I attended Rosie’s Discovery Day workshop on the 16th October 2020. I saw this day advertised on facebook and it caught my attention as I have already completed training in Equine Behaviour and I am always keen to learn more. I am also a retired psychiatric nurse and have many years of experience of giving one to one and group therapy to a variety of clients. The idea of using horses in a therapeutic setting has always interested me. I attended this day with an open mind with the hope of experiencing something new.
I found the day enjoyable and informative. Rosie went out of her way to ensure everyone was comfortable and warm enough as well as maintaining the social distancing due to the current Covid 19 situation. It was a small friendly group that I found non- threatening, everyone was encouraged to share thoughts and feelings but not forced to. Everyone was treat with respect and given the time to share their feedback as required.
The interactive sessions with the horses were for me the best but I always feel most comfortable in the company of equines. Each of us were given time to experience contact with either Bramble or Jack and it did not feel rushed or pressured. My personal experience with Jack felt very positive, I felt quite emotional when he approached me and licked my hands without any hesitation. He felt so positive and I felt positive with him and gave him some positive strokes and scratches in return. I know he cannot speak with words but I felt he was saying to me that “ it’s ok, I’m here”. The amazing thing is that I had been suffering with a sore arm from a recent fall and after this session the pain disappeared!
It all sounds a bit voodoo to some people but I do feel that there is something about positive energy going on. I need to learn more to try to understand this better.
Overall a very enjoyable day that has left me with more questions than answers!
Allison emailed a few days later with a postcript!
I have been thinking about what I felt in my connection with Jack, I know I felt excited to be with him and so happy the way he approached me. It did feel that he was reassuring me but I did not know what for, thinking about it further it was as if he felt safe and comfortable with me as I did with him. So to conclude I think he was just reassuring me that “I am ok”. I need to really accept this because I am terrible for doubting myself and beating myself up.
