Nathalie Bourque can’t remember a time when she didn’t have a horse, who helped her get through some of the toughest times in her life.
“I bought my first horse when I was 15 years old and I’ve been training them, taking classes, attending clinics, you name it. It’s always been a passion of mine,” said Bourque, owner of Authentik Wellness Ranch.
Bourque runs and operates the ranch with her family. She . . .
started her business in 2019 out of a passion and love for working with horses and helping people.
“At some point in my life I discovered how therapeutic they were, how grounded they kept me and they were definitely my go to anytime I had a bad day,” she said.
At her ranch, Bourque offers a scope of services from fun activities to do with horses and team building workshops to therapy. The programs include anti-bullying & youth programs, Authentic You, Women’s Workshop, Family Deployment Program, Team Building, Professional Balance, Leadership Development Program, Family Herd. All her programs are objective-driven and are designed around what the customer hopes to get out of the experience, explained Bourque.
The material she uses is through Equine Assisted Learning which is provided by Equine Connection International.
Francois Gignac, her husband who comes from an engineering background, said it was hard to wrap his head around the notion of how in tune horses are with people, but after experiencing it himself, he said “I’m totally converted.”
For Bourque, her first horse, Apollo, was a major pillar in her life that got her through anxiety which is an experience that inspired her to help other with horses. Apollo is no longer with her but said when he got sick she made a pomise to him that she would find a way to help other women the way he helped her.
“I always say that horse saved my life. He helped me get through one of the toughest spots in my life, so it’s super important to me to give back and to help people if I can through what I’ve been through,” she said.
Originally from the south shore of Montreal, Bourque was at a crossroads in her life when she chose to quit her job and felt it would be the perfect time to start a business, but everything halted due to COVID-19. Although on paper it may have not been the best time to start a business, she felt that people might benefit from the services she offers.
Bourque’s journey to get to where she is now has spanned a length of ten years, training, getting certified, finding the perfect herd and getting internationally certified, coaching and getting a zoo therapy certification in Quebec.
After decades in her corporate job, Bourque felt she could combine her experience from that world and her love for horses to create her business idea.
“The horses are a tool. We are not a barn, we’re not a horse business, we are in an educational business, we’re a skills development business,” said Bourque.
After being around horses and getting to know them Gignac said the most fulfilling aspect is seeing people walk out of the farm with smiles and even tears sometimes.
Horses are such a unique animal, she explained, “Horses are not trained to know what to do, horses are trained to respect your boundaries, and for you to respect their boundaries. Horses are prey animals, and humans are predators to them, so they make a conscious choice to trust people and so we have to communicate with them in a way that is respectful.”
When starting her business and creating her social media presence it was very important for Bourque to authentically represent her farm, which meant using photos of her horses in any marketing she did. “I find it’s really not fun if you’re looking at a website, and you see a horse and you feel a connection and then you get there and we don’t have that horse, that’s a generic photo.”
She offers a women’s workshop, which teaches women about balancing boundaries, communication, and active listening. “It’s a journey on building healthy relationships,” said Bourque.
She also offers themed workshops around anxiety and another one on survivors of domestic abuse. When hosting such events she has also collaborated with speakers, motivators, coaches, or social worker, psychologist or a therapist as specialists on those topics.
“The way we do it is very unique. But it’s very memorable also, because you never forget working with a horse,” she said.
For things you can do with a partner, she also hosts date nights that are about two to five hours where they work on aspects like communication skills, trust and respect. It also includes a romantic dinner by the fireplace. “A couple came here last year and when she left she said this is better than the bachelour,” laughed Bourque.
A new program she hopes to try this year is speed dating on the ranch, where she invites 10 single folks to participate in a series of activities to gauge if people are compatible or not.
One of the main benefits of working with horses is it teaches people to build boundaries, self-esteem, gain confidence and what Bourque refers to as an armor. It teaches people that if you can stand up to a 1200 pound horse you can face people in your own life, she said.
“What we do is we help people develop strong life skills,” said Bourque.
Because she is new to the area, she hopes to build relationships with the community and partner up with nonprofits and create sponsorship programs to help residents access her services through community support.
After being in business for almost a year, Bourque said she is proud of the work she has been able to do and wants to continue to help as many people as she can. “I’m really excited about people getting to know us.”
“Whether it be just for fun team building or a weekend with the girls, or if it’s something deeper. If it’s time out that you need to recentre and need to refocus, we can do that too,” she said.
Her ranch is located in Chapeau and the ranch will reopen in April as they are closed during the winter season.
For more information people can email info@authentikwellnessranch.ca.
