#15 Restorative Horsemanship and New Beginnings

Over the past year so much has changed. The podcast has been quiet, but under the surface, so much has been happening. Let’s get caught up!

This episode is about big 2025 happenings, and an evolution that’s occurred in my horsemanship. Time is a scarce resource in my life as a mother of two little ones. And most recently, as a homeowner and land steward working to build my dream horse property from scratch, it has become even harder to find a sustainable routine to continue this work and put out new episodes. Out of necessity, time I get with my herd has become more restorative, as I sink into slow, relational skills that prioritize mutualistic horse-human relationships. And also out of need to embrace a more sustainable lifestyle, this year has changed my work and caused me to decide what I want to go all in on, and what I need to let go of.

In this episode I talk about:

+ The need to let go of things that are causing us to fight the tide, and embrace what is in alignment with our purpose and returns the greatest joy

+ Our physiological need for connection and the pillars of support we all need in our lives

+ How horses are built for social connection and thrive when they have herd members as their layers of support

+ Why the grind cultures view of productivity is damaging and how true productivity is fed by rest just as much as effort and drive

+ The wild horses I got to work with this Fall who reminded me where my greatest passion lies and how they reignited my purpose

+ How the gentling process has informed my practice of restorative horsemanship

+ The importance of being a good herd member, and how to gain clarity about our role as a layer of support for another person or a horse

Resources

This show is supported by The Herd, a holistic horse community. Herd Members gain access to the Herd Members Only Group at The Wild Side, along with my ever-growing Health, Wellness, & Horses resource library, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this episode, ‘Restorative Horsemanship and New Beginnings’ on the blog.

Links from this episode:

+ Medicine Stories Podcast episode ‘Reshaped by Parenthood: Families, Fathers, and the First Year - Rachelle Seliga’

+ Wild Willing

+ Wild Willing on Instagram

+ The Herd Membership

+ Podcast cover photo by Tricia Mogensen