Equine Blooming

Equine Blooming Hello, my name is Katie-
I am passionate about horses, mental health, and how the 2 combine!

I think about my body a lot. Like, a LOT. How it looks, how it feels, what my sensations are, what it needs, what it wan...
07/29/2025

I think about my body a lot.

Like, a LOT. How it looks, how it feels, what my sensations are, what it needs, what it wants… she occupies a rather large portion of my brain.

& quite frankly- she has a lot of power over me. She stops me when she’s sick, wakes me up when she’s rested, sits me down when she’s tired.

Thinking about my body allows me to clothe her appropriately. Allows me to tend to her bug bites & bruises.

But what that doesn’t mean is that I make decisions for her based on how I feel ABOUT her.

Those decisions are made based on the messages she sends me- not how I once might have interrupted them.

They are sacred, my holy space. The place of connection between my brain that powers my life & the body that lets me live it.

I will always think about her, her wants, needs, desires.

But never again will I betray her trust. She is my responsibility, & I wear her with pride 💛

The idea that an ED diagnosis is a life long sentence crippled me- for a very long time. I was ✨convinced✨ there was no ...
07/07/2025

The idea that an ED diagnosis is a life long sentence crippled me- for a very long time.

I was ✨convinced✨ there was no point in really recovering, if that meant I was just going to relapse again.

So for a long time, that’s what I did.

I managed, I coped, I tried. & as a mentor of mine says “managing is an approximation of regulation.” So for those years I hold no shame. I did the best I could, my supports did the best they could.

But eventually it snapped. There wasn’t going to be a sentence uttered in nativity hanging over my head for the rest of my life. Thanks to the incredible example of & other fully recovered individuals I started down a different path.

I now consider myself fully recovered. My body is my own, food holds no power over me. That’s not to say there aren’t difficulties, that my life is perfect- but I have put those things back in their proper place, away from the control they once held over me.

A journey I am very, very grateful for 🤍 a journey I hope to continue to use to raise awareness- it’s not a lifelong sentence, it’s not the end. It’s the chance to heal, to live a fuller life than you ever imagined.

{side note- the pic on the bottom left of the second slide cracks me up. My dad took that after I was discharged from treatment at one point. Very “last day of school!” But make it psych ward 😂}

I sit down to write & my mind goes blank. I sit down to write & I cry. The tears flow & they flow, a cascade from my hea...
05/21/2025

I sit down to write & my mind goes blank. I sit down to write & I cry. The tears flow & they flow, a cascade from my heart to the world.

She left behind a girl. A girl so desperately in love with horses she will spend the rest of her life choosing them. A little girl who wanted nothing in the world so much as her own magical unicorn.

She has left me, but she hasn’t. Tattooed on my heart, in every breath I breathe.

And she left behind Faye. A bright star, a crescent moon 🌙. The balm to my soul & the hope for the future.

Together we are grieving. Together we are wishing. Together we are 💛

I had a dream last night. I had a dream that I picked you up, & we went for strawberry ice cream together 🍓 It was a bea...
08/01/2024

I had a dream last night. I had a dream that I picked you up, & we went for strawberry ice cream together 🍓

It was a beautiful dream, & I haven’t been able to shake it all day.

I’ve lost two friends in my life in violent ways, two friends whose deaths I found out about via social media posts.

That’s not something I would wish on anyone, ever.

I worry about most of the people in my life, but some more than others. The ones I can’t see in person. The ones I can’t touch, I can’t hold. & especially the ones I know are vulnerable.

But of all my friends I think I worry about you the most. The grief of not being able to verify if you’re ok, if you’re still fighting- it’s a monster in my heart.

But the joy you have brought me, the comfort, laughs, & inside jokes- I will gladly host this monster to have known your friendship.

As I’ve grown I’ve realized that most relationships {all?} are impermanent in some way. They change, evolve, end. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not. & while my heart wants to rail against this; hold you all as close to me as I can forevermore, I can not. So instead I say this-

I love you, I will always love you. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing- I love you 🤍 🍃

She {swipe} is pretty excited about corn dogs & lemonade at the fair 🍋 🌽 {no corn dog emoji??} Throw a picture of younge...
07/24/2024

She {swipe} is pretty excited about corn dogs & lemonade at the fair 🍋 🌽 {no corn dog emoji??}

Throw a picture of younger you up on the fridge… it helps 🤍

& swipe all the way to the end to see Ben & I realize that we might be too old for fair rides 🎠 🎡🎢 I’ve always had a sensitive stomach but Y I K E S

As always, my dms are open for accountability, for support, for encouragement. You got this 💛

Here’s a picture of me & my “bonus mom”, the woman who has enabled & encouraged my passion for horses over the last deca...
07/18/2024

Here’s a picture of me & my “bonus mom”, the woman who has enabled & encouraged my passion for horses over the last decade.

We’re heading out to take the horses on a trail ride, & couldn’t help but laugh over the height difference in the horses, & our own height difference.

I’m 5’10”, a height that often felt daunting & overwhelming for me. I’m taller than my husband, my mother, my sister, the majority of my friends {except you… you know who you are 💜}… a fun comparison rabbit hole that I’ve fallen down too many times.

The truth is, my body takes up space. I’ve dedicated a lot of time & energy trying to get it to take up LESS space, demanding it be less. & for a while it did- but then my life took up less space.

It shrunk, & I lost this horse, this smile, this joy.

Turns out taking up less space isn’t really that great.

What is great?

Taking up a lot of space. Riding a freaking warhorse on the trails with one of the most important people in your life.

Standing tall, being alive… it takes guts but man oh man, it’s pretty cool.

Shout out to Val & Tesoro, you guys have great butts 🍑

🤍🪴hello lovely people! Been feeling the urge to get back online & share some more things… highs include…. 🌱 nature walks...
07/16/2024

🤍🪴
hello lovely people! Been feeling the urge to get back online & share some more things…
highs include….
🌱 nature walks with the cutest 2 year old ever
🦄 my family bringing me back this epic window cling from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
⚔️ embracing my inner absolute NERD while helping a friend move {I’ve always wanted to be a centurion}
🍞 learning to cook some pretty cool things!
places for growth include…
🛌 the return of my somewhat chronic insomnia {please make it stop 😭}
🦆 insurance mandated therapist switch {still really struggling with this one.. I’ve had the same therapist for 6 years}
👯‍♀️ missing my little sister like another limb

That’s pretty much it! Recovery is still trucking along, life is good these days 🤍🍦 grateful for all the steps along the way.

Things are changing & I am feeling called back to instagram and social media. To share more, to educate people. To provi...
05/19/2024

Things are changing & I am feeling called back to instagram and social media. To share more, to educate people. To provide hope, all of the things that this space has given me. But also to advocate & speak up against the horrible lies I hear and the harm being done by diet & wellness culture. Things are changing- and I’m not scared, I’m ready to do something about it.

I’m done suffering - but I’m also done letting others suffer.

100 days 🤍 Today marks 100 days since the last time I engaged with my most destructive behavior, purging. It’s not somet...
02/10/2024

100 days 🤍
Today marks 100 days since the last time I engaged with my most destructive behavior, purging. It’s not something I walk about much, but a goal of mine for 2024 is to share with authenticity so here goes.

For the last… 8 years purging had been an intensive & overwhelming part of my daily reality. I have scars on the side of my face from, it has seeped into my relationships, it has fundamentally changed parts of my body. But even with all of the negative & often painful side effects, it’s not something I have ever really thought I could put behind me.

It sounds insane, I know, but there are real & addictive components to purging that make it VERY challenging to stop. A doctor once explained for me that purging actually releases a hormone called vasopressin, which can continue to perpetuate the addictive nature of this behavior.

I’ve tried many times to stop, but always struggled. 100 days marks my second ever 3 digit streak & im really freaking proud of that. It’s not full recovery, it’s not been pretty, but I’ve done it 🤍

I don’t often tend to share the lows on here, choosing instead to focus on wins & whatnot. In some ways I prefer this but it’s not fair or realistic. Moving forward I would love for this to be more of a space of advocacy & truth, so I suppose that starts now. 100 days clean from purging, when hours used to feel too long. That’s pretty dang cool.

I wish everyone would take the time to listen to this interview. The weight stigma & ideas we as a society have adopted ...
02/01/2024

I wish everyone would take the time to listen to this interview. The weight stigma & ideas we as a society have adopted around weight & size is RIDICULOUS. & it does SO MUCH harm.

Everybody has a natural set point, a weight at which it very happily sits. It is VERY hard to get your body outside of its set point. There are around 9 factors that influence your weight, only 2 of those are food and exercise. Other things like hormones, sleep, genetics, etc. have equal input on your weight & size as well.

This means that we could all eat the EXACT same thing & so the EXACT same works outs… & we would all look increddddibly difficult. There is variety in human bodies! Bodies look different! This is ok!

Just because someone lives in a body that is a different size from yours does NOT mean that they are unhealthy or lack control or anything like that. People can live in a larger body than yours & be just as “healthy” just as “fit” {or even more so!} than those in a “thin” body.

Always remember thin =/= healthy. There are real, dangerous side effects associated with thin bodies as well as fat bodies.

Allowing your body to live at its natural set point is one of the BEST ways to promote health & wellbeing. Forcing your body to exist in a way that is not natural to it… will never end well.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/full-and-thriving-an-eating-disorder-recovery-podcast/id1518417774?i=1000643739143

As the ever incredible  said “if you’re alive that means that you’re committed to survive” If all you did this year was ...
01/01/2024

As the ever incredible said “if you’re alive that means that you’re committed to survive”

If all you did this year was survive, then I am incredibly incredibly proud of you.

It’s funny… this time last year I chose the word “peace” as my word of the year for 2023. And then 2023 was anything BUT peaceful. Hospitals, death, loss, grieving, life changes… but also unconditional love, incredible gifts, and another chance to stay alive. To keep living.

Happy 2024 everyone 🤍 I am so deeply proud of you, wherever you are in your journey.

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Galloway, OH

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About the Herd

Hello, my name is Katie. I am a 22 year old female living in the Midwest. For as long as I can remember I have been hugely passionate about horses, a love that has grown with me. At the age of 13 I was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, a disease that I am still battling. The number one thing that has helped to heal me and pull me out of this is the horses in my life, the love and acceptance they have always given me. As I’ve grown I have realized that my passion in life is helping others (both equine and human) to find their own healing.