I find and release blockages and trapped trauma in the body and aid it in letting go of the pain cau A bit about me:
I have spent my whole life around horses.
Absolute Truth Holistic Care is owned and operated by Lou Reid. Growing up in Gisborne and being born into two farming families. One from Te Karaka and the other from Rangitukia. I was lucky enough to be on a horse before I could walk and it was just a natural progression of my life to be around them. I rode horses on the family farm most of my life and when I was 10 years old my parents bought me my own horse. I rode in local sports and ribbon days in Gisborne growing up and rode until I was 24 years old when I had my first child and put horse riding and being around horses second to raising my children. After raising children for 10 years I brought horses back into our lives and from that point I have endeavoured to make horses a very large part of my daily life. Over the past few years I have attended local ribbon days, inhand shows, labour days shows, endurance rides and Le Trec days and have acquired quite a wall of ribbons for my riding efforts. I have always had a natural healing ability with horses where I can feel their pain, where and the cause. After attending a foundation course for Flinchlock release therapy I allowed this spiritual side of me to heighten to a level that I have spent the past decade learning about myself and fine tuning my ability to heal horses, humans and other animals. I teach an afterschool and weekend horsemanship programme. I have also reached my 20 year vision and goal and now offer sessions for mental unwellness equine facilitated healing for both adults and children. I also provide one on one horsemanship and riding. I am currently studying to become a certified riding instructor. My Qualifications:
* Bachelor Degree in ECE, Registered
* Diploma in Comprehensive Nursing, Registered
*Mauri Ora Cultural Competency and Te Tiriti O Waitangi...Life Force, To be Alive, The Treaty Of Waitangi
* Mahi Ora...Your Life's Work
*National Certificate in Employment Skills
* Certificate in Access Bars
* Certificate in Hearing Voices...Let's Talk
* Engaging Pasifika Cultural Competency
* Certificate in Equine Foundation Course
for Flinchlock release therapy
* Certificate in Dromgool horsemanship journey to mastery
* Equine care and handling Level 3
27/10/2025
Wanted: someone to help muck out and groom over the summer regularly with me in return for the opportunity to have horsemanship lessons. The work and lessons will be within the same week but not on the same day. An agreement will be made based on what I charge for lessons and what you want per hour for your time. Better suited to someone with time during the day.
There will be a trial period due to other volunteers not showing up for the agreed work yet still expecting lessons or simply doing very minimal work.
This is a reciprocal agreement of work for lessons only.
Nga mihi
25/10/2025
I use to believe in work and in life you should fake it til you make it. Now I'm actually doing business courses all I can think about is learn it til you earn it 🫰
25/10/2025
Throughout my own healing process as well as helping others along their healing paths, there's one thing I have come to conclude. Whether it's physical pain, medical ailments, mental unwellness, drug and alcohol abuse one thing is very clear and they hold the biggest emotional pain.
You're only as sick as your secrets.
25/10/2025
Peace isn't found like lost keys. It's chosen. You choose peace.
24/10/2025
Your intuition speaks with statements.
Your anxiety speaks with questions.
23/10/2025
You miss me. I'm not that far away, just as far away as you pushed me, that's on you. You didn't lose me in one big moment. You lost me slowly, leaving me in spaces with no room for me and lost in boundaries I planned to set but didn't, that's on me.
22/10/2025
NO MORE ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS IN HORSEMANSHIP ..
Moving forward I will no longer be accepting absolute beginners for HORSEMANSHIP who have never spent any time around horses in any capacity. They can definitely be considered for the HONONGA HOIHO programme to organically grow their interactions and knowledge first to know that horses are definitely their pathway and they can move into Horsemanship from there. Or if just being around them in a healing way was all that was needed and they can return anytime for another block of Hononga for that healing environment if and when needed. However, I feel there are enough other amazing facilities that cater to absolute beginner "riders" around the motu.
I will happily accept children with little to some experience around horses for horsemanship that are wanting to go down a more intuitive route, and growing an energy knowledge working with horses. Wanting to truly understand all about horses, learn about them in their holistic entirety. And wanting to learn how to handle and ride them with a consistent progressive mindset and not just be a passenger and not progressing in their skills, abilities, speed and capabilities. This is simply because they've already had experience elsewhere, know for sure horses are their passion and have personal drive to expand and grow that passion in a holistic way and in an environment that caters to that, and they want to move on from where they have learnt the basics or pick it back up after a break away or have got their own horse or are wanting to and wanting to learn this particular pathway with horses but still possess basic skills.
I was raised around horses as primarily farm equipment. My kids were raised learning ownership, responsibility in that, learnt holistic healing, basic competing and extensive trail riding while I grew my knowledge and developed my spiritual gifts further in regards to horses. My grandkids are being raised within the outcome of my developed belief system around horses. And I have helped enough children throughout the past 15 odd years to know and understand fully where my space is now with kids and horses, and I'm moving into honouring that fully without question, second guessing myself or making exceptions.
Absolute beginners can definitely apply to do Hononga Hoiho but not horsemanship from the get go. They will have to spend time within a connecting space first in order to be sure horsemanship is for them or that healing and personal growth and development was needed only from that desire to be around horses.
Nga mihi 🫶
21/10/2025
A child's first experience with a cruel person is often at home and often not how you perceive, and long before they get to school and meet a bully or become one. A parents nervous system is a child's first teacher. Children learn to read body language, tones and emotions long before they understand words. So if a child's parent is angry, fearful, stressed, or not emotionally available a child doesn't learn those things. They learn to shut down and not express their feelings or needs and don't know how to communicate.
After the age of 12 a child's cognitive comprehension starts to kick in and learnt behaviour of manipulation and control from a parents nervous system breakdown during their upbringing, will begin to develop and present in a child who previously was extremely angry and frustrated unable to express themselves competently..a "naughty" kid. Or they were agreeable and seemingly quiet and easy to manage in general...a "good" kid. No. One or both parents had their own dysfunctional learnt behaviours from an unhealthy nervous system of their own that they have not addressed.
For a child to be competently confident in ANYTHING they need to spend time learning it growing up. They need to spend hours regularly on any given thing in life. Any task in life for individual care such as getting dressed, brushing teeth, food choices, chores and family dynamics, etc. Any physical skill they choose to do such as hobbies, art, sport, etc. Every communication skill from annunciating, understanding meanings, expression during communication, conversation etiquette, etc. Every rule and boundary around individual safety, social etiquette, respect, self love, love for others, emotional expression, emotional understanding and emotional competency. These are all learnt from birth.
We can't just pick up the baton from where the child leaves the house to go to others for childcare when you need a break or have to work. Or when they hang out with cousins or friends. Or They're off to school. They're not initially learning behaviours from those other kids or adults. They're practicing what they're learning at home. They're practicing not only how they respond to others but also mirroring those behaviours, tones and emotions they've received, assessed and observed since birth.
Those things are what mould the child. They'll become set in the learnt behaviour of either continuing to respond to others from that shut down, unable to communicate or express themselves responder or they'll mirror and reflect the dysfunctional parent and be emotionally unavailable, angry and stressed all the time.
Something I've learnt and believe to know to be true throughout the years since becoming a mum, a grandmother, a nurse, an ECE teacher, working within mental health and working with adults and children throughout the years with horses is that proper parenting is lacking. Parenting is also something children learn from adults. Adults have to spend hours becoming competently confident in raising, teaching, role modeling and managing their children. If you don't do that and keep avoiding dealing with your own dysfunctional s**t then your child just gets older within that situation without growing up competently emotionally, psychologically and behaviourally.
If you don't teach them life skills that include self care, practical tasks, emotional expression, conversation, boundaries, rules, social etiquette, respect, self love and how to be competently confident in all that which is where they learn "to do it" in spite of fear, the unknown, the lack of courage, the lack of knowledge or even what others think, say and do. Then you will create a child that is emotionally and psychologically immature unable to perform simple tasks because they'll shut down or go into blind rage.
Doing Hononga Hoiho is helping me to solidify my knowing and wisdom spiritually in this area with children. I'm glad I've set off down this pathway. I'm excited to increase this focus of work over the next few months in preparation for the new year. I'm wanting it to grow into my primary focus and niche. It is the core of intuition building more so than "Horsemanship". It is the core of emotional wisdom for children and their parents. It is the foundation of everything in life skills to be confident in self competency. Without it children will continue to be "soft parented" or neglected or misunderstood or taken to get mental health labels and diagnosed neuro divergent when they're simply lost in their parents broken dysfunctional nervous system that never got addressed and that's where they parent from.
20/10/2025
HONONGA HOIHO - HORSE CONNECTION
HONONGA is connection or connectedness. There is absolutely no catching of any horses with halters. No use of brushes. We just connect freely in the paddock with our hands, our minds, our hearts, our emotions, our thoughts, our energy and our Souls with the horses. It's mutual, it's interactive, it's natural and it's extremely healing for the kids. It's putting them in emotional spaces they didn't feel possible. It's putting their mind in thoughts they never felt possible. It's putting them in a courage they never felt they would find themselves. It's allowing connection on a level they never felt possible.
I have been trialling it with some amazing kids and their kaitiaki and it's going amazing. I can not share photos, stories or situations but I can absolutely share my joy and "Glimmers".
Whats a "glimmer"? It's a term I heard recently that is the opposite of "triggers". And I love that there's a word for it.
Triggers are emotional moments of the things that bring out an unresolved emotional response memory or bring up the past that is usually steeped in fear, anger or avoidance of somewhere, something or someone you'd care not to ever revisit. These often make your situation worse, make you relapse and make you feel out of control when you're so desperately trying to be in control.
A glimmer is an emotional response to your current present life. They are steeped in gratitude, calm, peace, happiness...pure joy for where you are right now in this moment connected to a past time in your life where you felt safe and connected to others or with yourself. The moments that remind you that having complete control isn't necessary or a bad thing. They're the moments I'm encouraging these kids to recognise and lean into with the same energy they do with their triggers.
So lately I've been feeling some great Glimmers and so have the kids. Yes there are triggers but the fact they're being overridden by Glimmers is the whole reason I went down this spiritual pathway.
🐴 AKO MO NGA HOIHO - Teaching/learning about horses. A shared experience where both the horses and humans are involved in the learning process
🐴 Manaakitanga me Matauranga Hoiho -
Caring within the interactions, and understanding the wisdom and knowledge within the interactions with horses.
Learning how to be "Equinelingual" is key to sound horsemanship skills. Learning how to understand how horses naturally think and function as a prey animal, how to read and apply body language to communicate with them and understanding how to respect their boundaries and have your own is all part of being "Equinelingual", all while enjoying the presence and mindfulness horses bring to our lives.
Being Te Reo Wairua Hoiho... spiritually linguistic with a horse. Well that's something on a whole different beautiful level. And I'm here for it all day any day with kids who need this kind of HONONGA and understanding of where they're at, what they've been through, going through and where they want to go.
🦄 Tuuwaa Hoiho - Equine Mindfulness, Taha Hinengaro...Mental wellbeing. Exactly that. Maumahara ki a koe...Remember yourself. This is about being present, right here right now. That's what Tuuwaa means...being present. Groom, touch, don't touch and be in the presence of the horses for no other purpose than to centre yourself, calm your stressors and regather your thoughts, emotions and actions. And reciprocating it back to the horses.
😊 Ko te Matauranga te mana - Knowledge is power
😊 Ko te Matauranga te Kaha - Knowledge is strength
😊 He hononga te Matauranga - Knowledge is connectedness
Nga mihi
20/10/2025
People often ask...is love enough? Depends on if you're talking about the feeling or the action. The feeling of love...no. The actions of love yes...maybe?
Love is not one thing...it does not stand alone. It is a multitude of different actions of your own character that shows another person HOW you love in behaviour, gestures, thoughts, response, understanding, emotional intelligence, how you treat others and how you treat yourself.
There are actions of lust, honeymoon phase, narcissism and predatory that can be easily disguised and misconstrued as "love". We often find out after the fact. Once that person feels comfortable in our love and actions of love for them, theirs stops. That's how you know they don't love you. They just love the idea of having you love them because they don't know how to love themselves or receive love.
It's sad that we come to learn what "true love* looks like from others after we've already endured the lies, the injustices, the expectations and demands of someone who never intended to love you anyway.
When you are being screamed at, called awful things, told awful things about you that aren't true but they feel justified in saying it purely to diminish you as best they can to their size. Their small pathetic non self loving size. When they are blaming you for their actions and their words that is not love. It is not because they're so passionate about your connection and don't know how to use their words and actions any differently. It's a tantrum plain and simple.
It is not always our responsibility to help others heal from that. Sometimes it's our position in it all to walk away and leave them exactly where they show you they want to be. And not play the role of fighting with them or fighting for them or being their new victim in their rinse and repeat dysfunction. You can't choose when it's time for someone to mature, grow up, change, be better, do better, have better and be accountable and responsible for their adult self. You can't make someone love you or receive your love. At some point we have to let them choose to become the adult they wish they could have relied on as a child instead of treating every adult who tries to love them as the as***le adults they got instead. And we're just receiving the adult as***le they've become.
I use to believe loving someone was enough but for who? Them? Absolutely if you're bending, adapting, flexing, moulding and changing yourself to love them how they want you to as opposed to you loving someone how you show love. How you show up in love based on the actions of your own character. Where amongst all of that are you receiving love?
Often, after some time, you'll start getting accused of stringing them along or even wanting something from them. Yes dumbass...love...love is what I'm wanting but not what I'm receiving.
Is love enough?
The first person you must show your love language to is yourself as that is the language you speak to others with.
20/10/2025
When someone wants to discredit the real truth that you know. When you speak up then this is what they'll do.
They'll stop defending themselves and start attacking you because the truth doesn't align with the story they tell.
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Absolute Truth Holistic Care is owned and operated by Lou Reid.
A bit about me:
I have spent my whole life around horses. Growing up in Gisborne and being born into two farming families. One from Te Karaka and the other from Rangitukia. I was lucky enough to be on a horse before I could walk and it was just a natural progression of my life to be around them. I rode horses on the family farm most of my life and when I was 10 years old my parents bought me my own horse. I rode in local sports and ribbon days in Gisborne growing up and rode until I was 24 years old when I had my first child and put horse riding and being around horses second to raising my children. After raising children for 10 years I brought horses back into our lives and from that point I have endeavoured to make horses a very large part of my daily life. Over the past few years I have attended local ribbon days, inhand shows, labour days shows, endurance rides and Le Trec days and have acquired quite a wall of ribbons for my riding efforts.
I have always had a natural communication and healing ability with horses and after attending a foundation course for Flinchlock release therapy this spiritual side of me heightened to a level that I never expected. It was like a portal to the Universe opened and I had an inner power that was within me but not of me. I have spent a number of years now learning about myself and fine tuning my ability to heal horses, humans and other animals. Learning to understand this spirit to spirit communication I have that allows me to be a voice for the horse, humans and other animals souls and relay what is going on for them. During this spirit to spirit communication process I am able to find blockages in the body that prevent recovery and healing from physical, mental, emotional or spiritual injury and trauma. Once these blockages are gone the body can begin to do what it is meant to do, heal itself.
I have used this healing ability in many ways over the years with horses trying different things to see where it can be useful. I have discovered that it can be used in every aspect of horse work from a wild horse to horse breaking and starting, training float or truck loading, groundwork, ridden work, post traumatic recovery to wellbeing for both horse and owner, and the list keeps growing as I evolve and embrace this spirituality more and more.
I work with people in so many different ways now too. From hands on healing to readings, past life releases and working through traumatic experiences and being able to move on in life and discover their own spiritual SELF through spiritual guidance I give.
I am also a big advocate for Mental Health recovery and journey to wellbeing through the use of spirituality and horses, creating strategies and tools for helping children through their own trauma experiences and the list keeps growing in all of these aspects and many more also.
I embrace all of me, all the good and bad, happy and sad, hardships and successess...all of it. I believe in being Authentically yourself and growing from there, being truly yourself in the world expressing your inner power to endure the life you are given, the power to navigate your way through your life and the power to transform your life into anything you wan. Be all that you can be for yourself to be able to impact change on the world around you.
My Qualifications:
* Bachelor Degree in ECE, Registered
* Diploma in Comprehensive Nursing, Registered
* Certificate in Equine Foundation Course for Flinchlock release therapy
* Certificate in Dromgood horsemanship journey to mastery
* Equine care and handling Level 3
