Seen & Herd: learning and healing with donkeys

Soggy soggy donks in the April showers.

I am very fortunate to have a local troupe of friendly volunteers who help me walk the herd. Today’s wander through the spring-blooming lanes and tracks was filled with birdsong, blossom and a drenching from above.

Oh the hope of spring and new beginnings.

Donkey therapy offers a wild container to explore our own endings and beginnings and mind-wanderings. Get in touch if you would like to find out more about working with me and the donkeys in Oxfordshire. seenandherdtherapy.co.uk

We have had a honkingly wet run of weather recently. The donks do their best to jump over or give puddles a wide berth, so this is not to their liking.

But hooray for the As***le 2.0 for field sheltering and the big indoor barn for a spacious drying out sort of holiday.

For clients on rainy days and chilly days, if we’re not inside with the donks we are enjoying the cosy warmth of the stove in Bella the bell tent.

Let’s hope April brings us some more settled weather and sunshine.

We have a few more spaces opening up for both young people and adult clients, so please get in touch if you are interested in finding out more about how donkey therapy can support us through the ups and downs of life.

Welcome Zebradee!

This week we welcomed a new herd member, a five month old foal whom we have called Zebradee.

Suffice to say, herd dynamics have shifted and the girls are not as delighted by the addition as the humans! It has been fascinating watching their behaviour as the week goes by. At the end of week one I would say they are tolerating him so this feels like swift progress.

Zebradee has taken to our work with ease. He is eager to connect and support clients, quick to learn and charmingly cheeky. I look forward to seeing what the next week brings.

-being

The first frost hails the sharp nights and crispy mornings to come. My preference over the wet stuff, any day-and the donkeys’ feel the same.

The donks waking up into the new day with a spot of sunbathing encourages me to pause and notice, too. A gentle, warming start to my day.

What’s your favourite way to welcome the day?

"To let go does not mean to get rid of. To let go means to let be. When we let be with compassion, things come and go on their own."

~ Jack Kornfield

Image by Noemie SimaGon, Shutterstock.

One of my favourite places to read and write at the moment…in the shade of a tree in the field with my favourite long-eareds.

Beneath the shade of a horse chestnut tree I set up my little desk and chair to do some admin. The donks were very keen to support.

“Have patience with all things, but first with yourself. Never confuse your mistakes with your value as a human being. You are a perfectly valuable, creative, worthwhile person, simply because you exist. And no amount of triumphs or tribulations can ever change that.”

~ Saint Francis de Sales

Image by Anzhelina, Shutterstock.

Bella the Bell Tent is the most recent addition to the team and already proving to be a nourishing and safe space for our sessions. Door open and we can see out to -and hear -the donks and they can see in. Everyone feels connected.

I am now taking bookings for the September new term and we have some space over the summer break, too.

Alongside the donks I work with adults and children from 7 years for 1:1 sessions.

Go well,
Sarah and the Donks

Donkeys are gentle, quiet companions when clients cry. They like to be alongside clients and stay with them in their tears.

Crying activates the parasympathetic nervous system.

Oxytocin is released.

This is why we all feel so good after a big cry. There’s a sense of calm. Peace + relaxation after the release.

Crying is our body’s way of cleansing intense emotions + stabilizing the nervous system. It’s an energetic release that the body naturally does to cope with overwhelm.

If you start to pay attention, you’ll notice that 9 times out of 10 people’s first response to someone crying is “don’t cry.”

We say this to children. To adults. To anyone who’s crying because most of us have been raised in homes without emotional awareness.

We struggle to understand our emotions— or to hold space for other people who experience intense emotions.

We tell people to stop crying because it’s habit + because we are uncomfortable.

Normalizing crying is so important. Allowing people to cry is a true gift. We just have to learn to be comfortable in sitting with someone’s tears.

HERE ARE SOME THINGS TO DO WHEN SOMEONE STARTS CRYING:

1. Breathe. If you didn’t grow up in a home with emotional awareness, you might automatically say “don’t cry” or “it’s ok.” Pause before you speak it. Just stay conscious + present.

2. As they’re crying, you can ask “is there any way i can support you right now?” They might not answer or may not know. That’s ok, too. They may just want to vent or talk, so listen.

3. If you are in a safe relationship + know this persons likes physical touch, offer that. Silence and the human touch is a healer.

4. Be open: stay conscious to what’s happening within you. Are you uncomfortable or anxious? This will give you a lot of awareness for how your own emotions were dealt with growing up

So much of EFL is about exploring relationships. How to lead? How to build trust? What is it like to follow? How does our energy affect the other? How can I ask for support in helping me meet my goals?

Here we have a young client leading the donkeys through an obstacle course she has designed for them, acing her teamwork with me and the donks. These are skills that she can take out beyond the field into her human relationships.

If you are interested in EFL sessions with the Doodle Donks for you or the people support, drop me a line and we can explore how we can work together.

Are you or your child anxious and struggling to find calm amid the storms? Sessions with our donkeys can support you to self-regulate and explore ways of managing sensations of anxiety and stress.

Through time spent alongside our trio of calm and friendly donkeys, using mindfulness-based practices and creative practical exercises, we work with people of all ages to support their wellbeing.

Herd time is healing time.

Drop us a line to see how we can support you or someone you care for.
[email protected]

“People and their pets connect via shared brain structures that predate the development of the human frontal cortex with its apparatus of language and rationality. Animals and humans interact from their respective limbic systems, the brain’s emotional parts. Unlike people, animals are acutely sensitive to messages from the limbic brain—both their own and that of their owners.”

~ Gabor Maté, 'When the Body Says No: The Hidden Cost of Stress'.

Image by Daniel Requena, Shutterstock.

Greetings, January!

What a wet and muddy month we have had with the donkeys in Oxfordshire. Happily, we have all had a good rest, too, the donkeys enjoying many days up on their hill foraging and playing, and some lovely long walks.

I am looking forward to the year ahead and working alongside the donkeys with our clients. Would you like to come and work with the Doodle Donks as you explore your challenges and goals?

Do contact me to discuss how EFL sessions with the donkeys could help you or the person you are supporting. We work with all ages and a variety of issues. A nature-based way of supporting mental health through herd time with our donkeys, sessions are experiential, creative and rooted in body based awareness. EFL (equine facilitated learning) is especially effective for people wanting to explore self esteem, stress, anxiety, relationships challenges, self-regulation and change.

If you block book 6 sessions we are offering a 10% discount. For adults this is £90/90 minute sessions, so £486 instead of £540.

For U18s this is £270 for 6 one hour sessions, instead of £300.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sarah and the donkeys

Our herd are a placid, friendly trio and have loved our journey into EFL this year. We are very much looking forward to seeing who the year ahead brings to our field to explore, play and learn.

Do get in touch via messenger or [email protected] to discuss how we can work together, whether for you and your challenges and goals or a young person you support.

Go well,
Sarah and Doodles, Millie and Jimmy

Seen & Herd: learning and healing with donkeys is now on WhatsApp.

Seen & Herd: learning and healing with donkeys updated their info in the about section.

Herd time is healing time. Here teenager D rubs noses with Jimmy, the youngest of the herd in a tender moment of connection.

Out for a herd walk. The donks spend regular time away from their working area.

Hello and welcome to our Seen & Herd page!

My name is Sarah Outen and since June 2021 I have been training with LEAP Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy and Learning/Facilitator Training to become an EFL Practitioner, working alongside my herd of three donkeys.

Our mission is to journey alongside people as they explore their life challenges and goals in an experiential way, supported and held in our herdspace. 'Our' and 'We' is me - Sarah- and the donkeys - Doodles, Jimmy and Millie Mop.

What is EFL? How does it work?

Herd time is potent. Equines are herd and prey animals and so they are highly aware, sensitive to their environment and their companions. This means they reflect back our emotions to us, respond to our energies that we may not even be aware of, and help us regulate and process our emotion and energy. This is a powerful and highly creative space to work with questions about life and how we relate to the world and those around us. Sometimes we just exist within the herd in an unstructured, open way and at others we work through exercises with the donkeys and explore what arises.

My career background is in expeditions, storytelling and education, and I am currently training as a psychotherapist. I came to this field of work through my own journey with trauma and ill health. Having been scared of horses 3 years ago before my first equine session, my journey in therapy outdoors and alongside the herd helped me out of my PTSD and towards healing.

I work holistically and creatively, guided by the latest neuroscience and theory, as well as my own experience and the wisdom of the donkeys. We cannot help but be influenced by the seasons, weather and rhythms of life around us.

We work with people of all ages, from 6 upwards.

Please get in touch to discuss how working with the donkeys might support you or the person you are caring for.

Go well,

Sarah and the Donkeys