Summit Acres Wellness by Ginny LaPrairie

01/26/2026

Nothing is wrong enough to diagnose but everything is wrong enough to change your life.

You don’t feel well but you’ve been told you’re fine.

Your labs are normal.
Your symptoms are vague.
Your exhaustion doesn’t fit neatly anywhere.

So it gets renamed.
Stress.
Aging.
Just life.

And quietly, you begin organizing your life around how bad you feel.

Your body isn’t failing.
It’s communicating.

A smart body adapts when demands outpace support.
It conserves energy.
It changes patterns to keep you functioning.

Symptoms aren’t breakdowns.
They’re brilliant messages from a body that’s been resourceful for a long time.

When symptoms are listened to, the body can reorganize the right kind of support.

We start where real change becomes possible in the body’s lived experience, and the wisdom beneath the symptoms.

Awareness is not the problem — it’s the beginning.

You’re not broken.🤍
www.demystifythesummit.com

01/25/2026

Content but looking forward to the next warm water buckets and mash!

01/18/2026

Your body knows the new year calendar designed by humans goes against our primal design, allowing spring for real rebirth.

There is a season no one glamorizes—
after you’ve left the old patterns,
before the new way fully lives in your body.

This is the muck.

At Summit Acres in winter, the days are shorter, the pace slower.

Frost holds the pasture.
Horses move with the light, not against it.

You’re not going backward here.
You’re becoming.

You're right on time.

01/17/2026

Some shifts are so deep they arrive without words. And horses always know.

As a new knowing settled into her body, Jack stepped in - standing beside her, then checking in, then returning to stillness. No cue. No request.

This is elder horse medicine.
Presence without agenda.
Leadership without force.

Horses respond to coherence, not effort. Jack stepped in as truth became embodied.

He stayed until the work was complete.

I can't put into words the beauty of this session. I chose presence over photos. She was moved to tears and I will always feel the awe as if it's the first.

12/13/2025

It is true that you can't out-supplement a microbiome that doesn't feel safe.

Jack & Iris are not required for the wellness work I do, but the additional layer of equine-guided work Jack, Iris and their environment provide is biologically relevant for hormone health.

Hormone health depends on rhythm, nourishment, microbial diversity, and nervous system regulation. Horses aid in co-regulating our nervous systems; safety signals change gut signaling which changes hormones.

One of my coaching favorites is the way the horses will fully surround someone, deactivating stuck states of stress.
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11/07/2025

The word "transformation" has lost its power in its overuse, diminishing the journey of the seeker. What does it take to transform? Courage, support, ego death, a willingness to lose the attachment to what no longer serves, and a deep value of growth. What lies on the other side of befriending your higher self? Freedom and deep wellness.

Our minds crave courage, challenge, and occasional change. It's our nervous system that often holds us back from temporary discomfort, but it's also the place to begin if you seek mind/body health rather than just the absence of disease.

11/01/2025

🐴 There are moments with horses that feel almost too intimate for words.

Paul’s recent text read: “I know you don’t watch the news when I’m gone — please don’t worry about the attacks. We are safe.”

He was referring to a special warfare spouse’s life hack — since they were never on the news in real time if everything went according to plan,
and everything else was sensationalized.

I had learned to stay away from that constant stream of fear —
a subtle but sneaky form of self-abuse that kept the nervous system on high alert.

The text still landed in an old, familiar place inside me. That loyal part of my system — the protector — stirred.

Before I could name it, Iris appeared. She didn’t need to know what happened; she simply sensed the shift. Horses don’t listen to our stories — they listen to our nervous systems.

She leaned in calm, patient, unwavering until she felt me regulate, my breath deepen, my body soften back into safety.

Horses don’t need the context. They don’t need the backstory. They simply feel what’s true without judgment.

Wellness begins with a regulated nervous system. The point isn’t that we never feel. The strength is in feeling and regulating. In how quickly we realign when something stirs.

Iris reminded me that regulation isn’t about control — it’s about connection. It’s leadership that’s felt, not forced. It’s safety that extends beyond self, into the herd.

Because when we’re among the herd, we are part of the herd.
Our calm becomes their calm.
Our coherence, their safety.

🌿 When the Nervous System Feels Safe, the Body Heals

A calm nervous system isn’t just emotional — it’s biochemical.
When safety is restored, the gut–brain axis (the constant communication between your digestive system and your brain) begins to function the way it was designed to: as a two-way partnership that regulates mood, metabolism, and vitality.

When we shift from “fight, flight, fawn, or freeze” into safety, here’s what unfolds:

🧠 Sharper mental clarity and focus.
Blood flow returns to the prefrontal cortex — decision-making, memory, and creativity thrive.

🍽️ Improved digestion and nutrient absorption.
The vagus nerve signals the gut that it’s safe to digest, assimilate, and repair rather than simply survive.

🌺 Balanced hormones and reduced inflammation.
Cortisol and adrenaline settle, allowing thyroid, insulin, and reproductive hormones to communicate properly.

😌 Elevated mood and emotional stability.
Over 90% of serotonin is made in the gut; when digestion flows, so does joy.

⚡ Sustainable energy.
The body stops burning fuel for survival and starts generating it for living.

💗 Enhanced immunity.
A regulated nervous system and thriving gut microbiome strengthen the body’s natural defenses.

Horses model this harmony every day; they return to balance quickly. When we learn to regulate like the herd, our gut and brain reconnect, and the entire system — physical, emotional, and spiritual — moves from defense to restoration.

09/28/2025

This captures perfectly why Iris and Jack initiate contact (consent) in my women's wellness program. Here's the thing, they do, but they're allowed the time and space. There is a lot to learn and reflect on either way.🩷

DO HORSES REALLY ENJOY BEING TOUCHED, OR JUST TOLERATE IT?

Touch is part of almost every interaction we have with horses – grooming, routine handling, tacking-up, vet visits, even a pat after a ride. Touch is also a routine feature of equine-assisted services, yet surprisingly little is known about how horses themselves experience it. Do they actually enjoy it, or does their experience depend on having the choice to engage – the freedom to say yes, or no?

A recent study compared two situations using therapy horses who were regularly involved in equine-assisted services. In the ‘forced touch’ condition, horses were tied up and touched continuously on different body areas (neck/shoulder, body, hindquarters) using patting, stroking, or scratching. In the ‘free-choice’ condition, horses were loose in a round pen and could only be touched if they chose to come close enough.

The results showed clear differences. Horses showed more stress-linked behaviours – oral movements, restlessness, and tail swishing – when touched without the option to move away. When free to choose, they often carried their heads lower (a sign of relaxation) and spent over half of the session out of arm’s reach. Stroking was more often linked with relaxed, low head carriage than scratching or patting, and touches on the hindquarters produced fewer stress responses than touches on the neck or body.

The researchers also looked at how the horses responded to different kinds of people. Around experienced handlers, horses were more likely to hold their heads high and showed lower heart-rate variability – signs of vigilance or anticipation, perhaps expecting work. In contrast, their responses with less experienced people were generally more relaxed.

Touches on the hindquarters were linked with fewer stress behaviours, while touches on the neck and body produced more tail swishing and less relaxed postures. Horses were also more likely to lower their heads – a calmer signal – when touched on the body or hindquarters than on the neck.

Why does this matter? Horses in all kinds of contexts – riding schools, competition yards, therapy programmes, or leisure homes – are routinely touched and handled. These findings show that the manner of touch, the part of the body involved, and above all the horse’s ability to choose whether to participate all shape how she/he/they experience the interaction.

The welfare implications are clear: allowing horses more agency in how and when we touch them may reduce stress, strengthen trust, and make interactions safer and more positive for everyone.

For me, the sad part of these findings is that horses are rarely given a choice about when or how they are touched. And many people don’t recognise when touch is causing the horse stress.

Study: Sarrafchi, A., Lassallette, E., & Merkies, K. (2025). The effect of choice on horse behaviour, heart rate and heart rate variability during human–horse touch interactions. Applied Animal Behaviour Science

09/01/2025

08/30/2025

The horse's first language is energy. It was magic to watch this conversation unfold. Iris gives as much as is needed - nothing more, nothing less. 💫

07/25/2025

Now this is trust. She follows me around as much as I swear, the manager is inspecting my work.🙌 Not pictured are the chickens she chased away in case they didn't think for themselves like Lily the barn cat.

The long-game is the short direct game in my philosophy. The horse is never wrong to act like a horse. I have a responsibility to allow space for her to "speak," to grow my understanding of her language, and to collaborate. I make room to patiently ask for what I need, too, like a soft "back up" so I'm not mugged for food. The key is that we give each other space to process and progress. There is a ton of feedback and respect, until expectation is quickly added.

The wisdom of the mare is to take care of her herd and sometimes she won't stop to ask when she feels the consequences are dire. Ask everyone in her pasture. It's not mean.

To the naked eye, she's twice been accused of being bossy or bullying. Until the epiphany. It's care. As gentle as she is, "Get out of the way for safety!" It's never abused. It's the only time she doesn't coexist peacefully, never any harm, and it's what made me curious. It's her version of "shoo".

Her sensitivity is her superpower and around here she gets a voice; the very voice she uses to help you process your uniqueness.

Same goes for you as you learn when to speak up and when to hold tight. Quiet can be an equally powerful answer, and your discernment takes your regulated nervous system. Sacred silence has its place.

Either way, the answer lies in your ability to regulate when you're receiving or giving feedback. Firm. Fair. Consistent.


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