Casa La Siesta`s Natural Horsemanship Rehabilitation Centre

Welcome to Casa La Siesta's Natural Horsemanship Rehabilitation Centre!
Our Natural Horsemanship Rehabilitation Centre first came about in 2010 following the rescue of our
first horse Eddy, pictured above. At five years old he had been abandoned in the fields about five miles
away from the hotel and was close to death, having been left without food and water. Unfortunately
many of the other horses in his herd didn't survive.
Four years on Eddy is now a completely different horse! He is a happy confident boy, leader of the
current herd we have here at CLS, and visually a far cry from his previous malnourished state. He is
extremely affectionate, our most relaxed and stable horse, and at times even too solid as he can be very
stubborn about moving when asked at times! He needs to truly believe you are capable of being a
leader if he is to follow you somewhere when the pull of food in another direction is more attractive!
Eddy is going to make a great therapy horse due to his placid nature and not being phased by new
situations or different people.
Whilst Eddy made a slow but progressive recovery in 2010, we were soon bombarded by countless
examples of neglect and began to develop the idea of creating a small refuge for some of the area's
most vulnerable horses, ponies and donkeys. Guests became actively involved in this thought process
and were clearly incredibly passionate about assisting in whatever way they could. We continue to be
extremely grateful for any ongoing support received in developing and maintaining the project, from a
helping hand down at the stables, to donations or sponsorship of one of our equines.
bonita’s damaged nose caused by the use of a metal noseband with little teethes
The sustainability and financial viability of this project has been a critical issue to solve, as since the
rescue of Eddy, Casa La Siesta has invested more than 30,000 euros of the hotel´s profits in the
adoption and upkeep of these exceptional animals. Over the last couple of years there have been some
major infrastructure investments; the stables have been reformed, a new 40m x 20m sand school and a
new round pen for natural horsemanship activities has been erected.
Due to resources we are unable to house more than four or five at a time, however up until now ten
horses and ponies and one donkey have come through Casa La Siesta's gates!
Current CLS Horse Program
We are working with the horses using the principles of Natural Horsemanship in order to restore
confidence and trust in themselves and humans. Their prior experiences of abuse and neglect left them
untrusting of humans and physically and emotionally in poor condition.
A Natural Horsemanship approach differs from traditional methods, which have always used force and
fear to dominate horses. Natural Horsemanship methods hold the horse's best interests at the centre,
and are based on connecting with horses in a natural way, using communication skills derived from the
understanding of horse psychology, their fears, how horses see the world and communicate together.
Whether training our horses, riding, or merely interacting with them on the ground, we mirror there
always being one leader in the herd. This method involves taking leadership when with our horses,
using honest, clear and firm communication that the horse is able to understand. This understanding,
mutual trust and respect, and effective communication can lead us to achieving unity and a softness
from our horses, and build on our own horsemanship abilities.
“If your horse says, "No", you either asked the wrong question, or asked the question wrong.”(Pat Parelli)
Local Community projects
One of our current goals is to set up therapeutic sessions with some of the horses and vulnerable
service users from the local area, as we feel it is important to give something back to our local
community, in addition to assisting their neediest horses.
We have set up a special project with the local Alzheimer´s organization in Vejer. Horses are known of
their abilities to have a calming effect on Alzheimer patients as they aren’t judgemental and just “be in
the moment”. Therefore it’s very beneficial to these patients. We are planning to start this project in
2015 when hopefully more funds will be available from Alzheimer association side to make the
sessions possible. All sessions are done against costprice.
This year in August and September we run a special childrens program at CLS for local and foreign
children about the caretaking of horses and their special needs. The Spanish culture is known for their
indifference and mistreating of horses and other animals. In this way we want to contribute to create
awareness to young people about the bad situations horses are being held/trained in Spain. The children
will receive the courses in English to make it also beneficial for their knowledge of a foreign language.
Sultan in malnourished state, May 2013
How you can be involved?
The program of work with the horses at the refuge is rooted in assisting the horses to regain their self
confidence and recover their physical and emotional well-being, in order to return each to their rightful
and former glory. Guests at Casa La Siesta are an essential part of this work, and are invited to join us
in the daily program we run with the horses.
1. Visit the stables
Just come down to see the horses and find out what we are doing. Horses are social animals and often
enjoy interaction with humans, particularly a nice scratch or some carrots from the kitchen!
2. Have a lesson/ follow a course in Natural Horsemanship, classical dressage, equine therapy
or come hacking out with us
Detailed descriptions about what we offer are you can find on the next page
3. Donation
We rely on the financial donations and sponsorship from our guests in order to be able to cover costs to
take new horses in and to maintain them. Any donation is very welcome, whether it is a one off or
sponsoring one of our horses for a week or more.
shocking emergency call in 2014. Both hind legs in horrible state.
4. Adopt a Horse
Our ability to rescue more horses is space dependent and therefore an essential part of our initiative is
to rehabilitate and re-home our horses, subject to an assessment of the new home and owners. Clients
that wish to adopt but are unable to give the horse a home are also able to adopt one of our horses but
keep him here at Casa La Siesta.
Did you know?
That depending on the season and the horse the costs can vary, however to feed a normal horse (no diet
requirements) in summer on average cost around 75 euro a month. In the winter you have to add
approx 75 euro per month extra for bedding in the stables. That means that we have an average costs
per horse in summer of 75 euro and in winter of 150 euro per horse. These costs are excluding the
salary of the caretakers/trainers who have to spend a minimum time of 2 hours for daily care (cleaning,
feeding, checking on the horse (no training/rehabilitation). Extra costs are: regular farrier (every 8
weeks 30 euro p.h.) and vet fees, as well as any medication each horse may require.
No profits have ever been made from the horses and any donations made go directly to the horses´
upkeep and welfare.
What we offer:
1. Natural Horsemanship (courses 2 to 4 days / sessions 1 hour)
Natural horsemanship is based on communication with horses through bodylanguage and energy
in the most understandable way for the horse. These sessions are foremost groundwork and
learning you how to handle a horse in the most natural wway with mutual respect, leaving
behind the traditional way people are used to treat horses. Such a training is key to building a
horse´s confidence, improving their physical and mental condition and teaching the horse how to
move his feet.
These sessions are a fantastic way for guests (beginners & experienced) to not only contribute to
the horses development, but are also a great opportunity for learning psychological aspects of
horse behaviors and to become more aware of our own expression and body language. Horses
are often said to mirror the true person in front of them, as they see straight through the mask
that we humans have learnt to wear, covering up what is going on inside us. The sessions create
a unique environment of mutual learning and development of leadership skills built on trust,
understanding and effective communication. Sessions are tailored to guests´ abilities and
experience, including those who have a fear or anxiety of horses. Sessions with those who share
such anxieties assist in not only overcoming such fears but transfer into tools for daily life
challenges through getting in touch with your core strength and learning to lead.
2. Equine therapy
Equine therapy can offer children and adults a unique opportunity to improve their mental and
emotional well-being by working with the natural behaviour of horses alongside a specifically
designed therapeutic program. Horses naturally respond to the emotional issues people bring to
sessions, issues which are often displayed in their interactions with the horses. This gives the
therapist further insight into an individual's difficulties and creates an environment where the horses
can then support both the client and therapist in working towards change. There is a certain power
behind this kind of therapy in bringing up the issues as quickly as it does. Horses mirror what
people are feeling and in turn clients appear more willing to take feedback from a horse. Clients
often feel a real sense of positivity following sessions, that is not always the case with traditional
clinical therapy. Equine therapy will be given by Nicky.
3. Riding (hacking out 1 - 3 hours, depending on ride)
We currently have horses that cater for all riding abilities except for complete beginners. Sessions start
with learning how to take the ground skills into the saddle, riding using a natural horsemanship
approach. Clients learn the basic skills in the sand school and when the rider is confident enough we
are able to go out for a hack in the local countryside. (maximum 2 riders)
4. Classical dressage in the sand school (45 min. session)
Learning how to communicate with the horse in a harmonic way in the saddle. Our horses are not
advanced in the exercises but the basics are the same for the rider. How do I get my horse to trust me?
What do I need to do to learn to create an open learning environment instead of using force. These
sessions are for beginners to experienced riders. Classical dressage will be given by Elske
Lee Thornley, founder of the CLS rehabilitation centre, with Mari
Passionate for the good cause!
Any enquiries regarding getting involved with the horses during your stay, joining a natural
horsemanship session or riding, please speak to any member of our team. For specific questions about
courses, donation & adoption please speak to Nicky or Elske [email protected] /
[email protected].
Your trainers
Nicky has a post-grad in Terapias Ecuestres (equine therapies) from UPO university in Seville and
previously worked as a social worker in London for a number of years. Her interest has been to join
her experience and passion for horses with an alternative but effective and motivational form of therapy
for vulnerable groups of people who have additional social and physical needs. These groups could
range from children with disabilities, young people at risk of social exclusion, people with mental
health problems or addictions.
Alongside the focus on therapy for humans, Nicky is passionate about her work with horses in need
and a Natural Horsemanship approach to achieve a better relationship and happier healthier horses.
She has worked with horses for many years in a number of different settings, from stables in London,
to ranches in Argentina and Greece, where she first experienced the alternative to traditional equestrian
settings. Her latter years have been spent working in more natural environments with horses and upon
arriving in Spain some years ago she trained with Tracy James in Malaga, a truly inspirational woman
who has developed her methods over decades with some of the most amazing horsemen/women in the
world, such as Monty Roberts, Mark Rashid, and Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling.
Casa La Siesta´s manager Elske has a less active part in the horse project but has previous professional
experience as a trainer/manager/rider/presenter in several stables throughout Europe. 18 years ago
when Natural Horsemanship was still very new in Europe, she got interested and followed a number of
clinics from international well-known trainers Pat Parelli, Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling, Monty Roberts
and other commercially not-known but very interesting international horsemen. Although she
specialized afterwards in Classical Dressage, Natural Horsemanship is still integrated in her daily
handling of horses. She has picked good elements out of these different training methods and created
one of her own. The main focus of classical dressage is that horse and rider learn to communicate in
harmony. As riding horses is not natural at all the most important thing for her is that we as human
beings learn to respect the horse and create an equal relationship and learning environment. Elske is
available for lessons/courses throughout Nicky’s leave or on request.
The stories of the horses that came through CLS
Everything started with Eddy, his story you can read on page 1. He found his happy ending @ CLS!
Following Eddy's arrival we rescued two lovely horses, Bailey and Jethro, who were subsequently
rehomed by a family in the UK and continue to thrive with them. (no hhoto)
Following Bailey and Jethro we took in Buddy, a local donkey who was totally abandoned and needed
a home urgently. We cared for him for over a year until the donkey sanctuary in Extremadura offered
to take him and re-home him.
Following Buddy we came across two little ponies, Toffy and Latte. Both were still with their owner
but were severely neglected and extremely malnourished. Latte was re-homed by a family in Malaga
and Toffy has remained with us at CLS and is doing well.
Toffy had previously been ridden and had experience of pulling a carriage, however we have started
afresh with him in order to avoid any confrontation with bad memories. He can be a little suspicious
towards humans, sometimes preferring to avoid closer contact with our species. He continues to
benefit from sessions with gentle and respectful communication where he can enjoy the activities
carried out with him. He is a very alert and intelligent pony with a playful character, therefore
requiring lots of variety in sessions to make them interesting and enjoyable for him. Toffy got rehomed together with Sultan at the end of 2014 and has moved to England to be with one of our former
hotel guests who has a passion to rescue horses.
Toffy enjoying some watermelon!!!!
In 2011 we came across an abandoned local horse, Imran, with a severe injury to his fetlock, which
caused a heavy hoof split. He was used for cattle herding but his injury had made him useless for work
and he was left by his owners. Imran was extremely thin and full of fear towards people when he
arrived at Casa La Siesta, however over the months and years he gained confidence and enjoys being
around people. A lot of money was spent on special hoof care and shoeing to keep him comfortable,
with success, allowing him to be ridden again and participate in the round pen sessions; however
always respecting his limits and weak hoof. He was rehomed in 2013 and is now well cared for by an
experienced German lady in Chiclana, along with her other two horses.
Imran
The next equine to come through our gates was a miniature horse we named Lucy. She was soon rehomed by a local family with children in nearby town Conil de la Frontera.
No photo
At the beginning of 2013 we were able to take in Sultan, who came to us via ARCH, horse refuge in
Malaga. He had been shut in a stables for around ten years and having hardly been outside he arrived
in a very unstable condition, clearly traumatized by his experiences. For some time he suffered from
panic attacks, and had a form of separation anxiety, becoming distressed when the other horses were
taken elsewhere. Over time, giving him the space to just enjoy being a horse in a herd with minimal
pressure, he has come a long way and is a much happier and more confident horse. He has started to
show a quirky side to his personality, being the most playful member of the herd, as he persistently
asks for the others (and at times humans) to play with him when there is a rubber tyre or other object to
pick up and throw! Sultan has been rehomed at the end of 2014 by an experienced horse woman /
former hotelguest and is now living in England together with Toffee and an ex-race horse (also
rescued).
Sultan
In 2013 we also took in a beautiful mare Lluvia, who we picked up from ARCH and had placed locally,
however her new owner was temporarily unable to care for her so we fostered her over the summer.
She is a beautiful mare who straight away took to a natural horsemanship approach from humans after
her experience of traditional methods, and was a keen and willing learner when working on the ground
or in the saddle.
Lluvia
Horses @ Casa la Siesta
Except from Eddy who is here from the start, we have two beautiful mares, who we´ve taken in 2014.
Eddy
Mari is a bay mare born in 2010 bay mare who came from a loving home in Medina Sidonia and is well
grounded with a sweet gentle character, reflective of her experiences from her previous owners. They
were unable to keep her and there was the concern that if we didn´t take her she might end up in the
wrong hands. Though her owner took really good care of Mari, her hooves were shoed by an
unprofessional blacksmith which caused her a little deformation in her front hooves. Like the others we
aim to get her fully barefoot and our blacksmith expects that within half a year her feet will be normal
again and she hasn´t suffered any damage.
Mari has grown up without other horses and therefore with no social contact. The first time we put her
together with Bonita she was searching for help from us as she didn´t know how to cope with the
situation. She didn´t want to be near the other horse, however after 3 days she calmed down, accepted
the situation and finally is enjoying being with her species. Mari is a wonderful horse to work with on
the ground and in the saddle as she is calm and confident, perfect for riders who have little or no
experience. She can be a little bit stubborn like Eddy but always remains sweet.
Mari
We rescued Bonita around the same time period as Mari. Bonita is a white mare, born in 2000, who
was for sale and we felt unable to walk away from. She had cuts at the sides of her mouth and terrible
injuries to her nose (see photo on page 2), due to aggressive use of a heavy bit and a Serreton (a
traditional bridle where the nose band is made of metal with sharp teeth along it, which dig into the
nose as a form of control). The wounds are healing nicely, although she is likely to be left with the
scars on her nose. Her eyes were lifeless, clearly a horse that was emotionally shut down when we met
her, so we are looking forward to her discovering the joy in life and the freedom of just being a horse
with the rest of our herd. We will also work with her around regaining confidence in humans, showing
her that we will now listen to her and treat her fairly and with respect. Despite her experiences of
humans she is clearly very experienced with being ridden and therefore a confident well-grounded lead
mare when going out for a ride for all types of riders. She has a fast pace, is very responsive and suits a
natural horsemanship approach well, listening to your body language and verbal commands.
Bonita