Experiencing a Bit of Magic at Epona Ridge

Mirror mirror, magic horse
What do you reveal?
Within your eyes a silent choice
Inviting me to heal

With you I enter a timeless realm
As our two souls merge as one
I am lost and then found again
And I become…

… part of the vast Infinity
Joy within, as well as tears
When you look into my heart
All the answers become clear

~ “Visionary Healer” by Kim McElroy

From the opening of our circle at the enchanted Epona Ridge Retreat Center—nestled in the bosom of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Asheville, NC—to our closing ceremony overlooking the smoky layers of majestic peaks, thirteen women experienced a good bit of earth-y magic at our Way of the Horse retreat.

To say the weekend was amazing, mystical, profound, and transformative would not be engaging in hyperbole. But it is something that must be experienced to be truly understood.

We each came with our own needs and hoped-for outcomes from the workshop experience. Using an engaging mix of reflection exercises, group discussions and sharing, journaling, and most importantly, sessions with her four generous horses, Barbara Alexander (and Lynne!) guided us to come to our own realizations and to find our own answers. I think every one of us got something very profound to ‘lick and chew’ on. In my case, many magical ‘things’ were revealed!

What I was most curious about when I first heard about Equine Experiential Learning earlier this year, is how exactly does it work? What does a horse session look like? Having now experienced two sessions of my own, I am hungry for more, and ever-more curious about this truly magical process!

The horses served as ‘biological mirrors’ for us, providing a form of bio-feedback. The feedback came to us in different ways at different times. We may have experienced energetic sensations in our bodies, felt emotional shifts, picked up telepathic thoughts or images, or simply grasped an inner knowing of the message they had for us.

These beautiful animals gladly invited us to bring up our pain, that they then absorbed, transmuted, and released from their bodies. They allowed us to touch, hold, hug, and sometimes sob on them, holding a space of understanding, compassion, and healing for us humans…truly a gift beyond measure.

Some of us got ‘corrections’…some got ‘tough love’…some got repeated reminders…some got gentle confirmations…and some got ‘things’ they never expected!

Each of us had two solo sessions with a horse of our choice…or, in some cases, the horse chose us! We had Cierba (the only mare), Bodi and Magic (two minis), and Zorro as our guides. Barbara stood in the arena with us, off to the side, serving as facilitator and scribe.

She noted her own observations and inner perceptions, and recorded anything we verbalized during the session. The rest of our group observed from the ‘gallery’ just outside the arena. After our session, we’d sit with the group and share our experiences and insights, and then journal about it.

In the first sessions, we interacted with the horses to learn more about the energy fields that all living things possess, and about boundaries between beings. I saw some amazing interactions between the women and their horses.

For some, observing others’ sessions brought reactions and insights that spoke directly to their own private issues. I know this happened for me, as I tearfully watched Zorro go right to a grieving L***** to nuzzle her heart and lick her hands, just as a beloved pet cat or dog would do. My tears flow even now, remembering that loving exchange.

At first, you may feel a bit uncomfortable or vulnerable doing work like this ‘in the spotlight’ with all eyes fixed upon you. Or perhaps voyeuristic, watching others go through a sometimes very personal process. But I have found that witnessing and ‘being witnessed,’ as you engage in this intimate dance with the horse, is very cathartic and an important part of the healing process.

For me, the ‘lightning bolt’ occurred during my Reflection session with Magic. He is a wise, sage elder in a small package, with an apparently sly sense of humor. My question for him was about releasing and allowing, in order to experience more love in my life. There were many amazing things that transpired during and after my session, but I’ll share a couple of the more miraculous ones.

After getting some messages from Magic, I sent him a “blast of love and thanks.” I pictured a beam of green love energy emanating from my heart center out to him. Immediately his whole body shivered and he swished his mane and tail. Barbara was writing off to the side and asked me what was going on within me. I said, “I just sent him a blast of love.” She said, “OMG, I was just drawing this from what I was sensing,” and she showed me this from her actual notes:

After this, Barbara and I were talking as Magic stood in the same place he had been during the entire session. I was sharing how I haven’t been putting myself ‘out there’ physically or energetically. It’s not that I was turning people away who came to me, I said, “No one even approaches me.”

As the words were coming out of my mouth, Magic came right up to me and placed his head on my chest. Wow. Magic, Zorro, and Bodi all demonstrated to me that day a key learning for me.

When the horses demonstrated physical responses to our unspoken thoughts and feelings, we learned to identify what the association of that action means to us. In my session with Magic, at one point I silently projected the question, “Do you have anything more for me?” and he immediately turned his head and began vigorously gnawing on his flank. Barbara asked me if I was getting anything, and I said, “Yes, ‘stop picking on yourself’.” Got it loud and clear.

Is this phenomenon real, or simply a bunch of women standing around watching horses scratch themselves? For me, the evidence is incontrovertible. I experienced for myself—and witnessed with the other women—genuine, non-verbal, inter-species connection and communication with the horses of Epona Ridge.

It is not simply humans ascribing meaningful patterns to normal, random horse behavior. Most times, as soon as we directed a thought to the horse, or shifted our energy within, there was an instantaneous and deliberate reaction from them. Or more eloquently, a reflection from the horse back to us.

I wish to thank Barbara for creating such a magnificent space, for developing this transformative program, and for her warm and gracious hospitality. My admiration and gratitude flow out to my lovely ‘Epona Sisters,’ the personal and collective connections between us formed as soon as we came together in circle.

Lastly, I send my love, respect, appreciation, and deep gratitude to the herd—our four equine master teachers, Cierba, Bodi, Magic, and Zorro.

Namaste—”The divinity in me bows to the divinity in you”