Empathy – Straight from the Horses' Hearts

With the help of horses, learn how to understand Empathy and how it leads to resilience and recovery. 

Offered in partnership with the Devon Recovery Learning Community.

Tutors: Marie Free & Danuta Karpinska

FREE Entry – Open to everyone age 18+ 

Course of 3 workshops, Booking is for all 3 sessions:

Dates: August 4th, 11th & 18th  2023

Time: 2pm to 5pm

Location: Horse & Heart, Teign Valley, Dartmoor

Have you ever suffered from feeling “too much” of other people’s  feelings, or on the contrary have you struggled to put yourself in  someone else’s shoes? 

Have you ever wondered why there isn’t more  compassion in the world, or why people sometimes don’t seem to see the  consequences of their actions?

What is Empathy, and what is it for? Animals teach us why it is such  an essential part of any live being’s development, and how it gives us  the tools to become ourselves and to relate to others in true belonging.

Animals also hold a completely non judgemental, loving space and  enable everyone to be exactly as they are: many people find it easier to  open their hearts to animals than to other people.

Through the observation of horses, watch how Empathy is taught from  the first day all mammals come to the world, and how it is nurtured and  balanced from heart to heart within a community of beings. And learn how those skills can lead to finding true resilience and recovery within yourself.

Animals have got an innate instinct for Empathy, and by learning from them we can discover an amazing skill set to help us on our own  journeys to resilience and recovery.

This course will enable you to find and explore your own potential for Empathy, emotional intelligence, resilience, and belonging: a  toolkit for recovery. It entails observation of a herd of horses, meeting the horses (for those who wish), games and discussions between  humans, and nurturing time in Nature.

Surrounded by the love of horses, this is a gentle approach with no  expectation to achieve anything, and you will not be pushed to interact with the horses more than you wish to. Whether you would like to simply watch and learn, or play with a horse at Liberty in the herd, you will  learn skills that will be valuable to you for the rest of your life. It  is also a great space to get over a fear of horses!

Everyone is welcome, no particular experience required, and no need to be “horsey”.

The tutors

The Horse & Heart horses have many years of experience of working with vulnerable people, and they have facilitated the most extraordinary results in people's recovery, confidence and re-building of self, as well as teaching skills to create social bonds in the community.

Marie  is a qualified and experienced Holistic Horsemanship practitioner and  instructor who has dedicated her life to bringing the wisdom of horses into  the hearts of people. Her passion is to work with groups of all  ages and share the skills of self-development and recovery that horses teach.  She has been leading groups for many years with love and care, always in an  atmosphere of acceptance, inclusion and relaxed fun infused with deep  heart-learning.

Danuta has been co-tutoring DRLC courses with Marie for a while now, and she is an honorary member of Horse & Heart. Her background as a yoga teacher and her interests in Nature and ancient connections bring a lot of wisdom to her guidance of students, and she holds a gentle and compassionate space for all.

Students 

Please note:

Students must sign up for the 3 sessions of the course. If you miss  the 1st session, you will not be able to join the group afterwards. There are only 8 places on this course so please only book if you are fully committed. 😊

Students must have their own transport and bring their own packed lunch / snacks. 

All info and directions given upon booking. 

This event takes place outdoors, with access to a toilet and shelter in a barn. 

Sadly we do not have an easy access loo yet, but we're working on it – watch this space! 

To book your place please click here and you will receive all info & directions by email.

See this course on the DRLC website – click here.