The Open Heart Story

Amanda-Jayne “Kathryn” Hofstetter is an Equine Trauma Specialist, Holistic Horsemanship Mentor, Certified Usui and Equine Reiki practitioner and Master Teacher, Equine Herbalist, and Shadow Work Doula with over a decade of academic education and professional experience. Kathryn is also a para-equestrian, dedicated to using her voice to raise awareness about invisible disabilities in the equine industry.

Kathryn was first introduced to horses when she was just five months old, and was immersed fully into the life of a horsewoman before she was walking or talking, even riding for the first time as an infant in a baby bjorn. During this time, Kathryn was recovering from having Repair of Tetralogy of Fallot at just a month and a half old, the open heart surgery that inspired the name of Kathryn's business. She  would then go on to have cranial reconstructive surgery at six months old. Throughout all of this early childhood trauma, horses were there beside her as healers and guides. At five years old Kathryn began riding and soon noticed the injustice of the environment she was learning in. After witnessing multiple horses die from deliberate abuse she knew she needed to learn how to do things differently. From the first time she watched her mentor work with horses at Liberty, she was hooked. At that time Kathryn began her journey restarting abused rescue horses. When her mother experienced multiple major riding accidents and was left with not only injuries but severe fear and trauma, Kathryn knew she had to make a difference not just for the horses, but for people as well. Everything she has done since then has been in service of creating what she has come to call Open Heart Horsemanship. Kathryn's equine mentorship methods are rooted in equine psychology and bio-mechanics. As a mentor for her human students, Kathryn strives to foster self-sufficiency and empowerment for students of all learning styles. She believes that to understand how the horse learns and thinks, we must first identify our own learning styles. After receiving an academic education in equine anatomy and bio-mechanics, Kathryn went on to experience a hands-on education in the equine veterinary field, intending to then move forward into equine bodywork. However as her education in the bodywork field continued, she noticed what she felt to be a distinct opposition to the philosophies she cultivated in her horsemanship. When covering the subject of how to proceed when the horse expresses a desire not be touched or gives a clear "no", Kathryn was told to take action such as tying the horse's head away from her so it couldn't bite and continue to apply pressure. she felt that if her beliefs in her horsemanship were rooted in encouraging the horse to have autonomy over its body and empowering the horse's self expression, she could not turn her back on those beliefs when searching for a new way to help horses heal. Thus Equine Reiki was born.  Kathryn believes that as human beings, we are students of the horse, thus we can all grow and learn from the horse, as soon as we begin to listen.