STARR HORSE RETREATS​
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Horse Healing Retreats
And Beyond the Saddle Holistic Clicker Training Program
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Our retreats teach holistic healing modalities surrounding mindful living and respecting the planet. We learn about equine behavior and psychology, and how those concepts can be applied to our mental and emotional skills. We bring the medicine of nature back to the people.
​​​​Horse Healing Retreat
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Our three-night Horse Healing Retreat allows guests to work closely with the horses' shamanic abilities to rewrite their narratives, clear blockages, and experience ancillary healing modalities. In addition to equine interaction, we offer daily yoga, a traditional Mayan sweat lodge, sound healing, a cacao ceremony, and a flower bath for energetic integration.
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At Starr Horse Retreats, we honor the horse spirit and ask permission for the experience of getting on the backs of horses, and we always express gratitude for the privilege. Our sanctuary upholds the horse as healer, creating space for them to share their medicine and awaken the human heart.
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Beyond the Saddle: 30-Day Holistic Clicker Training Program​​
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Beyond the Saddle is not just a training — it’s a transformation.
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This four-week, hands-on program is rooted in the art of holistic clicker training, where positive reinforcement replaces pressure, and communication is based on mutual trust. Here, we don’t dominate horses — we listen to them. We co-create a learning space where humans unlearn old paradigms, and horses are empowered to show up as partners, not tools.
When horses are no longer in survival mode — when they have freedom, safety, and connection — they return to their natural role as healers. And it’s in this state that real magic happens. Our participants often come to teach the horses… but discover the horses are teaching them.
Melinda Starr
Melinda Starr, owner and founder of Starr Horse Retreats, is dedicated to equine-assisted healing and education using positive reinforcement (R+) ridership techniques. She works in stewardship with the horses advocating for their needs and care and works with humans through the horses.
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"I grew up in rural Illinois, where we rode barefoot and bareback all over the country roads and into small towns. That culture differs from equestrian barns, which are typical for competitive sports. I've heard many stories from kids who wanted to be with horses in these barns and were told to whip the horses harder, show them who the boss was, use their spurs, etc. It breaks the hearts of the young riders as well as the horse. So, we aim to show people that there is a different way to be with horses — in both training and healing capacities."
Melinda opens a safe container with the horses to help people heal genetic memories of trauma and fear encoded deep in their ancestral history. She is driven to build a new paradigm that honors Mother Earth and all of her inhabitants.
Mission Statement
Starr Horse Retreats is a sacred sanctuary where horse enthusiasts, starseeds, and awakened individuals from all walks of life come together to open to their divine purpose, rediscover their soul family, and embrace their unique gifts.
Guided by the celestial wisdom of horses—sacred healers, shamans, and profound mirrors of higher consciousness—we provide transformative healing retreats, holistic clicker training programs, and equine-assisted education. Our bitless approach to training and ridership honors the innate needs of horses and their ability to guide humans toward trust, forgiveness, and emotional intelligence.
We create a nurturing space for deep healing and spiritual growth through innovative modalities such as free liberty meditation, sound healing, sacred Temazcal, yoga, intuitive animal communication, Reiki, constellation exercises, and flower or ice baths. Together, we explore the wisdom of horses as partners in awakening consciousness and healing humanity.
At Starr Horse Retreats, co-creation is our way of being. We cultivate a community and movement rooted in love, harmony, and infinite possibilities, weaving a new paradigm for humanity and Gaia. By empowering participants to embrace their full potential, healing ripples out to the collective, extending far beyond our sanctuary and creating a brighter future for all.
Meet the Horse Teachers
Our teachers and healers are the horses themselves. Our herd of 17 equines came to Starr Horse Retreats to help change the world during this transition of the ages. They honor their role and look forward to working with our Holistic Clicker Training Program and Horse Healing Retreats participants.
Meet the Staff
Paula Casella
Dr. Paula Casella is a transpersonal psychologist, facilitator, and conscious business consultant with over 30 years of global experience. Raised across three continents, she brings a multicultural sensitivity and fluency in English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian. Her work blends transpersonal psychology, organizational development, and soul-centered coaching to guide individuals and groups through transformation with compassion and clarity. A graduate of the Beyond the Saddle Holistic Clicker Training Program and holder of an international certification in Educación Asistida por Caballos, Sanar Con Caballos, Paula now walks the healing path with horses, weaving sacred partnership and planetary awakening into all she does.
Angelene Hall
Angelene Hall is a gifted healer, transformational coach, and graduate of the Whole Horse, Whole Human Certification Program. Before stepping into her path as a facilitator of healing, Angelene spent over two decades capturing love and beauty as a professional wedding photographer, where she refined her intuitive eye and deepened her reverence for human connection. She is board-certified by the Association of Integrative Psychology and a Master Practitioner of NLP, Hypnosis, and Mental & Emotional Release®, as well as a certified Usui Holy Fire Reiki Master and devoted student of HUNA. Angelene now blends sound healing, cacao ceremony, energy medicine, and coaching into powerful journeys of transformation, supporting others in releasing limiting patterns, activating vitality, and reconnecting with the joy and wisdom of the heart.
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