Sue Court

Sue is a counsellor and facilitator with the horse team. She is certified by the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors and the Equine Psychotherapy Institute (Australia). She comes from an academic background with over twenty years of management, teaching and research experience. Her counselling work is based on the principles of Narrative Therapy, while incorporating insights from spiritual practices such as contemplation, mindfulness and meditation. 

Sarah Court

Sarah combines equine assisted therapy and learning work with that of free-lance classical singing. She has a Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling, with a focus on Narrative Therapy and is registered with the New Zealand Association of Counsellors and with ACC. She has had considerable experience working with children and families. As well as working for Earthhorse, she is a free-lance counsellor in Raglan and Hamilton.

THE EQUINE TEAM

Johnny

Johnny, our six year old mini, was bred to be a show pony but he decided the showing life was not for him, and he is now part of the therapy team. He has a bold persona and takes part enthusiastically in the herd, offering useful herd observations as well as individual therapy sessions. 

Pippin

Pippin is the newest miniature horse member of the team. He is four years old now, but as a one year old he was unwanted, so we invited him onto the team. He is lively, happy-go-lucky, and is especially good with young people. 

Gypsy

Gypsy is our beautiful heavy-horse mare (Clydesdale/Kaimanawa mix). She is rather shy, but gentle, intelligent and perceptive and has the gift of accurately reading human emotional states. 

Romeo

Romeo is an Australian Quarter Horse gelding with a cheeky sense of humour and inquisitive nature. His natural curiosity about people and surroundings makes him highly perceptive and a delight to be around. He enjoys company and is always ready for play and interaction. 

Tara

Tara is our beautiful Australian Quarter Horse mare who has appointed herself leader of our small herd. She has a strong personality and commands respect among animals and humans alike. She has proven to give honest and sensitive reflections of clients emotional states, leading to many insightful therapy and learning sessions. 

Randolf

Randolf (Ran), our newest addition to the herd, is a handsome paint horse. He has been a Western Sport horse since he was very young and is now having a more restful time with us. He is a little bit reserved but is very loving and willing to be involved in his work at EarthHorse. 

Bounce

Bounce is our latest addition to the team. He is a handsome middle-aged chestnut German Warmblood who has had an illustrious career as a top performing dressage horse. His owner chose to retire him as he was having some joint issues, and he is thoroughly enjoying his new role here at Earthhorse. He is a very gentle soul.

Chipper (1991-2017)

We said goodbye to our lovely elderly mini, Chipper, in August 2017. He had lived a long and varied life and was a very talented therapy horse. He loved people and was full of personality. 

Jake (1992-2018)

Jake, our gentle thoroughbred was a sensitive soul who knew better than anyone what it was like to have felt lonely and vulnerable. He loved being around people and regularly amazed us with the work that he did with clients.  Thank you for the four beautiful years you gave us Jake.

Kaupapa Māori

We hold a firm stance as allies towards Māori practitioners and clients, and have a sense of working alongside care-givers and professionals in support of new pathways created by Māori for Māori. The underlying ethics and principles in the way we work are strongly aligned with many Māori values as we create frameworks that best serve whānau, hapū, and iwi. In both the Certificated Practitioner Training and in Therapy work our role is to offer the skills and insights that resonate with client needs and tikanga. Sarah Court, an experienced Counsellor at Earthhorse, is of Māori descent (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāi Tahu) and provides whanaungatanga with her own knowledge of tikanga and kaupapa Māori. Please request her direct involvement as required.

Endorsed Products

We use and sell to our clients MicroMed Equine for treatment of rain scald, mud fever, rotten frogs, and seedy toe. We highly recommend this product and have found it very effective. We use it on our own herd constantly to maintain hoof and skin health. MicroMed works by introducing beneficial micro-organisms which compete with and ultimately overcome the pathogenic bacteria which cause the disease. MicroMed is made from a naturally brewed combination of beneficial bacteria and fungi. There are no chemical additives or plant derived biocides contained in the product. MicroMed is a pro-biotic product rather than a biocide. Check it out on MicroMed's website: http://www.micromed.org.nz