Natural Answer

28/03/2026

Lovely afternoon at the beautiful Chalice Well Gardens.

28/03/2026

27/03/2026

I’m at the BFVEA annual gathering, flower essence producers, practitioners and enthusiasts coming together for a weekend of fun and immersing ourselves in the world of vibrational essences and plant consciousness. Lots of insightful talks and presentations, great venue, great food and company.

14/03/2026

I’m absolutely thrilled with this gorgeous Shamanic rattle which has been crafted with some of my horse Willows tail hair. It’s really symbolic of the Fire Horse.

14/03/2026

I’ve recently added a set of three beautiful crystal singing bowls to my sound healing tools. I’ve been practicing with them and my other instruments and am feeling so relaxed, I can’t wait to share their beautiful healing vibes with others.

03/03/2026

We are thrilled to share that the Athena Foundation Certificate is being delivered in Essex UK 9–12 April 2026!

Meet the team:
📍 Jane Gilbey – Lifelong horsewoman with experience in providing learning opportunities in the Equine Assisted Services space. Jane brings insight and a deep connection to horses and people.
📍 Michaela Flury – Integrative Therapist passionate about the benefits of Equine Assisted Services, blending therapeutic depth with equine focused understanding.

This certificate is ideal for anyone seeking to expand their skills, deepen self-awareness, and build meaningful practices that integrate horses into their practice.

📅 Save the Date:
🗓 9–12 April 2026
📍 Essex, UK

📌 Whether you’re already working in equine assisted work, coaching, therapy, or seeking a powerful personal development journey, this is an opportunity to grow with intention and connection.

💛 Interested in learning more or joining us?
Visit ➡️ https://athenaherd.org/learning/training-team

10/01/2026

Foundation Certificate In Equine Assisted (IACP CPD Approved, ACCPH externally accredited)

Are you?

in a “people supporting” profession such as mental health professional/practitioner, coaching, counselling or therapy; or
someone who is already working with horses (riding instructor for example) who is in interested in working in this field; or
just interested in developing more connected and meaningful equine interactions; or
curious to explore why a focus on horse wellbeing represents an important foundation for equine supported learning; or
looking to learn the business skills required to establish and develop a professional practice; or
looking for personal growth supported by an existing community with a wealth of collective experience;
This Level 2 Foundation Certificate also serves as the first part to the externally accredited Level 4 and Level 5 Diplomas in Equine Assisted Services.

I’m excited be part of the Athena training team to be Co Facilitating this Level 2 certificate with my colleague Michaela and hosting the course at Oaksbrook Retreat in April this year. The training takes place over 4 days in the comfortable Walnut barn overlooking the orchard, a tranquil space for you to immerse yourself in this wonderful modality. My horses and ponies will be an integral part of your learning and journey.

You can see our profiles here:

Jane. https://athenaherd.org/learning/training-team
Michaela. https://athenaherd.org/learning/training-team

Event Details Start Date 09 April 2026 at 09:00 (BST) End Date 12 April 2026 at 17:00 (BST) Cost (GBP) £ 1899 Course Type Level 2 Certificate Event Description Foundation Certificate In Equine Assisted (IACP CPD Approved, ACCPH externally accredited)Are you?in a “people supporting” profession....

31/12/2025

14/11/2025

A big update from Athena where I did my Equine Facilitated Interactions qualifications to Level 5. Over the last few years they have been working hard behind the scenes to establish an accredited register with the Professional Standards Agency and are now broadening the inclusion of other Animal Assisted Therapies and modalities as well as Horticultural. 👏🏻👏🏻

📣 Important Update 📣

We are pleased to share that the Athena Herd Foundation CIC has formally become the:

💜 Association for Animals, Horticultural & Equine Practitioners (AAHEP): AAHEP.UK💜

This change strengthens the independence of the UK’s first and currently only PSA Accredited Practitioner Register, ensuring it stands as a clear and trusted voice for national standards, across Equine Assisted, Animal Assisted and Horticultural practice.

🔹 Athena will continue as the training and education brand, with all courses and pathways remaining the same: athenaherd.org

🔹 The Professional Standards Authority has also approved additional practitioner titles, reflecting the breadth and professionalism of our sector: https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/organisations-we-oversee/find-a-register?page=1

🔹 Aahep: Accredited Practitioner Register has the support from for example HCPC in holding titles such as the Equine Assisted Occupational Therapy titles and as well as being in discussions with practitioners and providers also supporting Animal 🐾🐝 and Horticultural 🍃 practices.

Thank you to everyone who continues to support this work as we grow, evolve, and champion safe, ethical and high-quality practice across the UK. 💜🐴🌿

09/11/2025

“In every quiet moment with a horse,
a little piece of yourself returns.” - Human & Horse

29/10/2025

I’m really enjoying having the mares and Zeena the sheep up on the 4 acre field. There is so much more of an enriching environment here with all the trees, trails and mound. It’s lovely to just sit and observe them behaving naturally. They often tend to gravitate to where I’m sitting with the dogs and just hang out with us while we admire the far reaching views. Oaksbrook Retreat

25/10/2025

I can totally agree with this. Willow is having a last big season and boy is she acting wild. Breaking out and dashing to flirt outrageously with the geldings, separation anxiety for the boys even though she’s with her mares and sheep who she is usually very content with, growing an extra hand, braced and tense, bellowing and yodelling at the top of her lungs and threatening to buck, rear and bolt after two cyclists that were whizzing along the road in the distance whom I’m absolutely convinced she thought they were Wraheem and Captain. For a split second I thought she was going to take off after them. She’s was a little sheepish and did calm down quite quickly when she realised it was cyclists with a grey and red helmet on. We had the high blowing alert warning several times too. This morning galloping round the field up and down the fence line for ages because she wants to get to the boys. Sorry sweetheart they are all geldings so can’t give you a foal 😂😂

🍂 "As our autumn daylight shortens, many mares will experience one last big cycle before the winter shutdown. It’s pure biology - shifting oestrogen, progesterone, and adrenaline levels can make even the calmest mare hypersensitive, clingy, or reactive, as their internal chemistry is changing gear.

Think less 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦… more 𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵."

🍂 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗺𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀
𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦: 𝘌𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭’𝘴 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯, 19𝘺𝘰 𝘛𝘉 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯

We’re moving towards the final stretch of our October Winter Transition campaign, and we’re feeling it already - winter socks, wellies, and fingerless gloves are back in action!

This week, we’re shining a light on our mares - and their often-overlooked autumn hormones.

There was a great line in a recent Simple Systems newsletter:

“𝙉𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨.”

It made me sit up - I for one needed the reminder, as our own Carmen is making it very clear she’s not taking any orders right now!

As our autumn daylight shortens, many mares will experience one last big cycle before the winter shutdown. It’s pure biology - shifting oestrogen, progesterone, and adrenaline levels can make even the calmest mare hypersensitive, clingy, or reactive, as their internal chemistry is changing gear.

Think less 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦… more 𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

𝗪𝗲’𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵...
Here are our featured blends for emotional & hormonal balance:

🌿 𝗠𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗲 – calms nervous energy while supporting hormones and adrenals
🌿 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘆𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 – emotional grounding
🌿 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 – natural calm for the tough days
🌿 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘂𝗺 - eases muscular and neural tension

🛒 All these and more - 20% off in our 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲
- use code 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗧𝟮𝟬
- https://www.equinatural.co.uk/october-2025-sale

𝗠𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱:
“𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳.” 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘢 𝘉.

As always, if you’re not sure where to start, just shout - we’re here to help you decode the seasonal shifts and support your horse naturally, from the inside out.

Carol & The EquiNatural Team

PS - We’ve also got a Blog coming - “𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀, 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗱𝘀 & 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰”, following a message from a lovely lady who’s really struggling with her mare after moving yards. This time, it’s biology and emotion intertwined - and once we understand what’s really going on, the whole picture starts to make sense. Stay tuned!