Steady Self School × The Horse Project Santa Barbara
Meditation with Horses
In the company of horses
A fundraiser for The Horse Project Santa Barbara
A small-group gathering for up to 25 people, bringing attention practice into the quiet, responsive company of rescued horses. The event supports their ongoing care and practical needs.
Saturday, September 12, 2026. Time, investment, and registration will be added once confirmed.
- Date
- Saturday, September 12, 2026
- Time
- To be confirmed
- Location
- Santa Barbara foothills · about 10 minutes from downtown · exact address provided with registration
- Capacity
- 25 participants
- Investment
- To be confirmed
Your guide
Julia Dyer is the founder of Steady Self School, a meditation teacher, and a nervous system educator. She has practiced in the Sri Vidya lineage of classical Tantra for over a decade. Her work treats attention as a practiced capacity for remaining present in relationship—with ourselves, with other people, and, in this afternoon, with horses.
The invitation
Steadiness is something we practice in relationship.
Most of us meet ourselves differently when another living being is near. We speed up, hold back, reach, brace, or try to manage the encounter before it has had time to unfold.
Horses make that movement easier to notice. Their communication is immediate and largely nonverbal. In their company, attention becomes less abstract: you can notice where you are, how you approach, and what changes when you stop forcing the next moment.
This gathering brings Steady Self School’s attention and nervous-system practice into a ground-based experience with rescued horses at The Horse Project. There is no riding, and no previous experience is required.
The gathering is also a fundraiser. Participation helps support the ongoing care and practical needs of the rescued horses who make this work possible.
“The quiet lesson horses keep offering us is presence.”— Elaine Duncan
The experience
A gathering with room to notice.
The experience moves from orientation into guided practice, facilitated time with the horses, and a brief close—held at a pace that leaves room for the horses and the people present.
Settle into attention
Begin with a short ranch and safety orientation, meet the horses, and arrive in your own attention.
Movement and meditation
Julia leads a brief movement, meditation, and body-awareness practice in the presence of the herd.
Practice in relationship
Linda facilitates ground-based time with the horses—approaching, pausing, noticing, and returning to attention as the encounter changes.
Closing circle
Julia guides the group through a closing reflection before everyone leaves the ranch.
Curiosity is enough experience to bring.
The experience is open to anyone curious about how steadiness changes in relationship—especially people who spend much of ordinary life managing the room, monitoring others, or moving faster than their own attention. No previous experience with horses, yoga, or meditation is necessary. No riding is involved.
Another living being changes the practice. Attention has somewhere real to return to.
The collaboration
People helping horses. Horses helping people.
The Horse Project rehabilitates, retrains, and rehomes rescued horses, while providing sanctuary for horses who need it. Its work also creates respectful ways for people to learn in relationship with the herd.
This fundraiser brings that experience into conversation with Steady Self School’s work: attention, body awareness, and the capacity to stay present without taking over the encounter—while helping sustain the horses’ care.
Learn about The Horse ProjectQuestions
Before you come to the ranch.
The experience, fundraiser, and participation requirements are already clear. The remaining practical details will be added when registration opens.
How is this different from another meditation experience?
You are practicing in relationship with another animal. The horses are not scenery around the meditation; they are teachers, helpers, and guides within the experience.
A horse moves, responds, approaches, pauses, and redirects its attention. Your practice therefore cannot become a fixed performance of stillness. It asks you to keep noticing what is happening and to return to your own attention, continuously, while remaining in relationship with another living being.
What does the fundraiser support?
The event supports the ongoing care and practical needs of the rescued horses at The Horse Project Santa Barbara. The full registration details will explain the fundraiser plainly when enrollment opens.
Do I need experience with horses, yoga, or meditation?
No. The experience is designed for people with no previous experience in any of the three. Instructions and context will be offered as part of the event.
Will we be riding?
No. The experience takes place with the horses from the ground.
What should I wear, and how will arrival work?
Wear comfortable clothing you can move in and do not mind getting dusty, along with sturdy, closed-toe shoes. Parking and arrival instructions will be included with the full event details before registration opens.
Is this therapy?
No. This is a contemplative educational experience combining attention practice with facilitated, ground-based time with horses. It is not psychotherapy, medical care, or crisis support.
Support the horses
Spend time in their company.
Saturday, September 12, 2026 is confirmed. Participation will support the rescued horses; time, investment, and registration will be added together once finalized.
Learn more about The Horse Project Small-group experience · 25 participants