HERD Singapore (Human. Equine. Relationship. Development.)

“When I found out about HERD Singapore, I wanted to give my son the chance to experience EAL. The few things I had in mind for him were firstly, have him engage in activities outside and away from gaming. Secondly, I have read about how one of the outcomes is helping with emotional regulation. I thought that is something which would greatly benefit him. And thirdly, a big plus for me is that at HERD, the programme while designed for the human participants, is also designed and run with the horses as the 'beneficiaries'. It's not having the horses "working" for the client but a mutually-beneficial experience for both horse and human. I like that no horses are forced to interact. I attended a session with my son and subsequently signed up for 5 sessions for both my son and daughter. The process of taking time to have a sense of the horses, knowing which of them would be the right fit with us requires us to first center ourselves, allow the horses to suss us out as we observe and look out for signs which they might demonstrate to indicate comfort or wariness with our company. Only when both horse and humans were comfortable with each other would we then proceed with the next step of interaction. From my kids, they shared that it's a meaningful experience, to be able to be of service to the horses. The experience also allowed them to work and spend time together, something that does not happen as often or as deliberately. I find that the learnings drawn from the experience relate to connecting, both with self and others. Being aware of our own emotions or emotional state, how that projects onto others would impact the quality of the interaction (like when building the connection with the horses). This is something I still draw on to remind my son on how that could be similar in interpersonal relationships as well. This is a programme that I will recommend to others who are looking for an experience that can help with life skills and enhancing the awareness of emotional self-regulation. We hope to be back again soon.”

“Li Wen and Pearl were awesome guiding us in the World Mental Health Month workshop. Connecting with the horses (and people) in this format allowed me to reflect on my own emotional state in a safe and comfortable space, and with the guidance of the facilitators to explore how I can improve my mental well-being. Li Wen and Pearl managed to strike a balance of letting every participant have freedom to discover and open up at their own pace, it never felt forced. I think by the end everyone was very comfortable and had made a deeper connection with at least one special horse/pony. I love how gentle and empathetic HERD's approach is to the horses/ponies, that it is as much about them as about the humans. My expectations of what I would gain from the workshop were greatly exceeded, and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested.”

“Team Mindscape recently worked with HERD Singapore on a mental health programme to incalculate self-care and self-compassion amongst youths. We are very thankful to HERD Singapore for their unwavering support and detailed planning. We are very grateful to the trainers, Li Wen and Jamie, who were both very patient and professional in organising and facilitating the programme for the participants. Each participant left the programme with happy faces and they took home important lessons such as self-care, self-compassion, and mindfulness. It was a joy engaging with the horses and learning from them! If anyone is keen in animal-interaction activities, do consider engaging HERD Singapore! Thank you HERD SG team for making this experience a meaningful one for us! 🙂”