People whisperers
Detroit Free Press - Detroit, Mich.
Author:
ELLEN CREAGER
Date:
Oct 9, 2011
Start Page:
F.8
Section:
Travel
Text Word Count: 1191
Document Text
FREE PRESS TRAVEL WRITER
BAY HARBOR -- A horse is a horse, of course, of course -- but only some can feel its aura.
"Horses are masters at reading energy and body language," said Erin Halloran, an equine holistic
healer. "They mirror our energy back to us. Horses help us get to our heart space."
Heart space? I was skeptical.
"Whatever drew you to this workshop, we want you to leave your lives for the day," said
Maryellen Werstine, an equine trainer and massage therapist. "Get in touch with your intuition."
Intuition?
Equine Journey, offered by the Inn at Bay Harbor, is kind of a junior horse-whisperer training
session -- except you are supposed to explore your own feelings, not just the animal's. You keep
a journal. Release emotion. Repair your battered soul.
And you don't ride. You commune with horses. Whoa.
Pastures plus lunch
America's hotels and resorts have figured out how to maximize off-season business by offering
specialty seminars and classes. You have your food weekends, wine weekends, mystery
weekends, motorcycle weekends and quilting weekends. But until now, I'd never heard of a
horse-whisperer weekend.
Unlike many hotel offerings, the $249 Equine Journey package includes an all-day seminar with
lunch and a $40 spa credit, with lodging extra or on your own -- the most convenient spot,
naturally, being the Inn at Bay Harbor.
"We want to be more than a place to have treatments. We have a lot of people really interested in
a day like this," said Camryn Handler, the Inn's spa director, who launched Equine Journey a
year ago.
Some people drawn to Equine Journey are horse owners. Some have never touched a horse in
their lives. In this particular group of eight women, horse experience ranged from a ton to none.
"I turn to my horse when I need comfort. He is my best friend," said Jane DeShone, 52, of
Saginaw. "I put my head in his fur, and all my cares go away."
That outlook was lost on Tina Ball, 55, of Lexington, Ky.
"I can't understand how people can love a horse," she said. "I have never felt that I've even
wanted to get to know a horse, or even pet a horse. A horse is not like a dog. They don't wag
their tails. How do you even know they're happy?"
Calm horses, calmer humans
It was a cool, clear October morning as we walked into the pasture where about 10 horses were
grazing. The sky and the lake were turquoise, offset by the burnt orange of the trees. We turned
our backs on the herd, centering ourselves. Then we turned slowly and walked forward, standing
near, but not too near, the horses.
The concept of Facilitated Equine Experiential Learning, or FEEL, is that horses have a massive
energy field. Because they pick up on the slightest human emotions, even from a distance, their
feedback can help calm people's nerves and reduce tension. Meanwhile, students learn to read
horses, too, from the swish of their tails to the twitch of their ears.
The horses' round eyes monitored us. Their tails stilled. Their fur glistened. In the silence, I
could hear their teeth grinding and chewing the thick grass. Minutes passed. Then more minutes.
Then more minutes.
I kept waiting for something to happen, when I realized this was it -- being present in your own
life, in a pasture near Petoskey.
'Shut your eyes and take a deep breath'
Halloran, who attracts horses like a bale of sweet hay, is as patient with humans as she is with
animals. Werstine's voice is so soothing she could talk a tiger off a ledge. So when we got to the
afternoon main event, Active Round Pen -- the equine equivalent of a ropes course -- the
facilitators were aware of everyone's apprehension.
One by one, participants were handed a wand (a stick with a rope attached.) A horse was brought
in to the pen, and the person had to try to get the horse to walk and trot while using nonverbal
cues and visualization.
Some people could do it. Others let the 1,000-pound animals take charge, so the horse was
herding the human, not the other way around.
Hearts pounded in heart spaces. Stomachs clenched in stomach spaces.
Finally, my turn rolled around. They brought in Ziggy, a bay gelding who whinnied loudly and
strutted around the pen.
"Shut your eyes and take a deep breath," Halloran whispered. "Feel the energy in your body.
Where is it tight? ... Let all that tension pour out of you, through your feet." She briefly
demonstrated use of the wand. Then she clicked open the pen, and I stepped inside.
I stood quietly until Ziggy turned and nosed my hand. Then I started with the wand, moving it in
a small figure eight near the ground -- and pointed the direction I wanted this boy to go. "Feel
your heart reach out to him. Use strong energy," Halloran whispered across the fence. I stared at
Ziggy and felt an arrow of energy glide toward him, telegraphing my intention. Walk, I thought.
He walked. I turned with him, like the hub at the center of his wheel He was sharply in focus,
with everything else a blur as we turned. Trot, I thought. He trotted. Then I managed to turn him
around and go the other way, just with a point of the finger and a movement of the wand. Stop, I
thought. He stopped. I stopped. I felt a sense of amazement.
Maybe there was something to this Equine Journey stuff after all. Others agreed.
"I was shaking. I was freaking out," said Michaela DeNardo, 15, of Flint, who felt nervous
despite riding horses her entire life. "But when I got in there, it was just me and Ace."
"You were totally in your heart space," said Halloran.
Even Ball got in the ring and tried her best. The horse didn't exactly do what she wanted, but she
was brave enough to get in there, and she even petted the horse afterward.
"It was a big deal," she said, "Earlier this afternoon, I wouldn't even touch a horse."
And yes, the Equine Journey involved a few tears and hugs, but it was nothing Ziggy would
reveal.
Contact Ellen Creager: 313-222-6498 or ecreager@freepress.com
If you go
Getting there
The Inn at Bay Harbor is just west of Petoskey, about a 4 1/2-hour drive north of Detroit.
Equine Journey
The next Equine Journey workshops are planned through the spa at the Inn at Bay Harbor for the
following dates: April 28, May 19, June 16 and Sept. 29. The day-long seminar, held at the Bay
Harbor Equestrian Club, is $249 and includes lunch and a $40 spa credit, but not lodging.
For details, see www.innatbay harbor.com /Spa/packages.html .
Lodging
* Try the lakeside, luxurious Inn at Bay Harbor, 3600 Village Harbor Drive, Bay Harbor (
www.innat bayharbor.com , 231-439-4000; rates starting at $170/night).
* Or choose any of the more modest hotels in Petoskey, just a couple miles away. For details see
www.petoskey area.com or call 800-845-2828.
ID_Code: C4-110090318
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is
prohibited without permission.
Abstract (Document Summary)
The concept of Facilitated Equine Experiential Learning, or FEEL, is that horses have a massive
energy field. Because they pick up on the slightest human emotions, even from a distance, their
feedback can help calm people's nerves and reduce tension.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is
prohibited without permission.