About us
Who are we?
Wild at Heart is an initiative to provide a comprehensive training options for therapists who are looking to expand in to or further their skills in the field of Equine Assisted Therapy.
The special thing about us is that we are devoted to the rehoming of wild caught brumbies in to animal assisted therapy homes.
We work closely with The Brumby Project to carefully select and train brumbies for careers in this field, which is a life conducive to the temperament and intelligence of these amazing horses.
We advocate for the inclusion of brumbies in to the animal assisted therapy space.
Due to personal experience of working with unhandled brumbies and seeing the amazing work they have done with our own psychology clients, we are extremely passionate about sharing what we have learned about starting these brumbies with the intention of producing a happy and confident horse that genuinely enjoys the company of humans. Brumbies are exceptionally smart, have fantastic emotional intelligence and social skills. They are curious and playful, making them the perfect co-therapist for clinicians in the equine-assisted therapy space.
We offer a range of training options, and even from time to time the opportunity to adopt one of the brumbies we have started specifically for the purposes of success in the therapy space.
About Us
Samantha King B.Psych.Sc.(hons)
Psychologist & Animal Assister Therapist (canine & equine)
Therapy Dogs Australia - founder & owner
Psychology & Animal Assisted Wellbeing - owner & clinic director
The Brumby Project - Assistant Brumby Trainer
Sam is a Psychologist and has been working alongside her horses in therapy for four years (and dogs for 11 years), primarily with young people on the Autism spectrum. Sam's passion for horses has grown over recent years when she learned about the plight of brumbies (wild-living horses) in Australia. Attending several training camps and with now four diverse brumbies in her personal herd (of 7 horses), Sam is passionate about sharing her experiences of giving these horses a second chance at life. Brumbies can make fantastic animal assisted therapy horses, with the right training and understanding about transitioning from wild-living to domestication.
Sam has identified a gap in the trainings available for experienced professionals working in the animal assisted therapy space under evidence-based therapeutic frameworks. Her passion is to assist health professionals to integrate their horses in to goal-directed Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy interventions, compliant with AHPRA and Medicare standards.
Learn more
Therapy Dogs Australia
Psychology & Animal Assisted Wellbeing
Therapy Dogs Australia
Our parent company.
Therapy Dogs Australia train canine & handler animal assisted therapy teams for professional and visitation services.
The Brumby Project
Psychology & Animal Assisted Wellbeing
Therapy Dogs Australia
Want to experience the magic of training your own brumby from completely unhandled? We highly recommend TBP camps for your journey. This is where we started!
Psychology & Animal Assisted Wellbeing
Psychology & Animal Assisted Wellbeing
Psychology & Animal Assisted Wellbeing
Our sister company. Psychology & Animal Assisted Wellbeing is a multi-disciplinary allied health clinic where all clinicians are accompanied by therapy animals, providing animal assisted therapy.