| Equine Partnerships for Authenticity, Learning and Awareness
www.epala.org |
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| Epala Newsletter
| www.epala.org July, 2010 |
Epala friends;
Summer is in full swing here in Northern Wisconsin. Contrary to belief we do get heat and we do get humidity - it just doesn't last that long. The Epala herd has successfully facilitated a number of spring workshops and are looking forward to our July Epona Introductory Workshop and Horse Before the Cart Workshop. Sandy and I are continually in awe of the graciousness with which the Epala herd offers themselves as teachers to the Epala participants. We have a number of horses who are debuting as Epala facilitators and they have amazed us with their patience, trust and gentleness with the participants.
We are currently in full swing with our Start Young Riders Right weekly program for young riders and are so excited to be working with a group of enthusiastic young people who are willing to learn how to connect with and work with horses from a partnership perspective. My experience over the years with kids is they "want to ride," but here at Epala riding comes after young riders learn to connect with their horses on the ground - establishing trust and partnership. This includes leading, halting, backing and turning their horses on-the-ground without pulling, yanking, dragging, or hitting. One of our young riders commented last week, "I didn't know you could lead a horse without pulling on it."
Here at Epala Sandy and Lenny and I are committed to continuing our education as horse people in order to always have the ability to work with our horses and our participants with an emphasis on partnership. Last month I was fortunate to spend a week at the Bitterroot Ranch in Wyoming working with Linda Tellington-Jones and an incredible team of TTouch practitioners. I learned so much and have already begun offering TTouch to our Epala herd. Our Young Riders will all be learning to TTouch in order to deepen their connection with their horses. More on that below.
This month Lenny and Sandy will be attending a Mark Rashid clinic (www.markrashid.com) with two of their horses (also Epala horses) so we'll look forward to Sandy's report next month.
Juli "halters" Kate | Please take a look at our Summer Workshops...
To help you navigate through the offerings and consider which one meets your growing desire to understand and foster a partnership with horses we've clearly stated the FOCUS of each workshop, HOW TIME WILL BE SPENT during the workshop and the OUTCOMES we anticipate for each workshop.
We promise to keep our workshops small so that you receive lots of one on one coaching and lots of time with the horses both within the herd and as individuals. We love to hear from you and will respond to all emails so please stay in touch or just say hi.
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| Epala | |
PO Box 13082
Hayward, Wisconsin 54843
715-634-4121
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August 6-7, 2010
HORSE BEFORE THE CART: Horsemanship training for equine facilitated professions.
Focus: This is an excellent workshop for anyone desiring to enter the field of equine facilitated mental health work, therapeutic riding work, coaching with horses work or alternative healing/body work with horses. This is a horsemanship skills workshop for individuals with limited to no experience with horses or experiences with horses that have been unfortunate, dangerous or disconnected from creating a partnership. We believe that relying on an equine specialist when you provide therapy or coaching to your clients is not enough. You should feel comfortable and confident around horses. We'll teach you how to safely work with horses and partner with them. You'll relish in your new found confidence around horses. The clients and horses you work with will notice! Time Spent: Participants will spend most of the time on ground - learning herd behavior, engaging with the herd, learning horse communication skills, learning safe handling skills. Participants will also learn basic hands-on healing and relaxation techniques for horses to gain confidence in working closely with a horse and establishing trust and partnership. For those seeking work in equine facilitated environments proper selection, care and rejuvenation of horses working in this field will be discussed. Depending on participants desire - an opportunity to do reflective riding (how do I influence and impact a horse when I am on his/her back) will be offered. Outcome: An increased comfort level being around horses - handling them - taking care of them. Awareness of how horses communicate their emotions, needs, and concerns. Awareness of how your personality and emotional state impacts and influences your interaction with horses. Increased knowledge of the handling, care and selection of horses for equine facilitated activities. Cost: $190.oo Please see the website www.epala.org for additional information and registration details. |
August 20-21, 2010 \
September 3-4, 2010
Women Who Love Horses
Focus: Are you a woman who loves horses? Maybe you have one - maybe you've never had one. Have you been needing to get away for some personal time - self reflective time - but have no time to do that? Our Women Who Love Horses workshop will give you a chance to spend a day and a half in the presence of horses - lots of them - lots of time with them. In addition you'll have a chance - by working with our equine facilitators - to self-reflect and self-discover. This workshop is open to women with or without horse experience. It is truly a unique experience to be immersed with horse and rejuvenate yourself at the same time. Who needs a spa?
Time Spent: In the Women Who Love Horses Workshop you will begin an exploration your personal journey through specific experiences with the horses that engage the seven centers of energy in our bodies - known as chakras. Each center relates to a different life challenge we all must navigate in order to feel calm, confident and committed to the choices we make for ourselves - our jobs, our families, our relationships or our health. Our horses facilitate the process by energizing each of the seven centers when we interact with them. We've seen it happen over and over again - it is an amazing process and deeply transformative. All our workshops make time with the horses and hands-on with the horses a top priority.
Outcome: An increased appreciation and awe for the ability of horses to facilitate human insight, growth and healing. An increased comfort interacting, handling, being with these magnificent creatures. An awareness of how who you are and how you approach the world impacts and influences your life experiences. A transformation and balancing of the energy centers of the body.
Cost: $175.oo. Please see www.epala.org for additional information and registration details. |
 July 16-17, 2010 (Full)
NEW DATE: August 20-21, 2010 The Epona Approach Introductory Workshop
Focus: This workshop is for anyone who has read Linda Kohanov's work The Tao of Equus or Riding Between the Worlds and desires a hands-on-workshop to learn more about the processes Linda describes in her books. As an Advanced Approved Epona instructor (www.theeponaapproach.com) Juli is authorized to teach Linda's approach to self-awareness and authenticity through the way of the horse. This workshop is also for those who are interested in the field of equine facilitated therapy or equine facilitated coaching. It is also a wonderful workshop for someone unfamiliar with the Epona Approach but interested in personal development with horses as the facilitators. We ask that all workshop participants read LindaKohanov's Riding Between the Worlds prior to the workshop (available at www.amazon.com).
Time Spent: Time will be spent learning the guiding theory and principles developed by Linda Kohanov and her colleagues at Epona. In time spent with the horses you'll engage in the same processes you'd engage in working with Linda at an introductory level. Each of the Epona approach's signature processes such as the body scan, the message behind the emotion, meet the herd, energy and boundary work, reflective round pen and active round pen will all be offered. Discussions are focused on LindaKohanov's work and the bigger implications for the evolution of both people and horses.
Cost: $175.oo. Please see www.epala.org for additional information and registration details.
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 July 30-31, 2010 September 17-18, 2010 Horse As Teacher Workshop
Focus: This workshop is for anyone who wants to learn how to create true partnerships with horses. We like to say we take natural horsemanship to the "next level." What we mean by that is we will teach you how to go beyond the behaviors of boundary setting, pressure/release, and taking the lead role to a level of higher conscious interaction through intuitive observing, intuitive listening and interspecies communication. You'll experience the "spirit," non-logical aspects of horses and come to see them beyond performance, color, breeding or age. We'll teach you how to listen to their wisdom and honor their role in your life. This is a great workshop for those going into equine studies, veterinarians, farriers, riding instructors, natural horsemanship aficionados and performance horse people.
Time Spent: Time will be spent in intense study of horses both as individuals and as herd members. Through safe, engaging activities you'll learn how to become a respected and confident member of the herd. You'll learn how to observe and listen to each individual horse's messages. You'll advance through active and reflective time with a horse that chooses you in order to work at liberty (no tack or equipment) in a large arena setting as one harmonious partnership. If you have your own horse we can consider you bringing him/her to the workshop. If you do not have a horse our herd will be grateful teachers. Outcome: Increased awareness of the ongoing communication horses offer as individuals and as a herd. Increased ability to observe the subtleties of horse behavior and the messages they convey. Increased awareness and understanding that responses to horses vary as widely as horses do. Increased comfort stepping out of the box of the "traditional dominance paradigm" for dealing with horses. Increased ability to let go and create spontaneous, fluid, connection and movement in-hand with any horse. Cost: $175.oo. Please see www.epala.org for additional information and registration details.
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| Who Am I With My Horse Clinics
(at your barn or farm with your horses!)
Focus: Invite Juli to facilitate a clinic that is guaranteed to improve your relationship with your horse. Juli will begin the workshop with a non-horse session where you will discover your horsemanship personality. Juli will then describe and discuss horse personalities. This will be followed by one-on-one session time with each participant and their horse or horses. Juli will work with each participant both on the ground and in the saddle to help individuals recognize how their personality and their horse's personality impacts and influences their relationship with their horse.
Time Spent: Time will be spent thoroughly learning the five archetypes of horsemanship personality so that you can better understand yourself as a horse person and begin to identify and describe the archetypes in others. Juli will then spend 1.5 hour with each participant individually in an arena setting with their horse. Auditors welcome.
Outcome: Increased awareness of how your own personality influences and impacts your relationship with your horse. Increased awareness of your horse(s) personalities. Increased recognition of how your behavior - coming from your personality - can interfere with the outcomes you desire with your horse. Increased knowledge of how to work with both your personality and your horse's personality to create a harmonious relationship.
Cost: $100/person. Includes 4 hour non-horse session discovering your personality archetype and 1.5 hour one-on-one session with Juli and your horse. Please see www.epala.org for additional information and registration details. |
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Tellington TTouch: "Remember your Perfection"
This quote was shared by Linda Tellington-Jones at a week long workshop I attended at the Bitterroot Ranch is Wyoming this past month. The quote resonated with me as yet another way to forge heart felt partnerships between humans and horses. Sometimes history, trauma and life events can snatch the appearance of perfection from both horses and humans. Through the brilliantly simple act of a TTouch - a one and a quarter circle made by the fingers along the body of a horse - and other non habitual experiences such as body wraps and the Playground of Higher Learning I saw for myself the transformative process this work can offer our equine partners. Anxious horses became calm, tight horses became soft, fearful horses began to trust and sore or injured horses became well. I saw the same transformation in the humans - myself included.
Since 1983 LTJ - a remarkable clinician, author, mentor and extraordinary horsewoman has been "changing the world one TTouch at a time." For many years it was not understood how or why the TTouch worked. It wasn't until recently that research has shown that the TTouch methods communicate with the body at a cellular level and that when TTouch is done with a heart connection to the animal the healing is enhanced even more. I'm still in awe that I was blessed with the opportunity to spend a week with LTJ and her incredible TTouch team of practitioners. If you're not familiar with the work please, please check out www.ttouch.com. Order one of Linda's books or DVD's and treat yourself to a TTouch workshop or training. Our Epala herd will be supported with TTouch and our Epala participants will be introduced to it as well. We love the idea of changing the world - one TTouch, - one horse - one human at a time. |
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