We work with clients of all abilities providing the opportunity to experience, learn and heal with horses, art, horticulture and eco therapy – in a natural environment. We work with children and adults and provide sessions for NDIS and private clients.
We are one of the longest standing Equine Therapy facilities (established 2005) in the Yarra Valley.
Wedgetail Therapy is owned by Kim Wren. Read more about the therapeutic team.
Wedgetail Therapy supports plan managed and self managed clients through the NDIS. We welcome privately funded clients. We also see clients with funding support from a variety of support services (government, not for profit etc).
Proprietor Kim Wren is a registered Art Therapist and a fully accredited instructor with Horse Safety Australia and has more than thirty years experience with horses. She is also a Level 2 instructor in Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL).
Kim Wren recognised her love of horses at a very early age, and has always felt part of the wonderful and embracing world of nature. Her first pony Tammy was her constant companion for a decade and a half. Together they attended pony clubs, competed in one to three day events, and state and zone game teams all over Victoria.
Kim has a background in horticulture and has held positions in state forests and botanical gardens Australia wide. Her affinity with horses has been all enduring. She has been working for many years giving lessons to both children and adults as well as taking trail rides.
Kim completed an Advanced Diploma in Art Therapy and brings together her vast experience with horses within a therapeutic and self-development environment.
Lindy Schneider is a creative arts therapist, counsellor, EFL practitioner, writer and mentor.
She has 30 years’ experience in the helping professions and works inclusively and creatively with adults and children. She creates a supportive space for people of all abilities to benefit from equine and eco therapy. She has lived experience as the parent of a young person living on the spectrum and brings warmth and empathy to everyone she works with.
She is a published author and has a keen interest in weaving together experiences for people in the natural world to facilitate health, healing and a deeper sense of self and human potential. She enjoys mentoring writers and storytellers to write their own stories. She has also developed a range of programs bringing together the wisdom of the horse and creative practice including her unique Natural Wisdom for Writers Program.
She has a background in Marketing and Human Resource Management, and as a Counsellor and Art Therapist and teacher in clinical practice. She also has a post-graduate qualification in Arts/writing.
She is a Level 2 instructor in Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL) and enjoys supporting adults and children as they experience the unique lessons that horses and nature can provide. She is the caretaker for several horses and embraces the principles of natural horse’person’ship reflecting a deep love for horses since she was a child. She has two teenage children and has lived in the Yarra Valley community for more than 20 years.
‘It is the simple things in life that can bring the most peace and fulfillment. It is also the simple things that can be the most challenging, like sitting comfortably in your own skin’.
Zephlyn is a Counsellor with a Graduate Diploma in Counselling and is registered as a counsellor with ACA. She also has a Graduate Diploma in Creative Arts Therapy and has worked with this for over 20 years, as an art therapist, mental health worker, psycho- social program facilitator and youth worker.
With a childhood seeped in the bush, salt water, and sunshine, an appreciation of the healing experience of nature is second nature. Horses and dogs have been constant companions. Zephlyn can assist you to regulate your nervous system, working with and in nature alongside evidence-based counselling.
At Wedgetail Therapy Zephlyn can offer her skills working from the ground as an EFL Equine Facilitated Learning Practitioner (Facilitator Level One). This means she can facilitate you having a session with one of our horses, where we work from the ground to learn about the horse, yourself, and the way you relate to life, and a whole lot more!
Zephlyn offers sessions using art therapy, as a guided experience that is all about having an opportunity to express your internal world. This can be on a large scale, using your hands, or quiet, gentle explorations in the way you can apply paint with small, conscious movements. Many different arts-based mediums can be utilised, and no art skills are necessary.
A session can also be a mix of counselling, equine, art, and nature therapy.
Our therapy horses live in a natural herd environment which ensures they are physically, mentallly and emotionally willing and able to work in sessions with clients. We support each horse to express their authentic personality and this means each horse brings specific qualities to sessions that can be beneficial to clients. Our herd of eleven horses are experienced therapists (some working with us since 2005) and have been especially vetted and trained to be therapy horses. (Not all horses have the necessary temperament for therapy work).
Some of our horses have come to us as rescues for rehabilitation, and they have all spent thousands of hours working with clients. Our herd ranges from 7 hands to 17 hands and represent a range of breeds. We treat them with respect and love, and they give us the same in return.
I also wanted to share some thoughts and give feedback on our experience. Looking back, I’m glad I made the decision to send my boys to Wedgetail. Beforehand, I had no knowledge of equine therapy. Some friends recommended a horse riding program for their children, but I was skeptical about it because it seemed to be a fast-paced, quick-learning experience. As parents, we were given assurances that our children would become proficient riders after a certain number of sessions. It sounded appealing, but it didn’t feel right to me. I felt like something was missing. I didn’t want horses to be treated as luxury vehicles, where all you had to do was insert the key and start the engine. Therefore, I decided not to enroll my boys in that type of riding program.
However, when I came across Wedgetail’s Kids in Bush program and watched the video of you and a horse (Lewis told me afterwards it was Winter) on your website, I was moved by your words “a horse will trust you” and “bringing people back to awareness of surroundings, awareness of nature”. My instincts told me that this was the right activity and equine education for my boys. Their interest in horses began with the book War Horse, which they read before. The stories in that book were written from a horse’s perspective. I’m happy that my boys enjoyed their equine education and therapy with you and Lindy. They fully immersed themselves in the experience, and when they came back home, I could hear the trust and bonding that they had developed with their horses, Bubble Gum and Mighty.
Thank you again, and I wish you and Lindy all the best. We look forward to coming back!
wedgetail therapy client
Equine Therapy, Art Therapy, Horticulture Therapy and Eco Therapy services in the Yarra Valley, Melbourne, Australia.
We acknowledge that we live and work on unceded Kulin Nation land, specifically of the Wurundjeri people.
We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to be on Country and are committed to supporting First People to regenerate their lifeways and earthways.
We support diversity and inclusion, and we have zero tolerance for discrimination and harassment because of neurodiversity, race, colour, age, religion, sex, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, veteran, military or marital status, genetic information or any other protected status. We are committed to the safety and wellbeing of children and have zero tolerance for child abuse.
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