Whole Horse Care Retreat
For Equine Guided Practitioners
Navigating the relationship and the bath to horse keeping and horse care can be overwhelming and intimidating.
It can be challenging to feel confident finding the “right” way to be in partnership with our horses, and tending and caring for them in a way that honours the horse.
Whether you are a brand new horse owner, or you have been caring for your own horses for a while, this retreat will share some beautiful ways to cultivate a holistic approach to horse care and horse keeping which empowers your dynamic with your horse(s).
In an industry that has countless opinions on the “right” way to care for horses, and that can often be a space of judgement and criticism, finding a safe space to explore new and different ways of tending to our horses, and that encourages open conversation, exploration and curiosity is deeply important.
My colleague Alexa Linton and I created this retreat to align with the needs of horse owners and those in partnership with horses: to support you to build your toolkit, to improve your confidence in your own knowledge and role as an advocate, and empower your knowing of how to be in a honoring guardian relationship with your horse.
Who this retreat is for:
We welcome new and long-time horse owners, horse professionals, those who are considering becoming horse keepers, and those who have hopes of caring for horses in their future.
If you are a person in partnership with horses who is wanting to learn how to care for them in a more holistic way, how to become a more effective and informed advocate, and is curious about equine body work, applied kinesiology, nutrition, plant medicine for horses, general horse keeping practices (such as herd living and horse track systems), this is the retreat for you!
What we are covering in this retreat:
Physical Care of our horses including:
Wound Care
First Aid
Equine Nutrition/Supplementation
Applied Kinesiology/Muscle testing
Body Work Techniques and Practices
Vaccines and Wormers
Making Herbal Salves and Flower essences
Animal Communication foundations to build upon our intuitive connection to our horses.
Horse Handling Skills
Cooperative Care Practices
Building connection to our horses through meditation and spiritual practices.
Both Alexa and Hillary have an extensive background in horse care, keeping and education, and bring together their blend of approach and practices to give each person an awareness and support in the variety of ways that we can support our horse partners.
We will be working with Hillary’s herd at Epona Rise, which is a herd of 30 horses that are a range of ages and needs, to be able to experience hands on learning, with what holistic and consent based horse care looks like in a variety of ways with different horses and how to meet each horse with what they need.
Our approach and time with the horses will be held in a consent based manner, to give examples to how we can be in a guardian position with our horses while still allowing them to be a part of their own care and have a voice in that.
You will be able to experience what it looks like not only to manage different horses in their needs, but also to do so in a herd dynamic.
If you are in a place in your ownership with horses where you know you need some support in building your experience and tool kit in a way that feels deeply honoring to the relationship you desire to hold with you horse and horses, this is a beautiful retreat to attend.
If you do not own horses but are a guardian of horses this is also a great retreat to come to building these skills and developing the tools to support horses can also lend itself to your capacity to help care and tend to horses in any scenario.
Meet Your Facilitators
Alexa Linton
Alexa Linton is a life-long horse lover, Equine Sport Therapist of 20 years, host of the Whole Horse Podcast, now in it’s 7th season, facilitator, author, and creator of the Whole Horse Apprenticeship, a 6 month equine wellness immersion program, and most recently, Outside the Box Equine, an educational hub for species-specific horse keeping. Her vision is to support a change worldwide in horse keeping practices towards more species-specific care, ethically informed training and riding, and a more collaborative approach to being with and sharing our lives with horses.
She lives with her partner Patrick, her two dogs, and cat, and currently leases land where she has built a track system for her herd of three mares, Diva, Raven and Gwynna in the unceded territory of the Cowichan peoples, now know as the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. Her goal within the next year is to buy land, bring the herd home and build a horse-keeping demonstration site where she can host workshops and retreats and inspire horse lovers to shift their horse spaces by showing what is possible.
Hillary Schneider
Hillary is the founder and lead facilitator of the Epona Rise Retreat Center and Horse Medicine Leadership Academy, she has been leading and teaching retreats and trainings with her herd for the last 12 years.
Passionate about bringing the teachings of the horses to impact the lives of humans, she has been devoted to her own vision and purpose of creating a space in nature where people can come and receive the wisdom of horses, the land and their own inner guidance.
She has over the last 12 years had the privilege of hosting and leading retreats for a range of people who are seeking to become more masterful in their experience of being a human with their own passion of personal and professional growth and development.
What is included in the retreat:
5 night stay in a cabin
4 full days of teaching, foundation building and hands-on experience with a herd of 30 horses.
Catered Meals
Access to Alexa’s applied Kinesiology Program
Shuttle to and from the ranch if you are travelling
Retreat takes place at Epona Rise Retreat Center, you will fly into Kamloops Airport for travel. We will arrange a shuttle for you to the ranch.