Heartland Equine-Assisted Counseling

05/01/2026

When my brain healed/rewired from trauma, my body finally felt safe to release all of it…then I could safely FEEL again….then there’s that moment when your brain AND your bones KNOW: it really is possible to heal, to transform; to embrace the calm☺️ to connect mind and body, to be embodied.

We say this all the time in the trauma field, “trauma lives in the body.” But that’s not actually accurate.

As Lisa Feldman Barrett puts it,
“The body doesn’t keep the score. Your brain keeps the score and your body is the scorecard.”

That distinction matters more than we think.

Trauma is not stored in muscles, fascia, or organs. It is encoded in the brain, in prediction, memory, meaning-making, and learned associations. The body is where those predictions get played out. Heart rate changes. Muscle tension. Breath shifts. Gut responses. Urges to act. Not because the body is holding trauma, but because the brain is running a pattern it learned to survive.

When we collapse trauma into “the body,” we risk oversimplifying what is actually a complex, brain-based process involving perception, context, and prediction. And clinically, that matters.

Because healing is not just about “releasing” something from the body.
It’s about updating the brain’s model of the world.

The body isn’t where trauma lives.
It’s where trauma shows up.

05/01/2026

As long as this account is run by a millennial born in the 1900s... this meme isn’t going anywhere.

Tomorrow, it’s gonna be May 💚 and that means Mental Health Month is here.

This year’s theme is More Good Days, Together, a reminder that a “good day” looks different for everyone. It doesn’t have to mean perfect or productive. Sometimes it simply means getting through the day.

Throughout May, we’ll be sharing simple, practical ways to support your mental health and stay connected to the people around you.

Join us this month 💚

04/25/2026

04/25/2026

We had an amazing time celebrating our participants and the Heartland Family at Tux & Boots 2026! THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT AND DEDICATION TO THE HEALING WORK OF THE HORSES AND TEAM!

This is "HTR - Gala 2026 V2" by Gravity Films on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

04/24/2026

SUMMER SOCIAL SKILLS DATES ARE HERE!! (Ages 7-11)

We will be meeting every-other week for a series of 4 group sessions. Building trust, connection, boundaries, and communication skills!

Activities include horsemanship skills, painting with horses, creating and navigating obstacle course with a horse, nature trail walks and more!

Each week builds on skills learned in previous sessions.

Please email andrea@htrkc.org to reserve your spot before sessions are filled!

04/20/2026

🌿 🐴 Equine-Assisted Wellness for Helping Professionals🐴 🌿
For REGISTRATION please follow this link: https://andrea-metcalf.clientsecure.me/contact-widget
A restorative morning to reconnect, recalibrate, and return renewed.
You care for others every day.
This space is for you!!
Therapists. Social workers. Nurses. Educators. Physicians. Case managers.
You hold stories, trauma, systems stress, and ethical weight.
Over time, even the strongest helpers feel depleted.
This experiential workshop offers space to slow down, breathe deeply, and reconnect with the parts of yourself that exist beyond your professional role.
Saturday, May 9, 2026
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Heartland Therapeutic Riding, Inc.
19655 Antioch Rd.
Overland Park, KS 66213
(913) 897-3939
www.htrkc.org
andrea@htrkc.org
$150 per participant *Limited to 12 participants to maintain intimacy and depth.
Reserve Your Spot
https://andrea-metcalf.clientsecure.me/contact-widget
What You’ll Experience
🐴 Grounding and mindfulness with horses
🐴 Nervous system regulation practices
🐴 EquiLateral:The Equine-Assisted EMDR Protocol ®, A “Horse Resource” installation
🐴 Reflection on provider mental health & sustainability
🐴 Gentle exploration of bias and self-awareness
This is not a riding workshop!
No horse experience is needed. Just a willingness to pause.
Why Horses?
Horses respond honestly and immediately to human nervous systems.
They invite presence.
They offer co-regulation.
They help us reset without judgment!
Many professionals leave feeling:
• Emotionally lighter
• More centered and embodied
• Clearer in perspective
• Renewed in purpose
• Better resourced to return to practice

🌿 🐴 Equine-Assisted Wellness for Helping Professionals🐴 🌿

For REGISTRATION please follow this link: https://andrea-metcalf.clientsecure.me/contact-widget

A restorative morning to reconnect, recalibrate, and return renewed.

You care for others every day.
This space is for you!!
Therapists. Social workers. Nurses. Educators. Physicians. Case managers.
You hold stories, trauma, systems stress, and ethical weight.
Over time, even the strongest helpers feel depleted.
This experiential workshop offers space to slow down, breathe deeply, and reconnect with the parts of yourself that exist beyond your professional role.

Saturday, May 9, 2026
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Heartland Therapeutic Riding, Inc.
19655 Antioch Rd.
Overland Park, KS 66213
(913) 897-3939
www.htrkc.org
andrea@htrkc.org
$150 per participant *Limited to 12 participants to maintain intimacy and depth.

Reserve Your Spot
https://andrea-metcalf.clientsecure.me/contact-widget

What You’ll Experience
🐴 Grounding and mindfulness with horses
🐴 Nervous system regulation practices
🐴 EquiLateral:The Equine-Assisted EMDR Protocol ®, A “Horse Resource” installation
🐴 Reflection on provider mental health & sustainability
🐴 Gentle exploration of bias and self-awareness
This is not a riding workshop!
No horse experience is needed. Just a willingness to pause.

Why Horses?
Horses respond honestly and immediately to human nervous systems.
They invite presence.
They offer co-regulation.
They help us reset without judgment!
Many professionals leave feeling:
• Emotionally lighter
• More centered and embodied
• Clearer in perspective
• Renewed in purpose
• Better resourced to return to practice

04/15/2026

🐴✨ Good news! Heartland still has openings in our full-length day camp!

Our popular Cowpokes Camp is usually reserved for weekly HTR participants, but this year we have a little extra room—so we’re excited to open it up to the public!

If you’ve been searching for an inclusive horse day camp, this is your chance. Don’t miss out on a fun, hands-on experience with horses in a supportive and engaging environment.

👉 Check out the qualifications below to see if it’s a good fit.
Please note: all campers will need to complete a brief, one-time evaluation before attending camp.

Spots are limited—sign up soon!

Register Here 👉https://www.jotform.com/build/243265875218161

04/11/2026

04/04/2026

The Rescued Hearts Film captures the essence of The Horse, The Heart, The Humility, and The Healing that IS POSSIBLE with Horses. Highly recommend pausing for 180 minutes to see and understand the math and the magic of the herd! ❤️🐴🐴🐴❤️