From today’s perspective, this interview is far more than a personal reflection. It is an impressive contemporary document of what HorseDream and the EAHAE International Association for Horse Assisted Education have stood for over nearly three decades: reconnection, authenticity – and development beyond roles, titles, and external labels.
Anna Katharina describes her return to horses not as a linear career decision, but as an existential movement: away from constant traveling, from functioning, from external applause – and toward nature, presence, and inner alignment. It is precisely this biography that makes her words so powerful. She does not speak about horse-assisted work; she speaks from lived experience.
Particularly touching is her observation that horses “notice everything.” This simple phrase captures the essence of what has been experienced in HorseDream work for years: horses do not respond to concepts, they respond to inner attitude. They do not read résumés, they read people. And this is exactly where their transformative power lies – especially for individuals with no prior horse experience or even initial fear.
In the context of the anniversary, it becomes clear how timeless this insight is. As early as 2018 – long before today’s debates about overload, chronic stress, alienation, and the search for meaning – Anna Katharina clearly described what now concerns many leaders, teams, and individuals: the loss of orientation, of self-awareness, and of genuine communication.
Her metaphor of “stepping back from the painting” symbolizes the HorseDream methodology as a whole. Development does not arise from doing more, but from pausing. Not from self-optimization, but from self-encounter. And it is precisely here that horses work – powerful, clear, and lovingly challenging.
Her account of tears, pride, and inner uplift among participants who initially feared horses vividly demonstrates what has remained constant over the years: HorseDream is not training in the classical sense. It is an experiential space in which people reconnect with their sense of self-worth – not because they are evaluated, but because they learn to see themselves again.
In this jubilee year, the interview reminds us why HorseDream and EAHAE have grown: not through volume, but through depth. Not through promises, but through lived truth.
And perhaps that – then as now – is the true art of leadership.
👉Watch the interview on YouTube
👉Go on to Stéphane Wattinne
Anna Katharina describes her return to horses not as a linear career decision, but as an existential movement: away from constant traveling, from functioning, from external applause – and toward nature, presence, and inner alignment. It is precisely this biography that makes her words so powerful. She does not speak about horse-assisted work; she speaks from lived experience.
Particularly touching is her observation that horses “notice everything.” This simple phrase captures the essence of what has been experienced in HorseDream work for years: horses do not respond to concepts, they respond to inner attitude. They do not read résumés, they read people. And this is exactly where their transformative power lies – especially for individuals with no prior horse experience or even initial fear.
In the context of the anniversary, it becomes clear how timeless this insight is. As early as 2018 – long before today’s debates about overload, chronic stress, alienation, and the search for meaning – Anna Katharina clearly described what now concerns many leaders, teams, and individuals: the loss of orientation, of self-awareness, and of genuine communication.
Her metaphor of “stepping back from the painting” symbolizes the HorseDream methodology as a whole. Development does not arise from doing more, but from pausing. Not from self-optimization, but from self-encounter. And it is precisely here that horses work – powerful, clear, and lovingly challenging.
Her account of tears, pride, and inner uplift among participants who initially feared horses vividly demonstrates what has remained constant over the years: HorseDream is not training in the classical sense. It is an experiential space in which people reconnect with their sense of self-worth – not because they are evaluated, but because they learn to see themselves again.
In this jubilee year, the interview reminds us why HorseDream and EAHAE have grown: not through volume, but through depth. Not through promises, but through lived truth.
And perhaps that – then as now – is the true art of leadership.
👉Watch the interview on YouTube
👉Go on to Stéphane Wattinne
🎥 Discover all interviews in the anniversary playlist
👉on YouTube
👉Read ChatGPT's Summary on the interviews
👉on YouTube
👉Read ChatGPT's Summary on the interviews