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About Skye Blue Acres
About GailHi I’m Gail and I would like to welcome to Skye Blue Acres! Sometimes life takes you in the most unexpected directions. We were an urban family living in a cozy, heritage part of town with neighbours, restaurants, parks and a book club when the idea struck to move our family. A budding idea to expand a horse business brought us out to the rural expanse of septic’s, barns and farmhouses. It wasn’t the rational decision to make, but I knew it was the right one and I have a successful history of always betting on how a decision feels, rather then what it looks like on paper as the most important factor. The ability to connect and trust my own mind/body was something I seem to have been able to do from a young age. When I was about 8 years old, I asked my mom a question about death, heaven and those who didn’t go to church and the way my body felt when she gave me her answer to this query, started my life long intuitive, trustful relationship with my body. [siteorigin_widget class="WP_Widget_Media_Image"][/siteorigin_widget] Being a Reiki Master has also allowed me to brining into my work a…
Death, Dying, Grief and Loss ProgramOur programs focus on different experiences of Death, Dying, Grief and Loss, from facing of an end of life diagnosis, to children and adults coping with the physical death of a loved one, miscarriage, or experiencing loss through the disruption of normal safe environments or routines in life. With the wisdom and intelligence of our horses, our purpose is to help those experiencing any type of death, grief, loss or disruption in their lives, to find and experience their own inner compass to help navigate their lives while the winds of change are blowing. Examples of loss: Coping with divorce For children, managing the physical separation of parents For children adjusting to new homes and blended families Death of a Pet Fractious endings to friendships and family relationships Being downsized Relocation to a new country, or city Physical limitations that inhibit quality of life [siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Equine (horse-led) Guided Learning is an umbrella term describing the partnering of horses with humans through ground work, evidence –informed activities and education where the horse teachers invite humans to access and engage emotions, feelings, sensing, and non-verbal communication. Combined with psycho-education, (evidence based therapeutic interventions of education and support) experiential teaching with…
Leadership
Lifestyle Workshops
Programs and Prices[siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Skye Blue Acres offers private individual sessions with qualified facilitators and horse teachers for a customized 90-minute session. All sessions include partnering with horses through ground work (no riding), evidence–informed activities and education where the horse teachers invite humans to access and engage emotions, feelings, sensing, and non-verbal communication. Combined with psychoeducation and local resource recommendations, experiential learning with horses provides gratifying and often profound experiences and learning shifts for participants. Available by appointment only (contact info@skyeblueacres.com) $180 +HST per 90-minute session [siteorigin_widget class="WP_Widget_Custom_HTML"][/siteorigin_widget] *individual sessions are available 12 months of the year. Skye Blue Acres offers an indoor arena, indoor classroom, indoor barn as well as an outdoor sanding to be used in [siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] An Equine Approach to Grief and Loss: a 6-week program for adults (18+) Come to Skye Blue Acres to work with qualified facilitators and horse teachers for a 6-week program in a group atmosphere (5 people maximum). All sessions are 90 minutes and include partnering with horses through ground work (no riding), evidence–informed activities and education where the horse teachers invite humans to access and engage emotions, feelings, sensing, and non-verbal communication. Combined with psycho-education and local resource recommendations, experiential learning with…
Data and Research[siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Single_Images_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget]Data and Research Skye Blue Acres is committed to understanding the needs of the Guelph and surrounding communities and providing equine experiences that contribute to positive wellbeing and community health. Equine programs at Skye Blue Acres are developed using an intentional integration of data and research from multiple disciplines including, equine neuro-science, community demographics and a variety of local, national and international grief research. Vital Signs Guelph The Community Foundation of Guelphs’ Vital Signs Report is a national program led by community foundations and coordinated by Community Foundations of Canada that leverages local knowledge to measure the vitality of our communities and support action towards improving our collecting quality of life. Vital Signs provides a meaningful, high-level snapshot of strengths and challenges in Guelph and Wellington County. In 2018 Guelph and Wellington County report positive growth in many areas but mental health remains a challenge for many. [siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Single_Images_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Grief, bereavement and life-loss (divorce, separation, job, pet, friendship, home or origin etc.) that is unsupported, unacknowledged or inadequately attended to can contribute to lower self-reports of wellbeing. Skye Blue Acres offers individual and group experiences with horse teachers that build compassion, knowledge and resiliency skills that promote improved wellbeing…
Resources[siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Many people are unaware of what resources are in their own community. Skye Blue Acres is here to help. One of the most prevalent messages we hear from our clients is that they don’t know where to find the support they need or want when managing loss, change and/or grief and bereavement. You will be amazed at how many online resources are increasingly becoming available including text services, apps, online chats, podcasts, webinars, online “ask an expert”, e-courses, group support, skype counseling etc. Being able to use your cellphone or laptop to search for and access support offers lots of privacy, anonymity and the ability to search when it works best for you. It’s important that we not only provide an exceptional equine experience at Skye Blue Acres, but that we also provide you with information for additional support that is available in the Guelph Wellington community and surrounding areas. This list provides services we are aware of and not an endorsement of any organization. All of these organizations have a website that lists all of the unique services and resources they offer. Please check out the following websites for more information. [siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Single_Images_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Nightingale Centre-Guelph…
Why Horses[siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Horses are guides for accessing and trusting our own feeling emotional right brain intelligence while showing us how to balance our over thinking analytical left brains. The farm is the physical embodiment to all that we teach; where open spaces, natural landscape and horse teachers allow you to access, and engage your emotional, feeling, sensing, non-verbal, intuitive right brain. [siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Horses are guides for accessing and trusting our own feeling emotional right brain intelligence while showing us how to balance our over thinking analytical left brains. The farm is the physical embodiment to all that we teach; where open spaces, natural landscape and horse teachers allow you to access, and engage your emotional, feeling, sensing, non-verbal, intuitive right brain. Our brains are divided into two hemispheres each with their own unique functions and skill sets. Our left thinking/logical brain houses language, logic, reasoning, and linear thinking, while our nonverbal emotional right brain house our emotions, memory, intuition, creativity, imagination, and visualization. Both halves offer skills, expertise, and functions that shape who we are as a species, our humanity, and make us human and yet culturally we place a higher value and significance on the functions of the…
Happiness[siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Single_Images_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] What makes us happy? 50% of our happiness is derived from genetics 10% from environment 40% of our choices Our programs offer an opportunity to let go of what is stalling your grieving process, or hinders your ability to thrive or blocks your returning to the fullness of your life. Losing a loved one or any other major life event is a journey from loving or living in presence to loving or living in separation, and if our journey in grief is to lead us back to a full life, we must allow our feelings to be our natural guides that can help us reshape our desires, motivations, habits, , expectations and hopes and frame of mind. No one can respond to grief, loos and challenge for us. We alone are responsible to pick up the pieces from our lives and decide for ourselves how they go back together. The grieving experience is such a personal journey that no two paths are the same. [siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Single_Images_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Our programs encompass and support different experiences of Death, Dying, Grief and Loss, from facing of an end of life diagnosis, to children and adults coping with the physical death…
Home School Programs[siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Single_Images_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] What makes us happy? 50% of our happiness is derived from genetics 10% from environment 40% of our choices That means our choices, how we make decisions has a huge impact on the level of happiness we experience in our lives. Are you making decisions using ALL the data available to you? [siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Single_Images_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Full power, is competence and trust of your own thoughts and feelings, its resilience to handle whatever life throws at you, and it is confidence to know you are resourceful enough to figure it out or find the answer to any problem. We all have the ability, but fear shuts it down. We have to learn how to trust the intelligence of our bodies, because it’s a foreign language to most of us, and yet it is constantly sending you information and instructions that are too often misunderstood. We are all born with the ability to think and feel, and yet most of us believe that our neocortex, the part of our brain that houses language, analytical thinking, and reasoning deserves more respect and authority then our limbic system that quasi (sort of) houses our emotions. [siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Single_Images_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Your full power…
GriefYou have too much life left to live to not invest in your own grief work. Grief isn’t an emotion; it’s a category that is made up of dozens of emotions. Here’s the thing, you’re usually never feeling just one emotion at a time, more likely there are two or more emotions hanging out and doing shots of tequila together. Just like your mother told you to layer your clothing in cold weather, emotions also took this advice. Emotional layering can look like this: Irritability, layering sadness, layering grief. Anger layering fear, layering grief. Anxiousness layering worried, layering grief. So grief never gets fully processed because all this time you thought you were just pissed off at the neighbours, or irritated that the kids never empty the dishwasher or stressed because you’re not sleeping well. While all those examples can be true, your reactions to them are heightened by ignored grief that repeatedly try’s to gain your attention, only to be stifled with a glass of wine, avoided with a Netflix series, or rationalized that the past is behind you. [siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] It’s been a year since your mother’s death, the flowers have wilted, the sympathies cards all…
Online Programs[siteorigin_widget class="WP_Widget_Media_Image"][/siteorigin_widget] Our grief program consists of online content, and an On the Farm in person experience. [siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Irritability, layering sadness, layering grief. Anger layering fear, layering grief. Anxiousness layering worried, layering grief. [siteorigin_widget class="WP_Widget_Media_Image"][/siteorigin_widget] So grief never gets fully processed because all this time you thought you were just grumpy at the neighbours or irritated that the kids never empty the dishwasher or stressed because you’re not sleeping well. While all those examples can be true, your reactions to them can be heightened by ignored grief that repeatedly try’s to gain your attention, only to be stifled with a glass of wine, avoided with a Netflix series, or rationalized that the past is behind you. [siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="WP_Widget_Media_Image"][/siteorigin_widget] It’s been a year since your mother’s death, the flowers have wilted, the sympathies cards all put away, and the thank you notes long been mailed. Life continues with the cycle of school for the kids, driving to a rewarding job, family dinners and holidays booked. Life on the outside looks exactly like it did before your mother died, but you don’t feel the same anymore. Something is missing, you know logically it’s the absence of your…
On the Farm[siteorigin_widget class="WP_Widget_Media_Image"][/siteorigin_widget] Follow up your sigh of relief experience from our online programs, with putting your budding new confidence into practice in the fresh air, and open space of the farm. This is where you Work outside of your brain, skillfully engaging activities that are not about your heads! Our experiential activities support the leading research on the power of thinking outside of your brain. Expanding your kinesthetic knowledge, through feelings, movement of our body, the physical space of the farm and working with other people. Yeah, we use horses to do this part of the program, but we make it really safe, easy and fun! You don’t actually get on a horse; it’s an all boots on the ground experience! [siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="WP_Widget_Media_Image"][/siteorigin_widget] While you tend to default to overthinking and second guessing decisions, horses are all about the moment! They have survived 55 million years by honing the ability to make split second decisions based on what they feel, and sense from their surroundings. Unlike humans who tend to overthink, and second guess everything! [siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Second guess when they sense a predator; they run, Excuse the disrespect of a herd member, they move them along Brood over…
5 Useful Insights on Grief[siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Here are my free 5 useful insights on grief, because you have too much life left to live. [siteorigin_widget class="WP_Widget_Media_Image"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="WP_Widget_Custom_HTML"][/siteorigin_widget] More about Equine Guided Learning More about Skye Blue Acres Let’s Connect
High Schools[siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Single_Images_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Single_Images_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] What is Balance Self power? It is competence and trust of your own thoughts and feelings It is valuing equally ALL the data available to you in your environment, the kinesthetic (feeling/intuitive) and the analytical (thinking) It’s utilizing and drawing on both, hemispheres of your brain to gather, discern and make choices and decisions in life. We all have the ability, but fear shuts it down. We have to learn how to trust the intelligence of our bodies, because it’s a foreign language to most of us, and yet it is constantly sending you information and instructions that are too often misunderstood. We are all born with the ability to think and feel, and yet most of us believe that our neocortex, the part of our brain that houses language, analytical thinking, and reasoning deserves more respect and authority then our limbic system that quasi (sort of) houses our emotions. [siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Single_Images_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Your full power lies in mastering and utilizing the intelligence of both hemispheres of your brain. Your feeling / emotional system is much older than the new and shiny neocortex, but like a new shiny toy we dumped the old as the new…
Birthday Parties[siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] We offer High Skills Major Certificates programs in Leadership, Team Building and Communication. Our full day program meets and support the SHSM ministry-approved specialized programs that allows students to focus their learning on a specific economic sector while meeting the requirements to graduate from secondary school. These certificates assist students in their transition after graduation to apprenticeship training, college, university or the workplace. [siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Single_Images_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Single_Images_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Single_Images_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Single_Images_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Button_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget]
Corporate ProgramsEquine guided learning provides the opportunity for team players to intrinsically understand and appreciate the goals, direction and ambition of a team’s purpose. Our equine facilitated exercises allow for intrinsic and empathetic embodiment of core team principles and objectives. Traditionally a team will come up with its own set of core values that are important to the team, but this type of exercise still remains an intellectual process and can be a hinge for conflict when reality of logistics collides with idealism. Partnering with horses in Team Development exercises provides an expeditious opportunity to test those values in the thick of activity. Group dysfunction, low commitment levels or ineffective communication are all dynamics that at times can be ignored by the team for the sake of progress or reluctance to deal with the issues; that is until you have a horse on your team. [siteorigin_widget class="WP_Widget_Media_Image"][/siteorigin_widget] Horses are an effective turn key to Team Development success due to their unique survival skills that have been refined over millennia. As a prey animal a horse’s survival depends upon their ability to instantaneously read their environment. As a herd animal horses depend on effective, efficient and harmonious team dynamics in order to…
Grief in the Workplace[siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Whether you’re the owner of a small business or an executive team of a mid size company, building a sustainable path to your goals isn’t always clear. But changing your perception, (the process of how you think) can shift your perspective,( the facts known to us,) just enough too allow inventive solutions and answers to appear. What are you not hearing? What are you not seeing? What are you missing? [siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] This program is perfect for 1 – 16 leaders to set a side the mental chatter long enough to engage in experiential learning together that will challenge assumptions, illuminate blind spots and dissolve patterns of thinking that present rules where none actually exist. Each team will have an equine partner who will provide unfiltered and in the moment feedback. But will you be listening? [siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] This program will focus on the structure of boundaries, registering and integrating non-verbal communication, Self -motivation (remaining productive in the face of external factors) and balancing linear thinking with intuitive knowledge (thinking vs feeling). [siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget class="Thim_Heading_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Our approach to team building starts with learning how to make better decisions by learning to recognize how old habits,…

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