It Takes the Herd

05/29/2026

Well done Rebecca and Napoleon! The horses are having a ‘think’ about joining the movement challenge!

05/23/2026

Gardeners! The wait is over! Text or call Tom for well composted horse manure!! +1 (902) 396-7146

05/21/2026

A message from Candy our mare-

A horse who walks away from you is not always rejecting you.

Sometimes they are checking whether you will follow the old pattern:
pressure,
insistence,
capture.

Many horses have learned that humans often respond to distance by closing it.
By advancing.
Correcting.
Convincing.
Escalating.

So when a horse leaves, it is not always defiance.

Sometimes it is a question.

“What will you do with my honesty?”

Will you allow the conversation to stay honest?
Or will the moment their answer becomes inconvenient, the pressure begin?

I think this is where so many relationships quietly change.

Because there is a moment horses seem to recognize something rare:
the moment they realize they are still safe even after expressing discomfort, uncertainty, or preference.

The moment they realize:
“Oh…
you heard me.”

Not just physically.
Emotionally.

You heard the hesitation in their body.
The uncertainty in their eyes.
The tension in their nervous system.
The quiet request underneath the movement away.

And instead of overpowering the communication, you listened.

I think humans often underestimate how profound that can feel to another being.

Especially to one who has spent much of their life learning that resistance leads to more pressure.

That is why some of the deepest trust I have ever witnessed did not begin with a horse moving toward someone.

It began with a horse discovering they were allowed to move away without punishment.

Because sometimes what looks like “disconnection” is actually the first fragile attempt at honesty.

And sometimes the greatest transformation is not teaching the horse to stay.

Sometimes it is teaching them they no longer need to flee to feel heard.

Not obedience.
Not submission.

Relief.

05/10/2026

This.

Today, we celebrate all the incredible people who mother us. Mothering is more than just how someone is born; it is about the deep love, guidance, and care that helps our whole community grow.

We want to honour every kind of mother:

Mothers and Stepmothers: Who provide daily love and support.

Aunties and Big Sisters: Who step up to lead and protect.

Chosen Mothers: Who choose to love and claim us as their own.

Grieving Mothers: We hold a special space for mothers who have lost their children. Your love does not end, and we honour your strength and your journey.

Grieving Children: We send extra love to those missing their mothers today. We honour the lasting bond and the memories you carry in your hearts.

We know that being a mother, or being mothered, looks different for everyone based on their identity and their story. Thank you for the many ways you help us grow and for building a kinder, fairer future for all of us.

05/10/2026

Another great post! Thank you Equimotional - Trauma-Informed Training & Resource Hub!

A gentle reminder for anyone working with children, teens, or adults around horses:

Dysregulation does not always look dramatic. 🐴

It is not always:
• shouting
• crying
• aggression
• visible panic

Sometimes it looks like:

⚡ over-talking constantly because silence feels unsafe

⚡ laughing through everything

⚡ rushing tasks and movements

⚡ repeatedly apologising

⚡ asking “am I doing it right?” every thirty seconds

⚡ freezing when given choice

⚡ becoming overly compliant

⚡ watching your face for signs they’ve got something wrong

⚡ panicking over tiny mistakes

⚡ struggling to make decisions

⚡ trying to care for everyone else instead of themselves

⚡ shutting down emotionally while still physically participating

⚡ saying “I’m fine” while their entire body says otherwise

And honestly?

Horses often notice these shifts before humans do.

You might see:
🐴 the horse moving away slightly
🐴 increased tension
🐴 difficulty connecting
🐴 sudden stillness
🐴 pushiness
🐴 hyper-alert behaviour
🐴 disengagement

Not because the person is “bad” or “too much”.

But because nervous systems communicate constantly.

Sometimes the young person who looks the calmest is actually working the hardest internally just to stay regulated enough to remain in the session.

That is why trauma-informed practice matters.

Not so we can label every behaviour.
Not so we become frightened of emotional responses.

But so we stay curious instead of judgemental.

A child rushing a grooming task does not need "correcting" first.

They may need help feeling safe enough to slow down.

A teen who constantly says “sorry” does not need "behaviour management"

They need a relationship where mistakes do not feel dangerous.

The work is not in controlling the behaviour.

Sometimes the work is helping a nervous system realise:

“You are still safe here even if you get something wrong.” 🌿

05/09/2026

We welcome questions like this!

If I was referring a child or young person to an equine-assisted service, these are some of the questions I’d personally want answered first. 🐴

Not because I’m anti-horse.
Not because I think everything needs over-complicating.

But because vulnerable young people deserve safe, ethical, well-run services.

And honestly?
The equine-assisted industry is still a bit like the Wild West sometimes.

So here are some things I’d ask 👇

📋 Do they have safeguarding training?

📋 Are they insured for the actual work they’re delivering?

📋 What happens if a young person becomes distressed or dysregulated during a session?

📋 Do staff understand trauma-informed practice or are they just using the words because they sound nice on Facebook?

📋 How are horses monitored for stress, burnout, pain, or shutdown behaviour?

📋 Are session notes or reflections recorded appropriately?

📋 Do they have supervision or support themselves?

📋 What are their boundaries around confidentiality and disclosures?

📋 Are there risk assessments beyond “horse may bite”?

📋 How do they adapt for neurodiverse young people?

📋 What experience do they actually have working with children or vulnerable people?

📋 Can the child say no to activities?

📋 What happens if the horse says no too?

Because a calm aesthetic, fairy lights in a stable, and a nice Instagram page are not safeguarding measures.

And horses alone do not automatically make something therapeutic.

The good services?
Will not be offended by these questions.

In fact, they’ll probably be relieved somebody asked.

The equine-assisted industry does not need less accountability.
It needs safer standards, reflective practitioners, emotionally safe environments, and genuine care for BOTH horses and humans.

That is how this field grows with integrity. 🌿

Would you add anything else to this list? 👀

05/08/2026

Candy, Cash, Stan and I are participating in this very important fundraising event for CAMH! Stay tuned to this page to see what goes on with the horses of It Takes the Herd during the predawn hours!

05/08/2026

This. For current and future clients, if you have questions about how we practice at It Takes the Herd or how we have been trained, please ask us.

The equine-assisted world is getting busier.

There are more people offering therapeutic-style sessions, wellbeing programmes, coaching, mentoring, training, CPD, downloads, workbooks, courses and “horse healing” packages than ever before.

And honestly?

Some of that is brilliant.

It means more people are recognising that horses can offer something really powerful when the work is done safely, ethically and with proper thought behind it.

But it also means the space is becoming noisy.

And when a space becomes noisy, people start throwing the same words around.

Trauma-informed.
Healing.
Regulation.
Connection.
Safe space.
Wellbeing.
Transformation.
Horse-led.
Client-centred.

Lovely words.

Important words.

But words on their own do not make practice safe.

A pretty logo does not make a practitioner trauma-informed.

A certificate does not automatically mean someone knows how to hold safeguarding properly.

A calm horse is not automatically consenting.

A workbook is not automatically useful because it has a horse on the front.

And calling something “healing” does not mean it has been thought through ethically.

This is where Equimotional stands apart. 🐴✨

We are not trying to be the loudest voice in the industry.

We are trying to be one of the clearest.

Equimotional is built around resources and training that are:

🌿 trauma-informed
🐴 horse-welfare aware
🧠 non-pathologising
📋 practical
🛡️ safeguarding-conscious
👥 suitable for real practitioners working with real clients
📚 educational, not fluffy
💬 honest about scope, limits and responsibility

Our resources are not just “nice activities.”

They are designed to help practitioners think.

About language.
About consent.
About emotional safety.
About what the horse is communicating.
About what the client actually needs.
About what falls inside and outside their role.
About how to build a practice that does not rely on guesswork, vague claims or blind optimism in muddy boots.

We create workbooks, facilitator guides, training resources and professional packs for people who want depth.

People who do not want to just print off a worksheet and hope for the best.

People who want to understand why they are doing something, how to adapt it, when to pause, and what to document afterwards.

Because this industry does not need more people promising magical outcomes.

It needs more people willing to build proper foundations.

It needs practitioners who can say:

“This is what I offer.”
“This is what I do not offer.”
“This is where my scope ends.”
“This is how I protect the client.”
“This is how I protect the horse.”
“This is how I keep learning.”

That is not boring.

That is professional.

That is ethical.

That is how this work earns trust.

So yes, the market might be saturated.

But I do not think it is saturated with thoughtful, evidence-aware, trauma-informed, horse-centred, non-pathologising resources that actually help practitioners build safer work.

That is the gap Equimotional keeps trying to fill.

Not with glittery promises.

With substance.

With reflection.

With humour where it helps.

With resources that understand both the emotional weight of the work and the practical reality of running sessions around horses, weather, safeguarding, parents, paperwork, insurance, referrers, mud, hay bills and the occasional pony who decides your carefully planned activity is beneath them.

Equimotional stands for doing this work properly.

Not perfectly.

Properly.

And there is a difference. 🐴✨

04/09/2026

Today, we remember the thousands of Canadians who fought and gave their lives in the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917. 🇨🇦

To them and all Canadians in uniform, we say thank you for your service.