Our vision is based on understanding
Our vision is a world where all horses and their human partners interact through mutual trust, respect, and clear communication, leading to fulfilling and balanced relationships.
The success of Silent Voices Rescue is fundamentally grounded in our deep and intuitive understanding of the equine mind and the resulting rescue and rehabilitation work we are able to provide.
Many horses arriving at our barn have suffered from a variety of trauma conditions.
Their improvement largely depends on our ability to understand and care for their emotional and physical needs. This proves to be very challenging with horses who have experienced severe neglect and various levels of abuse, most of which are not known to us.
What we need to realize is, that almost all horses live in a nearly constant state of confusion regarding our attempted communication with them.
Our approach is firmly grounded in the horse’s unique understanding and emotional experience of life. Combined with a deep knowledge of equine physical and biomechanical components, our way of relating is highly effective in cases where other methods fail.
MINDFUL LEARNING — TRUST OVER CONTROL
This way of relating is fundamentally different from traditional methods. It is based on the horse’s way of understanding the world. Traditionally, humans use fear and dominance in order to train the horse, therefore ignoring the very nature of how learning takes place within the horse’s mind. A horse’s emotional landscape is not much different than that of a child.
We spend immense amounts of time and money creating physical devices to exercise control over the horse's body while neglecting to engage the horse’s mind.
We neglect to listen…
We don’t seem to have time in our busy world to wait for answers. Horses do not think or learn at this pace.
Their daily life with us is very similar to living in a foreign country with no language skill, being expected to know the correct answer to a question and facing punishment if they don’t know. This creates uncertainty, distrust and stress on both sides of the communication.
In addition, horses reside in a different time dimension altogether than we do. It is called BEING PRESENT and the time is NOW..
This is why their presence calms people with neurological challenges, resulting in more and more horses being successfully used in therapy.
In their presence, we are invited to experience the world in a deeper, more reflective way. We are invited to connect and disconnect from our own pace.
Horses demand our presence and they will always meet us there!
Many books have been sold on this subject. It continues to be the most difficult awareness to master, even when we have the perfect teacher, the horse, in our lives.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Silent Voices bases its training on LEARNING AT LIBERTY. This is not to be confused with “NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP”.
By surrendering our desire to control a horse’s physical body, we invite a new way of engaging emotionally. We validate and the result is a trusting and sensible connection.
This needs to happen at complete liberty and freedom of choice in order to truly begin a beautiful and honest conversation.
When the fear of punishment is replaced with trust, the horse becomes eager to learn and is interested in working “with” us. We can simply ask for what we want, like we would ask a trusting friend.
This is where healing begins to take place…
It is what inspired THE PHOENIX PROJECT and THE WILD ONES.
FOUNDATION TRAINING
A foundation is something we stand on, we build on, we rise from...
Our training concept provides a physical, mental and emotional foundation consisting of individualized ground work, extensive physical training and a solid positive bond with humans. When horses have been started without that foundation, their future begins to unravel in a way that leaves many of them (as well as their humans) frustrated with more and more behavioral challenges developing over time.
When we leave out the essential parts in our horse’s learning, it is no different than skipping grades in our children’s education. We will find ourselves trying to fill in these gaps for years to come. As a result, most horses live their lives in a constant state of confusion with varrying levels of fear about their existence in our world.
It is beautiful to witness such a horse gaining trust and confidence by allowing him to relate and connect with us in a way natural to him.
It provides a nearly unshakable future for any young horse and returns a confused horse to a state of comfort and emotional safety. A strong partnership can only be build on such a foundation.
We base our training on LEARNING AT COMPLETE LIBERTY. (This is not to be confused with NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP or ROUND PEN work!)
We invite you to discover a language of intuition, openness and clear communication. Allowing horses to teach us about the reflection of our own emotions we rise to meet them on an entirely new level of awareness. A place free of judgment and unfulfilling expectations. A place of inspiration. Like a good conversation.
MEET SILENT VOICES FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR DORO LOHMANN
Doro grew up in Westfalia, Germany, where her training in vaulting and formal dressage laid the foundation of her work’s integrity.
She first began working as a professional trainer in Northern California in 1996 with a focus on developing sound horses for long distance endurance racing.
Many years of studying extensively with internationally recognized experts in the fields of veterinary medicine, equine massage and physical therapy, master farriery/equine podiatry, as well as a 10 year apprenticeship in holistic equine dentistry allows her to effectively provide a solid foundation for the physical rehabilitation and healing of horses.
Her deep understanding of these factors and the relationship between a horse’s emotions and their physical body allows her to succeed where other trainers fail. Doro enjoys immense success in repairing broken lines of communication and lost partnerships between horse and human.
She sees herself as a facilitator who creates deep and meaningful relationships between a horse and human with a beautiful potential for both.
Testimonials
“Doro’s training methods include time, patience, and an understanding of the equine’s mind, body, and most importantly, spirit. She uses a training system based on rewards, free from resistance, equipment, and pain.” (Martine McGuinness, certified AEBQ (Advanced Equine Massage Therapy)
“Horses under Doro’s care develop trust and a relationship with their human companion. Doro has the eye to see the potential in a horse and the knowledge to bring that potential to the forefront.” (Wendy Albrecht and Cindy Krout (North Coast Equine Physical Therapy)
“I have found Doro to be an extremely astute observer of the mental and physical state of each and every horse in her care. Along with a very high standard of integrity, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to any undertaking in the horse world.” (Kerry J. Ridgway, DVM)
“Our rescue horse Mojo was found to be ‘crippled’ at the age of four with no realistic hope for rehabilitating him. Doro worked with him for a month and a half, teaching him to trust his body again. His physique improved immensely and he became more confident. Her groundwork, riding and equine bodywork turned him into a completely different horse. The change in such a short period of time was truly remarkable.” (Idaho State Senator Michelle Stennett)
“Doro understands the mental conditions of a horse. She is able to see the underlying reasons for many of a horse’s fears… whether he acts them out on the ground or under saddle. Through her ground work and riding, she is able to help a horse regain his sense of wellbeing and freedom from fear.” (Wendy Collins, Program Director for SETCH, handicapped riding program)
“Doro has succeeded in taking “horse whispering” to an entirely new level.” (Sharlyn Sawyer, fellow horse trainer)