Horses of Magic
ABOUT US
"I'll be your mirror in case you don't know the beauty you are."
- Lou Reed
About the program
This program is the result of research, education, many years of self-improvement, improvement and, most importantly, experience.
Horses are extremely social and sensitive creatures that give honest and immediate feedback without judgment.
Horses react to our behavior and the changes we have made internally, and rightly so
that's why they are our perfect partners in the process of self-discovery and personal development.
The special feature of personal development with horses is that the cognitive process and learning take place experientially, and the entire system is involved in the process: cognition, emotions, body, and intuition.
Such a comprehensive approach allows us to become more quickly and deeply aware of our behavioral patterns and integrate new ones with ease.
Working with horses can help you get to know yourself better and the dynamics of your relationships with others.
Horses are beautiful mirrors in which our virtues and flaws are reflected.
Interacting with them requires calm and composure, focus and clarity, self-confidence, and assertiveness, simplicity and planning in advance, mental flexibility and determination...
All these qualities or the lack thereof are clearly expressed and are practiced in simple activities with horses.
About me
Hi! My name is Maja Živanović!
I graduated in pedagogy and French language and literature at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb.
I have been in love with horses since I was a child, and even during my studies I decided that I would follow my calling and deal with horses.
I competed in show jumping and dressage riding. Since 2010, I have been teaching children and adults riding skills, and since 2016 I have been leading Project Unicorn whose goal is to spread knowledge about the real nature of horses, their psychology and needs, as well as to promote methods based on communication and understanding between man and horse.
I write a popular blog "The way to the horses”, I design and implement education and programs for children and adults, and I help athletes and recreationists overcome difficulties in the relationship or in the process of
horse rehabilitation.
I have always had a special approach to horses and even in my childhood I was able to positively influence problematic forms of behavior in horses. Since then, I've been looking for empathic training methods and have been constantly improving professionally at training courses in Croatia and abroad since 2013.
Along the way, I learned that the most important ingredient in direct work with horses is what is invisible
inside of us.
My others areas of interest from which I draw knowledge and inspiration are psychology, old techniques of self-work such as 5 elements of Chinese medicine, macrobiotics, being in nature, walking barefoot, old ceremonies like Native American sauna, conscious breathing, yoga, shiatsu massage. . .
And I am equally fascinated by new scientific research on the functioning of the brain and learning, the nervous system, the body and its memory...
In 2017 I completed an introductory shiatsu massage course for horses and dogs, 2021 Train the Trainers Program, 2022 Train the Trainers Advanced and Brain Based Learning program.
Meet our team
Lino
All our horses spend time outside with other horses and are used to working with people. They all have their own stories and personalities, each one is special, and in combination with a person, unique, unrepeatable couples are created.
We don't look at the human-horse interaction through the prism of right and wrong/good and bad, but we get information and observe the possibilities that lie before us.
In the process of contact with horses, some new views of ourselves and the world around us open up. We begin to get to know ourselves better and peel back the layers of our conditioning, changing our attitude towards ourselves and others...