What happens when you slow down, step outside your usual routine and spend time with horses in nature?

Our Yoga and Horsemanship Retreats invite you to explore that question through movement, connection and time spent with horses. Offered in Spring and Autumn, these retreats combine yoga, horsemanship, nature and personal exploration in the beautiful surroundings of Slieve Aughty.

Each day offers something different. You will spend time walking or working with a horse from the ground, enjoy a bareback ride through the landscape, or take time for meditation, a treatment, yoga in the evening and quiet reflection.

There is no pressure to achieve or perform. Instead, the invitation is to become curious, about the horses, about your surroundings and about yourself.

Walking Together

One of the things horses can teach us is that connection doesn’t always require doing more. 

Walking beside a horse can be a surprisingly powerful experience. Without a saddle or the intention to ride, you simply walk together. You begin to notice the horse’s pace, movement and responses, while becoming more aware of your own.

Sometimes the path is easy. Sometimes the ground becomes uneven or challenging, and you have to find your balance while also considering the horse beside you.

It becomes a quiet exercise in awareness, trust, communication and companionship.

Bareback Riding

Bareback riding brings you even closer to the horse.

Moving slowly and comfortably, you can feel the rhythm of the horse beneath you and become more aware of your own body, balance and breathing. The horses take you along paths and terrain that can sometimes surprise you, gently encouraging you to trust yourself and discover that you are capable of more than you expected.

You may notice how naturally the horses move over uneven ground, how sure-footed they are and how much they communicate through their bodies.

The close contact can help you become more present. Instead of being caught up in thoughts about what has happened or what might happen next, your attention naturally comes back to where you are, what you are feeling and what is happening between you and the horse.

For many people, that simple shift in attention can be deeply refreshing.

Yoga, Reiki & Equine Assisted Learning

During the retreat, you will have the opportunity to practise yoga twice a week, as well as experience a Reiki treatment with the horses, outdoors in nature, when the weather permits.

For those who want to explore a deeper exploration into self, we also offer an intensive programme for individuals and small groups through ÉALÚ – Equine Assisted Learning and Understanding, with Kate, Mick Hayes and Merel.

This is where the horses become more than simply part of the retreat experience.

Horses are remarkably attentive to what is happening around them. They respond to our movement, energy, attention and behaviour in ways that can sometimes give us something to reflect on.

Working with them can bring our usual patterns into focus.

Perhaps you notice that you hold back. Perhaps you find yourself trying to control a situation. Perhaps you become aware of tension in your body, uncertainty, impatience or a desire to please.

There is no need to judge any of this or immediately work out what it means.

Instead, you are invited to notice.

What is happening right now? What do you feel? How is the horse responding? What changes when you change?

This way of working can offer a different perspective from simply thinking about a problem. By paying attention to the body, the relationship and what is happening in the moment, something that has felt difficult to understand can sometimes begin to make more sense.

The invitation is simply to explore what emerges through relationship, observation and understanding, supported by the horses, the facilitators and the natural environment around you.

At Slieve Aughty Centre, we are passionate about creating opportunities for this deeper kind of work and about sharing what horses and nature can teach us.

You might come for yoga.

You might come for the horses.

You might come because you need a break from everyday life and want to spend some time somewhere beautiful.

Whatever brings you here, you may discover something along the way that you weren’t expecting.

And sometimes the most interesting part is what happens afterwards. An experience, a feeling or a new way of seeing yourself may continue to unfold weeks or even months after you have returned home.

You don’t have to arrive with a particular goal.

Just come curious.

Available dates:

End of March to middle of April

End of October to middle of November

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Includes

• 2 Yoga Classes a week
• 1 Reiki Session
• Ground and mounted horse work
• Bareback Riding
•  2 ÉALÚ Sessions (Assisted Equine learning and understanding)
• Organic Food
• Comfortable Accommodation

Important Info

• Wellies and warm clothing advised.
• No open-toed shoes are allowed (children and adults) in the stable yard.
• We operate a “leave No Trace” policy. All litter must be discarded responsibly

Pricing

• Email For Availability & Pricing:info@slieveaughtycentre.com
• Call For Availability & Pricing: +353 (090) 974 5246