THE HAVEN

Introduction

Welcome to The Haven.

This information is to help give some insight into
the experience the horses offer. It is designed to help you understand how the
horses work so you get the most out of the time you spend with us.
Throughout summer we offer peace retreats to help you reconnect with nature and
horses. Our wish is that you are able to spend time in the natural world and
reconnect with your own true self. Finding time to visualise and create the vision that
exists in your heart.

I am Helen and the horses are my co-workers; we meet physically,
mentally, and spiritually on completely equal ground. I facilitate for the horses
during  healing experiences. After years of working with the horses in many
traditional ways and, following a period of grief in my own life, the understanding
between us shifted into a complete and unified respect for each other. Instead of
me the carer in charge of them as the decision maker, it became, US, as one,
working together in a new partnership. I learned, through observation, how to
listen and hear what my horses were trying to say! This changed every area of
my life and theirs.
They began to show me their true depth and took me on a journey that allowed
me to recognise who I really was and how precious life is.


Their wisdom was shared in moments of silent stillness when I became
present with them. They have an ability to read our body language from inside
out, and mirror it back, for us to witness and examine. All we have to do is take
the time to observe what they are presenting to us.
During a session we explore exactly this, finding the present moment and
becoming witness to what we see and feel. This can be quite challenging in the
chaotic routine of our daily lives, but in the horses’ environment you can take
the time to start listening, feeling and hearing what is stored within your heart.

When you arrive and find yourself in a field with a number of horses it may feel
very strange or you may feel instantly at home. It is different for everyone and
any feelings that arise are okay. There is no right or wrong way to feel.
We encourage everyone to accept all feelings that may arise and, by allowing
and acknowledging your emotions, you are already tuning into and flowing with
the energetic resonance of the horses.

founded in 2015

The Haven was founded in 2015 by Helen

After a deep healing experience with her own horses Helen’s lifelong dream to open a safe haven for animals became a reality. The Haven was founded in 2015 by Helen, Matthew and daughter Emma, with the intention of healing and caring for horses holistically.Creating an environment where horses could be horses, free from any human demands was at the core of its ethos, but it developed into something more profound and unique than was originally intended. 

As Helen’s connection with each horse deepened she witnessed ‘the true purpose of the horse’ and realised The Haven was unfolding into a stage, where she could connect with animals on higher level of consciousness and communicate clearly in this space.

 


This changed the whole direction of the work, as it became clear that the animals individual and collective purpose was to help humanity find its way home, through peace, remembrance and unity. Helen’s role became dynamic, switching from healer, carer and researcher to being facilitator for sharing the horses greater message.
This open communication allows the horses to play a huge part in the growth and structure of the work at The Haven. Horses that come are first healed emotionally and physically, it is then the unlocking of the horses soul and purpose becomes apparent. It is this, their essence, that is at the heart of the work we share with you. In the coming months we will share with you, the silent messages and guidance the herd gently spread into our world and hope you are able to take time out and be present with the animals in your life and listen to the love and guidance they silently offer.

The Equine-Inspired Healing Experience

Equine-Inspired Healing is personal, mental, physical and spiritual development, ranging from personal transformation to a highly expanded awareness. For example, sometimes a transformation can begin with the initial realisation that an undiscovered part of you is trying to express itself. The horses offer us a unique learning opportunity, allowing us to look more closely at who we are, what we want and how to go about creating it. When we have settled into the horses’ environment we begin with meditation and breath work either standing, sitting or lying. This allows us to ground, relax and connect with the horses and nature. This is our time to arrive and feel into the horse’s energy.

Once settled we will begin to listen intuitively and feel which horse or horses are connecting with us. Sometimes there is physical contact and other times there is not. They will hold up a unique mirror to each of us and within it we will see something they want to show us. We can follow and explore what they show silently or share it verbally. It can be a very powerful experience to share a truth with a majestic creature of earth, allowing ourselves to be totally honest with a non-judgemental companion who can help us peel back the layers, to find out who we really are, what our true potential maybe or what are we hiding from. It is important to note that for horses, healing one another equates to the survival of their species and maintaining strong bonds and relationships with each other.

Healing

The horse has a natural ability to heal humans in the same way as they heal each other. This nomadic instinct is well and truly alive even in domesticated horses. The wild horses would not exist in the world today had it not been for this phenomenal ability to read the intent and emotion of other mammals. The horse can uncover the mask of incongruence we tend to wear in our daily lives. They reveal our true thoughts, feelings and intentions by receiving our emotional vibration and amplifying it back to us through their reactions. They instinctively know if we are acting happy but are feeling sad inside. They understand that, when we pretend or are not fully congruent with ourselves and others, we waste much of our precious energy and become depleted. This can lead to feelings of being misunderstood, not worthy or anxious and many other problematic issues. Our immune system is also compromised when we aren’t fully authentic about our feelings and emotions. Horses show us that emotions and feelings are a special type of information which, if listened to and acknowledged, can help guide us through life and keep us on track. Horses also do not view anything as good or bad. They do not judge, blame or make us feel guilty for how we may feel or act. For example, they see fear as an opportunity, it is a warning for them to check out their environment for danger. Once they have responded they let go of the fear that had helped them move to safety. Were horses not able to function in this way, as prey animals living in the wild, they would be ‘living on their nerves’ in flight mode 24/7 and suffer adrenal burn out, unable to flee from predators. If we read our emotions in the same way they do, without judgement, we can act upon them or let them go and let go of worry, fear and pretending.

How do horses heal?

Horses connect, communicate and heal through breath, body language and limbic resonance. The limbic system is the mammalian part of the brain associated with emotions and bonding. They also use movement such as shaking, licking, chewing and rolling to release tension and trauma. Recent studies have shown that trauma is a neurological issue not psychological as previously thought and we hold trauma in our nervous system. Animals can discharge this trauma naturally through movement, touch and grounding it into the environment. Limbic resonance is a shared empathy in which two mammals become attuned to each other’s inner states. Once they connect limbic regulation occurs. This means the horse will soothe the one who is unable to self-regulate their own nervous system, by emphasising and encouraging us to slow our breathing pattern by deepening and lengthening their own breath. Our bodies naturally follow their lead, and this simple shift will affect the physiology of the whole body as muscle tension eases, heart rate slows and we begin to become aware of our inner state. This is a personal gauge which the horses can help you become aware of and powerfully reflects your feelings. It is through this state of connection in the here and now that the nervous system is able to release trauma, anxiety etc. Limbic revision occurs when we have become aware of patterns of behaviour that are no longer of use and we chose replace them with new responses. We learn to listen to the gauge and begin to choose how to respond to our emotional energy and feelings that rise up within us. I personally witness the horses heal in a way which is beyond the proven scientific research available to us at this time. I see the connection they have with the universal chord of life and observe them attuning us to this healing source of energy, which can heal on many levels. They reconnect us to the energy we are born from, it is here we begin to see and feel our awareness expand. Our life becomes a blank canvas, with which we are gifted an unlimited amount of potential to create, upon it, anything that we desire.

The Herd

As mentioned previously, horses are a prey animal and heal each other primarily for the survival of their species. They are sensitive to the emotional energy of all mammals and the intention behind it. All feelings are contagious, and our nervous system, like theirs, broadcasts everything we are feeling on a frequency horses are tuned into. We cannot hide anything from them. They are also social animals who value relationships above territory. So it is not surprising they can, and want, to heal us and also help us understand ourselves and become more in tune with each other. As a herd they conserve their energy, only expending it during a threat when the flight response is triggered, moving swiftly to a safe area. This flight response is strong like it is in humans. Unlike humans, however, once the threat has gone horses let go and are back in the present moment, triggering the relaxation response (the para-sympathetic nervous system). They are like huge receivers and amplifiers of emotional vibration, knowing just when to act and when not. That is exactly what they try to teach us how to read the message in an emotion, what it is trying to tell us, and when to let go of it and just be. And Finally… The horses have taught me that uncertainty is simply an opportunity to trust and listen to inner guidance and follow it. They have shown me every herd member is valued, skilled, equally important and necessary for the fulfilment of a happy, functioning herd dynamic and it is the same for us. Every person is a blessing to the world and has a unique gift to share. Sometimes we just have to be kind to ourselves and allow it to shine. Lots of love from Helen and the Herd