Rongoā - Healing Through Indigenous Horsemanship

Ellie Pukehika
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  • Self-Improvement

Rongoā – Healing Through Indigenous Horsemanship is a long-form podcast exploring healing, hauora, and our interconnected relationships with hōiho/horses, tangata/people, te taiao/nature, and the wider systems we are part of. Guided by tikanga, wairua, and curiosity, host Ellie brings together tangata hōiho/horse people, practitioners, knowledge holders, and everyday people for meaningful kōrero about wellbeing, connection, remembering, and the wisdom carried through Indigenous ways of knowing. Through storytelling, lived experience, and wānanga, the podcast explores questions such as: * What can hōiho teach us about healing and relationships? * How does disconnection impact the wellbeing of people, horses, and te taiao? * What insights can mātauranga Māori and indigenous wisdom offer for the way we live, learn, teach, and care for one another? * How can reconnecting with whenua/land, whakapapa/ancestory, community, and culture support collective hauora/wellbeing? These conversations are not about extracting knowledge or providing simple answers. Instead, they create space to reflect, remember, and explore together. Whether you are a horse person, interested in Indigenous wisdom, or simply curious about healing and connection, Rongoā invites you into a journey of looking back to help guide us forward. "Titiro whakamuri, kōkiri whakamua."

Episodes

  1. 23h ago ·  Video

    Ep 6. Rongoā - I will only speak te reo Māori to my horse! With Dr Anaha Hiini

    Tēnā tātau Nau hoki mai ki tenei terenga o te punua pāpāho o Rongoā - healing through indigenous horsemanship. A podcast where we explore indigenous matauranga/ indigenous wisdom and practices to help guide us in healing the connection to te Taiao, our Hōiho and ourselves.  In this episode I kōrero with Dr Anaha Hiini. I was a bit nervous / āmaimai to be honest, and my reo trauma brain went into overdrive and when I asked if he would like to open with karakia or myself, and he replied with "kei a koe" "up to you" my brain heard "you do it"…sigh! lol! I totally forgot to ask 'ko wai koe, nō hea koe - how we would usually begin in whakawhanaungatanga. So I want to make sure I bring about some balance with a intro "Dr Anaha Hiini is a Māori academic, language expert, and cultural leader dedicated to the revitalisation and promotion of te reo Māori. He is the founder of Kōtihi Reo Consultants and leads Kōtihi Rehia, which delivers authentic Māori cultural experiences through performing arts and entertainment. Alongside his professional and academic work, Dr Hiini enjoys horse riding and has spent the past couple of years riding his purebred Clydesdale horse, affectionately known as Trojan. He is widely respected for his leadership, cultural knowledge, and commitment to te ao Māori."  What an honour it was to have Dr Anaha on, despite my shaky start I learnt so much, and this kōrero has sent my mind down rabbit holes to explore and expand on even more. I loved listening back in editing and hearing the beautiful poetics in his reo - like when he shared a little of his takutaku to his nan and Koro to look after him his Hōiho. We covered everything from his journey with his first Hōiho and learning to train while only speaking to him in te reo Māori, he introduced me to takutaku (like karakia (prayer) but off the cuff and also letting go of needing to be able to speak fluent to reo/or any at all, right through to te ao wairua, the spiritual world.    Going forward I'm going to be practicing slowing things down so that we're not just another podcast full of wonderful information that often doesn't get applied beyond the next hour, and really learning from the beautiful matauranga so kindly shared with us. So instead of just speeding onto the next episode, I'm going to grasp some of the things that stood out for me, integrate and practice and then share those things and a follow-up episode.  I'm excited for you to listen in, and I'd love to hear what your whakaaro/thoughts.  What are my takeaways to integrate?

  2. Aug 6 ·  Video

    Ep. 5 Rongoā - How to reclaim your voice with Hinekoia Tomlinson

    In this episode I dive in to the wānanga|discussion around reclamation of voice through waiata|singing and the healing that it carries into all parts of life and the connection between waiata māori, reo|language, and horses! You can learn more about Hinekoia and her incredible courses here.

  3. Jul 21 ·  Video

    Ep. 4 Rongoā - 'Less Control, More Curiosity' with Aroha Grant

    Imagine a world where our horses did something not because we forced them to, but because it was the natural result of their hauora across taha wairua, hinengaro, tinana, whānau and whenua. In this episode of Rongoā - Indigenising Mahi Hōiho, Ellie sits down with Aroha Grant of Standfast Stables (Te Kaha) to talk about working with horses in a way that builds their confidence rather than diminishing it - what Ellie frames as the difference between whakamana and whakaiti. Aroha shares how that same principle shapes the healing wānanga she runs for wāhine, rangatahi, and for people in addiction recovery, and why good behaviour, in a horse or a person, isn't something you train in, it's what happens naturally when every part of a being is well. A kōrero about reindigenising the mind, observation, curiosity, and choosing less control in favour of asking why

  4. Jul 6 ·  Video

    Ep. 3 Rongoā - Woven for Community with Ariana Grant

    In this episode of Rongoā: Healing Through Indigenous Wisdom/Horsemanship, I sit down with Ariana, who works as a coach and soul translator alongside Rangatahi (youth), wāhine, tāne and couples, for a conversation about what it really means to be in community. We talk about the dangers of cancel culture, whanaungatanga as more than a concept, as a living practice that shapes how we show up for our communities, our young people, and ourselves. Ariana shares insight from her work on the ground, and we explore the threads that connect community, connection, and healing back to the same kaupapa this podcast is built on: reindigenising the relationships between people, horses, and the whenua. This one is a reminder that none of us were meant to do this alone. We were woven for community, and it's in that weaving that healing becomes possible. 🎧 Listen now. Supported by Te Taura Ora o Waiariki

  5. Jun 22 ·  Video

    Ep. 2 Rongoā - Decolonizing Horse training with Shay Wright

    In our second episode Ellie talks with long time friend, Shay Wright. Four years ago, Ellie asked Shay "why don't I know what healing looks like in our own culture (Māori)?" And it was his answer that led her on a life changing journey of decolonizing her own life, and horse training.

  6. Jun 12 ·  Video

    Ep. 1 Rongoā - Healing Through Indigenous Horsemanship with Ellie Pukehika

    In this very first episode of Rongoā  - Healing Through Indigenous Horsemanship, host Ellie shares the whakapapa of the podcast and the journey that led her here.   From a lifelong relationship with horses to a deeper exploration of healing, te ao Māori, and Indigenous ways of knowing, Ellie reflects on the pātai that sparked this kaupapa and the experiences that shaped it. This episode introduces the intention behind Rongoā and the conversations to come, exploring hauora through our interconnected relationships with hōiho/horses, people, and te taiao/nature. "Titiro whakamuri, kōkiri whakamua" – Looking back to move forward. This episode was supported by Te Taura Ora o Waiariki.

    Ep. 1 Rongoā - Healing Through Indigenous Horsemanship with Ellie Pukehika
  • 6 Episodes

About

Rongoā – Healing Through Indigenous Horsemanship is a long-form podcast exploring healing, hauora, and our interconnected relationships with hōiho/horses, tangata/people, te taiao/nature, and the wider systems we are part of. Guided by tikanga, wairua, and curiosity, host Ellie brings together tangata hōiho/horse people, practitioners, knowledge holders, and everyday people for meaningful kōrero about wellbeing, connection, remembering, and the wisdom carried through Indigenous ways of knowing. Through storytelling, lived experience, and wānanga, the podcast explores questions such as: * What can hōiho teach us about healing and relationships? * How does disconnection impact the wellbeing of people, horses, and te taiao? * What insights can mātauranga Māori and indigenous wisdom offer for the way we live, learn, teach, and care for one another? * How can reconnecting with whenua/land, whakapapa/ancestory, community, and culture support collective hauora/wellbeing? These conversations are not about extracting knowledge or providing simple answers. Instead, they create space to reflect, remember, and explore together. Whether you are a horse person, interested in Indigenous wisdom, or simply curious about healing and connection, Rongoā invites you into a journey of looking back to help guide us forward. "Titiro whakamuri, kōkiri whakamua."

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