2024 Accessible Futures Awards and Gala

Accessible Futures is the first awards event hosted by and for people living with disabilities, empowering individuals and recognising their accomplishments.

The Accessible Futures Awards Gala, hosted by Making Footprints, took place on November 30th. It was a heartwarming evening that recognised the incredible efforts and achievements of individuals living with disabilities, informal carers, dedicated employees, and outstanding providers.

The event’s highlight was celebrating the impact these remarkable individuals and organisations have made within the community. The entertainment provided by PerformAbility added an extra layer of joy to the occasion.

Innovation Excellence Award

The Innovation Excellence Award recognises providers that excel in adapting and innovating their services to cater to the local community. It celebrates creative and forward-thinking approaches that have positively impacted the lives of individuals with disabilities.

Nomination evidence for this award includes:

• Development of innovative new services, programs, products, or technology that contribute to advancements and improvements within the Central Coast Disability Community.
• Evidence of a whole-organisation approach to innovation.

A Huge Thank You!

As my husband and I sat enjoying the entertainment and company, catching up with others in the disability support space—and even a client or two—we only had one ear on the nominations for the Innovation Excellence Award.

The list of nominees was extensive, with 15 organisations in total. We relaxed, not expecting to hear Seen and Herd called. So, it was quite a shock and delight to be announced as the 2024 winner!

Thank you to all those who nominated and voted for Seen and Herd. It means so much to us, and we will continue working hard to provide innovative, creative, and safe therapeutic interventions for all.

A Milestone in Innovation and Inclusion

This recognition affirms the incredible work being done at Seen and Herd and highlights the value of innovative approaches in creating a more inclusive community.

Thank you for supporting our journey!.

Welcome to Equine Assisted Learning (and FUN!)

Are you looking for a school holiday activity that will ignite your kids’ curiosity, love of learning and life and the great outdoors? Do your children find teamwork hard? Looking to get them off screens? Make new friends? Learn emotional resilience and skills while having a great time? Even improve their literacy skills?! Book your place now for the Summer Fun series, places are very limited for this small group 4 week activity based program.

Mondays – Jan 13,20 27 and Feb 3 for ages 7-11.

Email natasha@seenandherd.com.au or call 0413369507 now.

Horse handling & Horse Powered Reading

Horse Powered Reading® (HPR) is a science based experiential learning program focused on the student’s natural curiosity and determination to help gain confidence, motivation, and overcome reading challenges. By integrating equine assisted learning, social emotional learning, and academics, Horse Powered Reading® helps students of all ages build self-efficacy and excitement for learning.

During sessions, students are allowed to make discoveries through activities using props to aid learning. Students and their reading partner (horse), interact providing the facilitator insight into what they are experiencing inside and what patterns are working or not working for them. That interplay allows for profound learning to take place. Through this process, the horse creates an opportunity for immediate feedback and experiential learning to take place.

The group and teamwork experienced through the summer school program also builds confidence, social relationships and connection with peers.

Summer FUN Program 2025

4  x weekly activity Mondays through the school holidays for your children to enjoy the great outdoors, away from screens, make new friends and learn new skills. Program delivered by a NDIS Registered and qualified Equine Assisted Therapist and Horse Powered Reading Facilitator, www.horsepoweredreading.com.

• Horse handling skills / Grooming / Literacy Games / Teamwork / Emotional resilience / Emotional Regulation / Mindfulness / Skill building
• Small group learning (< 5 children per day)
• Age group 7—11 years
• 9 am—12 noon
• Jan 13, 20, 27 and Feb 3
• NDIS Registered Provider—NDIS funding may be applicable- contact for details

Private sessions also available by appointment.

Want to get those kids off screens? Enjoy the great outdoors? Fresh air and dirt?.

Seen and Herd will soon be running weekend workshops for kids aged 7-12 where they will learn horse handling skills, build confidence and teamwork, communication skills and resilience building.

Sessions will run for 3 hours, and be limited to 4 children per group. Contact natasha@seenandherd.com.au for more details and to register your interest as place will fill up FAST!

If you have any questions please get in touch.

We want to inform you about recent updates to the NDIS rules regarding funding for therapy services that were announced in October 2024.

We are committed to ensuring that you can continue to use Seen and Herd Equine Assisted Therapy for your / your clients’ therapeutic needs. 

Animal-assisted therapy can be used in conjunction with standard therapy, provided it is delivered by a qualified allied health professional recognised in the NDIS price guide. This includes professionals listed under Daily Living – Capacity Building for both children and adults who hold relevant qualifications with the appropriate registration bodies, such as AHPRA or the Australian Counselling Association.

It is important to note that therapy sessions must align with the NDIS Price Guide and not exceed the set prices to be considered reasonable and valuable.

At Seen and Herd all animal-assisted therapies are delivered by fully qualified allied health professionals—such as counsellors, registered with the Australian Counselling Association (ACA) ensuring compliance with NDIS standards.

Currently our participants receive Counselling, aimed at achieving their therapy and NDIS goals. The inclusion of animals and nature enriches our non-clinical environment, enhancing engagement and promoting effective therapy through evidence-based practices. We can provide qualifications upon request.

Seen and Herd is a REGISTERED NDIS PROVIDER (NDIS ID 4-JMJPK0S) so we can support Agency NDIA as well as self and plan managed clients. This registration ensures that you can be confident of the quality and qualifications of our staff, processes and governance.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to reach out to clarify how we deliver our services in line with NDIS guidelines and legislation.

Polyvagal Theory was developed by Dr Stephen Porges. The organising principles of Polyvagal Theory (PVT) are Hierarchy, Neuroception and Coregulation.

Dr. Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory has revolutionised the way we view the body’s response to stress, considering the autonomic nervous system (ANS) the foundation of our lived experience.

Originally, we viewed the body’s reaction to stress as binary: we are either in a sympathetic (fight or flight) or parasympathetic (rest and digest) state. Polyvagal Theory, however, shows that there are multiple and blended states of arousal in response to real or perceived stress.

Our autonomic nervous system (ANS) subconsciously decides when we are safe or not safe, based on the information received from three streams – within our bodies, outside our bodies (environment) and between other nervous systems.

As humans, we long to be connected to others: it is a biological imperative that we are born with that develops and lasts throughout our lifetime. This third principle describes how our nervous system looks for and needs others with whom we feel safe enough to connect and with whom we can create supportive and protective relationships.

Working with horses, alongside a qualified therapist well trained in polyvagal theory and its application, can help people to understand their internal states and regulate them and practice co-regulation with other nervous systems (horses and therapist) in a safe and non-threatening environment.

Click HERE for a brief overview of PVT on YouTube.

Autonomic Nervous System

On October 19th we were privileged to host a day of connections for veterans and their families. While the group was small, it was mighty, and our friends at Veterans Connect (part of Social Futures) also took part in the activities on the day.

The theme of Keep Connected was selected by the Dept. of Veterans Affairs for this year’s veterans’ week, which could not be more apt for the work we do here. The day was a relaxed blend of psychoeducation on befriending our nervous systems, working on the polyvagal theory and how we can learn to recognise our internal states and start to regulate them.

A beautiful hour was spent sitting in the paddocks observing and interacting with the herd, allowing our participants to understand horse behaviour, and how it reflects our own approaches in relationship. After a casual networking lunch, the groups circulated through 3 different activities, approach and retreat, mindful grooming and connection and leading in the round yard. Mindfulness was a key element throughout the day, and connections with self and others were made.

The feedback from our participants was so positive that we hope to run more workshops specifically for veterans in the future. If You are a veteran or know a veteran, do encourage them to get in touch.

Feedback:

 “Thank you for an amazing experience” “Such and amazing service and facility”.

 “Thank you for a fantastic day , your setting and staff were outstandingly understanding, really appreciate being able to attend”.

All 6 of us equines are enjoying the return of the spring grass, the tinies are charging around playing tag with Donkey and we have been welcoming new clients to the farm. The new paddock vacuum is working a treat, and once I got over the shock of the noisy red poo machine in the paddock, I was quite impressed with the results.

This month saw us welcome a group of wonderful humans that mum called Veterans, for a thing called Veteran’s week. The nice people at Social Futures helped with all the organising, and the human food (though I got some of the apples hee hee) and getting the grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs to run the day/ A big shout out to our friends and Equine Assisted Therapists Jo Hall from True self Equine Therapy in Bathurst and Anna Preuss, from Coast to Country Yoga and Dressage who helped mum to run the day.

The group was small and intimate, and everyone had lots of time to spend with us after learning about Polyvagal Theory (mum will tell you more about that later) and coming to see us all lovely and grounded after their relaxation session.  I particularly enjoyed being Boss man that day as I got the mindful grooming and connection session (Ahhhh…).

Oh, and we have some interesting birds by the round yard – pretty spooky when they jump put at you mid lunge if you ask me. Oh, and the funny horse with the big ears mum calls “Donkey” has settled in a bit too well if you ask me, keeps trying to pinch my hay over the fence!

Well, that’s it from me, I need to go and discipline Red and do some eating…. lots of eating.

Monstar