto your tray yeah you want to use those three yeah all.

Righty seems they you chose black yellow and red yeah I think I might have a good idea what you probably want to do so what color you going to use next red what what color you think stands out more the red black yeah what kind of mood you think you're in a happy mood a happy mood that's good I'm glad you feel that way.

You think Paris is thinking of moving away to go back to Macy or she wants to stay here with you I think she wants to stay here with me yeah so I can tell she doesn't mind she can feel the paint going onto her body she's not worried she's just chilling relaxing allowing you to paint her I think she's been hanging out for a.

Session I'm done now a good job man you done well I'll help you out we can work as a team yeah so loosen up all the paint so you got some here that's good you Reon this side is smoother like the other one yeah yep B more and just a bit here see a bit of black.

it is a hard space to work in you know um there's lots of politics at play there's lots of organizations that are vying for the same money and the same clients and there's also this underlying current of you know of poverty and racism and disparity and all those.

Things that we see in wider Society but it's just it's just kind of bubbling below the surface here and it's very easy to say oh it's too hard we we should just not do it you know police have laid charges over a bush fire that burnt dangerously close to a homeless camp in broom Emergency Services were called to the fire on Old.

Brom road this morning no one was injured in the blaze but burned close to where a transient population of people regularly sleep a 46-year-old man whose groom has been charged with 5 count criminal damage by fire before the court next hello Mar again from the a program how you doing yeah good thanks yeah just doing a five week uh check in just want.

To track on TI's um getting along at home or at school yeah he's doing good um had a couple incidents with him um just before school finished last before the holidays but um and I think one incident with him on Monday yeah at school but apart from that he's doing pretty good okay so that's yeah since he's been coming out.

To the program he's you seen some positive changes in him yes yes for sure he loves it well that's right cuz yeah it's been a joy having him out here and um the times where I'm normally with him I've seen him um sort of De develop and shown a lot more positivity yeah so so I think you are doing a really great job right there no thanks for that um was.

There anything else that might be affecting him now that we could probably tackle whenever he comes back he had been promised by his father that they were going to pick him up for school holidays and they didn't turn up yeah he didn't even ring him or anything and I think he was pretty disappointed but I'm sure we could told me this morning that.

Mom I think my dad lied and I said yeah well people do that in life so when he comes back um we'll find a nice theme session for him to cheer up and for him to like kick back where he left off since um his last visit thank you bye I love you I love you guys work too no wor really appreciate it okay no worri thank you.

Bye I'm glad that uh she's seen that cuz I've seen this little kid sort of grow out here and um sort of bring smile to my face where you I look forward coming today and knowing that started with a kid from their first session and then actually see them progress to their second third and seeing all the skills and knowledge that they're building from.

The horses just you know reading through their body language and seeing the brightness and the smile that these kids show me and I makes me very proud to see these kids are feeling Happy Feeling This Joy and it's just all from the horses and and I'm glad I'm there to really witness that experience with these young kids.

Pull him across tell him there that's where I want you now you let him go let go that b and then go again so keep keep your shoulders see his shoulder yeah keep your shoulder Square to his shoulder M keep your hips Square to his hip and shoulders but see he's trying to come in say no get out so tell him to stay out give your give the energy to.

Him that that tells him where to go and what speed to go at so even when he makes a mistake you've still got to ask him the same question not be worried about him not doing exactly what we want it does it doesn't matter this is this is part of him he did he he's doing what he thinks what he thinks you want to do yeah okay so open your left arm again.

Left arm left arm you got him super remember to look where you want him to go and point this hand stays out mhm awesome so you know sometimes it takes them a little while but like us you know sometimes takes us a little while to learn things too and we give him a nice.

Reward so have you been on awesome before and you've never been on bear back before either I guess no I haven't well today's your day all right we'll pop you up so two hands on the front there this hand bends this hand this leg up and over and I'm going to help you with this like that yep and up he won't go.

Anywhere just trust that he won't move how does that feel weird but cool yeah so just just sit up bring your life up remember so you want your life up so he knows you're there okay ready for him to move have a really nice big breath for me super slow so you're going to say walk on.

Awesome just so he knows that you you want to move you're just going to tell him say walk on awesome walk on awesome hello hey Helen how you going good thank you that's good I just wanted to ask you a couple of questions in regard to the program are you good to talk now yeah I'm good all right sweet think about moving forward let's see if.

You can get him to come forward nice now I want you to think about stop well that's cool so just the first one just on just generally asking how she's going since she started the program I think uh well I've noticed a big change in her since she started the program she's starting to.

A bit more Cala all right so I want you to look this way and bring your body this way and think about him moving this way yeah and even just like at school being more to talk to people when there's something wrong oh that's good all right if you want to undo his rope love and we'll take him back in can I stay on him for a little bit longer.

Absolutely like we' Su between um our last catchup um to has also been on a risk assessment management P at school um because she's expressed some ideation about self um and she's also been referred to child of mental health and you can lay back on you um but out of all of it I think for us y has been.

Consistent and probably the safest space she feels she can be herself if she could be re-referred um we would definitely welcome that yep for sure thanks for that Helen all right thanks okay take care bye young people often don't realize the power of the way they vibrate in the world and how it affects everything.

Around them you know I can't tell you oh look this is this is changing the suicide rates in the Kim I can't I could never say that to you but maybe in 10 years I can it's slow and it's steady and it's consistent and it's it's a bit different and I think the only way we're going to see a difference.

If we if we're allowed to do things differently I hope that in say 5 years time this would be a widely accepted way for us to support our young original people in not just the Kimberly but wherever it's needed I still think back to some of the things I've probably seen that young boy who he had just.

Everything going on that poor little fell he was quite bad Tourette and Ticking and twitching and does then he touch the horse and it just all stopped like there kind of those moments that you just think I don't know they just give me a bit of a bit of Hope and promise that yeah.

Things could be different or could be better for our young people and just reminds me what I'm what I'm here for and that is to bring young people and horses together and yeah what a job eh oh.

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