About Denyse DelDotto
I was 45 years old when faced with being an empty nester. All my life I was a caregiver, focused on the well-being of everyone around me, and now there was no one to take care of but me. I started to ask questions about who I was and what did I want to do for the rest of my life. It’s been a 17-year journey of self-exploration and discovery, reading books, taking classes and just seeing where it all was going to lead.
Then an opportunity presented itself. I had a chance to go to Costa Rica to participate in an Equine Facilitated Workshop with Danielle MacKinnon. I didn’t hesitate to send in my deposit. I have no explanation as to why I signed up. I had no experience with horses; I wouldn’t know anyone, I’d probably be the oldest person there, I was overweight, and had no idea what to expect, but I knew I was supposed to be there.
Titan was my horse for the week. One particular exercise where I was supposed to lead Titan in series of activities in walking, trotting, and cantering around the ring, left me very frustrated and at my wits ends. I worked with him for what seemed like forever to get him to canter, while he played with my emotions and refused to do as I asked. He was mirroring how I so often felt. I felt unheard and ignored in life as I did in that ring with Titan. Eventually, Titan did canter, but not before the frustration came to the surface and I was able to address a lifetime of feeling frustrated and unheard. The first step in healing is acknowledgement. The intuition of all the horses played a considerable role in the week’s exercises. Each horse had his agenda as to what needed to be taught. Buried emotions rose to the surface to be dealt with, and we all felt a little lighter when it was time to leave. I learned that all animals know more about us than we think we do. They are here to teach us about ourselves, and I’m here to pass on those messages. I’m on another journey, but this time I’d like to bring you along to connect, communicate and discover with me.