Strong Spirit Stables LLC

12/26/2025

12/26/2025

Are you listening?

Can you hear me?

Or is your mind so full that all you hear is yourself, what you need, want... what you have been told to demand from me?

Can you actually listen to me? Do you have an active relationship to others where you do not need to see yourself in others, but can see the other without needing yourself reflected back to you?

Can we share values? Do you know what your values are? Do you value confidence, do you value action, do you value patience? Can you trust that I am here because I want to be here? Or will you continue to believe that I do not want to be here?

If I am here, waiting, still, this means I am ready. So the thing to do is start asking me questions, the same way I ask questions of you. If you ask me I will answer. But you have to ask me. And ask me in a way that I can hear you.

Connection is a two way street but you might have forgotten your part, that you need to offer connection by offering me something to do when you are here with me.

We are the other, other side of horsemanship. We are no longer wondering if I want to be here, no longer wondering if you are too harsh on horses, no longer wondering if you should or should not be doing this. Those questions are already answered. We are no longer wondering "What do do now?", because we have 100 frameworks to begin with, so pick one and begin. And begin again and again and again. We are the other, other side of horsemanship. There are new problems on this side, and we no longer have to answer the old questions.

The questions are new even if the situation is ancient.

Horses and people, we belong together. We always have.

12/26/2025

12/26/2025

Being a horse person isn’t something I do.
It’s something I am.

It’s woven into the way I move through the world,
the way I notice things,
the way my heart settles
when life feels loud.

No matter where life takes me—
different seasons,
different roles,
different responsibilities—
this part of me doesn’t change.

Because loving horses isn’t a phase you outgrow.
It’s a way of seeing.

It teaches you patience
in a world that rushes.
It teaches you awareness—
of body language,
of energy,
of the things left unsaid.

It teaches you humility.
You learn quickly
that control doesn’t equal connection,
and strength doesn’t need to be loud
to be real.

Being a horse person means
you understand commitment
in quiet ways.
Showing up on tired days.
Caring when no one’s watching.
Choosing consistency
over convenience.

It shapes the way you love, too.

You learn to meet others where they are.
To listen before reacting.
To earn trust instead of demanding it.

Life may pull me into new chapters—
careers,
family,
responsibility,
change.

But this stays.

Because horses didn’t just teach me how to ride.
They taught me how to be present.
How to regulate my own energy.
How to stand calmly
when everything else feels uncertain.

They taught me that progress isn’t always forward.
Sometimes it’s stillness.
Sometimes it’s patience.
Sometimes it’s choosing to try again tomorrow.

Even when I’m far from the barn,
I carry it with me.

In the way I breathe
when stress shows up.
In the way I ground myself
when emotions rise.
In the way I find peace
in small, ordinary moments.

Being a horse person means
I will always be drawn
to authenticity over appearances.
Depth over noise.
Connection over control.

It means I know where I come from—
and what holds me steady
when life shifts.

No matter how full my life becomes,
no matter where the road leads,
this part of me remains.

Because once horses shape your heart,
they don’t let go.

And I wouldn’t want them to.

12/25/2025

Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas!🎄

12/21/2025

Horses bring you back to the simplest version of yourself...

12/16/2025

There’s a reason life feels a little better
after time spent with a horse.

Not because everything magically fixes itself.
Not because your problems disappear.
But because something inside you
finally slows down enough to breathe.

The world asks so much of us—
to hurry,
to multitask,
to carry weight we don’t always talk about.

And then you step into the barn…
and none of that matters.

The noise fades.
The pressure loosens its grip.
Your shoulders drop without you realizing it.

A horse doesn’t care who you were five minutes ago
or what you still have to do later.
They only care that you’re here.
Present.
Honest.
Real.

There’s something grounding
about the steady rhythm of their breathing,
the warmth of their body beside yours,
the quiet way they exist without needing more.

You brush a mane.
You listen to hooves shift in the aisle.
You feel a soft nose nudge your arm.

And suddenly,
your thoughts untangle themselves.

Time with a horse reminds you
that life doesn’t have to be rushed
to be meaningful.
That peace doesn’t have to be loud
to be powerful.

Horses bring you back
to the simplest version of yourself—
the one who notices small joys,
the one who feels instead of overthinks,
the one who remembers how to just be.

They teach you presence
without ever asking you to try.
They calm your nervous system
without needing explanations.
They offer comfort
just by standing near.

And when you walk away—
whether it’s after a long ride
or a few quiet minutes in the barn—
you carry that calm with you.

You speak a little softer.
You breathe a little deeper.
You handle the world a little better.

Life doesn’t change…
but you do.

That’s why life feels better after time with a horse.
Because they don’t fix your problems—
they remind you
that you’re strong enough, steady enough,
and grounded enough
to face them.

And sometimes,
that’s exactly what your heart needs.

How do horses calm you?

12/14/2025

✨ Soulful Sunday ✨

Today’s reminder is for the horses who don’t “look” broken…
but feel tired, guarded, quiet, or disconnected.

Healing isn’t always loud.
Progress isn’t always flashy.
And advocacy isn’t always convenient.

Sometimes it looks like slowing down when the world says push.
Listening when others say it’s fine.
Choosing curiosity over judgment.
Root causes over quick fixes.
And connection over control. 🐴🤍

Every horse tells a story through their body.
Our job is to be still enough to hear it
and brave enough to honor it.

Here’s to the small wins.
The subtle releases.
The deep breaths.
And the humans who choose to see the horse in front of them, not just the expectation behind them.

Be their advocate.
They’re always listening. ✨

12/14/2025

Why I don’t do deep tissue work on horses.

I am extremely grateful for the quality of training I received as a body worker. Before I could qualify as an equine massage therapist I had to train in human massage. I had no desire to do this (I mean, human bodies……….) but there was an important reason why. We humans have a voice, and can and should use it when receiving therapy. It is easy to impose ourselves on the equine body in a way we imagine feels good, but does, in fact, not. Spending time on human bodies first provides the verbal feedback many of us need.

Several years ago I got ran over by a training horse. A good looking Arab who’d had it with people. Not his fault, but the end result was he ran over me - all four feet- up my side, over my neck and head. I learned a lot, about horse owners and horses. And of course, my own short comings.

I have been gently - and sometimes not so gently- suffering ever since. It caused a bone spur in my neck which produces residual pain in my shoulder and arm. Mostly it just grumbles, sometimes it spasms.

Ever since I have taken myself along to an incredible cranial sacral therapist who, by ostensibly ‘not doing very much at all’, is actually doing an awful lot. This keeps me out of serious pain and comfortable enough to function.

A few weeks ago this injury was aggravated. and as my cranial sacred goddess is away I looked for a massage therapist. She did what is often done, and dug away with her elbow on the sore bits and applied a lot of cross tissue pressure on the spasmy bits. I said ‘Oh that’s a bit sore’ in a small breathless voice a few times, and she said ‘I’m not really using that much pressure’. So I shut up and held my breath.

Now, following this treatment, I can’t move that arm or shoulder at all. I’m rattling with pain killers, strapped to a TENS machine and trying not to get too far away from a hot water bottle. Again, my fault. I should have got off that table and protected my body, rather than her feelings.

The more time I have spent with my hands on horse bodies, the less and less it seems necessary to do. I don’t impose stretches, I don’t use trigger point therapy, I don’t use knuckles, or elbows or digging about into sore points.

If a body is having to protect itself from a therapist, my experience is that not much good is being achieved. It might feel satisfying to knead away at tight muscles, but bruising should not be the outcome of a treatment. I no longer have my horses cracked, or ‘overly’ manipulated, or in any way manhandled in treatments. There are very, very few people I’ll let get their hands on my horses.

The body will do its own remarkable amount of healing in response to small suggestions and touch which feels safe, Very often ALL we need to do is provide a space for the body to feel safe in and it will begin to weave its own magic. It’s remarkable what we can offer our horses with the most minimal of touch (I don’t want to say ‘light’ touch as this often produces something from a human which horses also don’t appreciate).

While we may enjoy seeing a body worker ‘Get right in there’ with our horse; very often their body might have been better off with a lot, lot, less.

12/13/2025

The Board encourages horse owners to follow these biosecurity tips when traveling with their horse:

A Washington County horse tested positive for Equine Herpesvirus (EHV-1) this week. The 12-year-old warmblood mare was first examined by a veterinarian on December 9, and they noted weakness in the hind limbs and decreased a**l tone. The veterinarian submitted an EHV-1 test, and results were reported December 11. The horse was treated with anti-inflammatory medicine and has significantly improved in the last 48 hours.
The owner began quarantining the horse on December 9, and the Board issued an official quarantine after the positive results were reported on December 11. The horse is kept at a boarding barn with 27 other horses, all of which are now under the official 21-day quarantine.
**This case is unrelated to the EHV-1 outbreaks reported in Texas and Oklahoma; test results identified a different viral strain, and the horse has no known exposures.**
Read our full equine disease alert: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNBAH/bulletins/3ffa459

12/06/2025

Horses feel our energy long before they hear our voice.

Light therapy supports that harmony — soothing discomfort, deepening trust, and reminding us that true healing begins in presence. 🌿

They speak through energy, trust, and light — if we only pause to listen.

12/06/2025

Are you listening?

𝐀 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞’𝐬 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞…

We recently visited a horse we see on a regular basis. Normally he greets us with ease, soft eyes, curious, comfortable.

But this time was different.

He was anxious. Worried. On edge. His body said he wanted to leave.

The owner quietly suspected another professional in the barn was the cause. No “proof,” just a feeling based on the horses actions.

And here’s the important part:

As soon as that professional left the barn, the horse returned to his normal self. Instantly.

No drama. No lingering tension. Just back to being the horse we know.

Horses don’t behave this way “for no reason.” They communicate through their bodies, their breath, their expression, and when something feels unsafe or uncomfortable, they show us.

The owner could have dismissed instinct, chalked it up to training issues, or like so many horses endure, punished the behavior.

Instead, the owner listened.

Shoutout to the owners who choose awareness over reaction. Who observe first, rather than correct first. Who understand that a reason always exists.

Because when we’re willing to listen, horses never stop telling the truth.