Healing and Horsemanship

Shannon Ray Riley
  • 5.0 (4)
  • ALTERNATIVE HEALTH
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Healing and Horsemanship

A podcast exploring the many healing paths we walk with horses. Come along with me on this wild ride as we explore the vast, growing world where horsemanship and healing intersect.

  1. #14 Body Awareness and Balanced Movement with Janelle Cameron

    2 DAYS AGO

    #14 Body Awareness and Balanced Movement with Janelle Cameron

    Janelle, also known as the Equestrian Motion Coach, is a strength and performance coach inspiring equestrians to move better both on the ground and in the saddle. This interview was recorded way back in March of this year (2024). Listening to it again, it was re-inspiring to hear Janelle’s perspective on balancing and aligning our bodies for our own sake, and our horses. Especially now, as I’m currently 9 months pregnant at the time of this episode being published, I’m learning again in a whole new way how the importance of a daily movement routine is so essential. Movement is life, perhaps even more so for horses than ourselves. So, if we aren’t already prioritizing balanced movement in our lives, it’s high time we start! In this interview we talk about: + Why all riders are athletes, regardless of how they feel about it because they’re a teammate to their horse + How Janelle began connecting her studies of Kinesiology and biomechanics of humans to horses + How body awareness is the missing piece for many riders + How to motivate yourself to prioritize a movement practice (and even be able to do it in your jeans) + Why breathing mechanics are essential in your movement practice and how it will change your life + Ways we can become more aware of the core muscles and how to use them more effectively + Training our bodies to be strong and balanced so that we are better able to ride through any trip or unexpected movement our horse makes + The mind-body connection, and how we need to have both our physical and mental game strong to perform our best Resources This show is supported by The Herd. Saddle up to find greater harmony in your health and horsemanship. Join the holistic horse community by becoming a Herd Member today! Membership offers behind-the-scenes bonuses for each episode, access to my growing content library on all things health, wellness, and horses, and much more. Check out the transcript for this episode, ‘Body Awareness and Balanced Movement with Janelle Cameron’ on the blog. This episode’s bonus for Herd Members is access to the full behind-the-scenes post, ‘Turning Pain Into Purpose, Part Two’ which elaborates on ways we can both prevent pain and restore vitality through care strategies, and explores pain through an Ayurvedic lens. Links from this episode: The Motion Coach The Motion Coach on Instagram The Motion Coach on FaceBook Wild Willing Therapeutics & Training Wild Willing on Instagram The Herd Membership Podcast cover photo by Tricia Mogensen

  2. #13 Navigating Grief and Transforming From Pain

    SEP 22

    #13 Navigating Grief and Transforming From Pain

    Grief and pain will make you a stranger to yourself. It will compromise your system. Everything becomes a reminder of what you’ve lost, or your limitations. How do we prepare ourselves for the end of life? How do we move on after the loss of a loved one? And how can we find strength of spirit even when it feels like our body is working against us? This episode is about my journey navigating grief after the devastating loss of a loved one, and coping with chronic pain in a condensed timeline. My journey with grief and pain is unique in that it’s also been inextricably linked to creating new life, as I found out I was pregnant not long after losing one of the most important people in my life. However, it’s made me see that when we break down the process down into its bare parts, the cycle of death bringing new life is something we all experience in some way. In this episode I talk about: + The importance of training ourselves our eyes to see signs of pain (in both human and nonhuman animals) + How strength of spirit is so much more valuable than physical strength + The phenomenon of losing a loved one and then birthing new life into the world + How grief and pain transform us when we unflinchingly open our senses to them + My insights on how to navigate the grieving process, and how there is no right or wrong way to grieve + Why I have the utmost respect and empathy for those who suffer from chronic pain + How time with my horses, even very limited, has helped me to find strength of spirit when I needed it most Resources This show is supported by The Herd. Saddle up to find greater harmony in your health and horsemanship. Join the holistic horse community by becoming a Herd Member today! Membership offers behind-the-scenes bonuses for each episode, access to my growing content library on all things health, wellness, and horses, and much more. Check out the transcript for this episode, ‘Navigating Grief and Transforming From Pain’ on the blog. This episode’s bonus for Herd Members is access to the full behind-the-scenes post, ‘Turning Pain Into Purpose, Part One’ which introduces important research on signs horses are in pain under saddle, and how we can learn to identify behavioral triggers and prevent pain in our own lives. Links from this episode: Wild Willing Therapeutics & Training Wild Willing on Instagram The Herd Membership Podcast cover photo by Tricia Mogensen

  3. #12 Raising Energy and Active Pendulum Dowsing with Dana Jenkins

    12/01/2023

    #12 Raising Energy and Active Pendulum Dowsing with Dana Jenkins

    Dana is an Equine Massage Therapist,  Energy Worker for horses & humans, and a wild horse advocate who eloquently speaks volumes about her work - and something you may not have heard of, but you should know about: Active Pendulum Dowsing. This episode truly needs little introduction. To preface, though as I like to do, I’ll simply share some highlights that we get into in this interview. Also, I’m excited to say that Dana is offering 15% off of her offerings to Members of The Herd who support the podcast. So enjoy the episode, and get in on this deal if you’re as curious about this mind-blowing modality as I am! In this interview we talk about: + How Dana’s childhood horse helped her co-regulate and get through traumas she didn’t yet have the tools to cope with + Why Dana says her leaving the horse world was her biggest regret - and how she came back to horses later in life + How unprocessed emotions are stored in the body + Dana’s introduction to the world of energy work and pendulum dowsing through working with a shaman + How horses came back into Dana’s life when she began to heal herself + Her journey becoming an Equine Bodyworker, and why she feels that the energy work she was doing facilitated her getting to that point + How everyone has the gift of intuition - it’s up to us whether we trust, believe in, or cultivate our abilities + And finally how energy work can help us come back into balance in a number of ways, through clearing obstacles, patching energy leaks, and opening us to positivity on the subtle body frontiers.  Resources This show is supported by The Herd. Saddle up to find greater harmony in your health and horsemanship. Join the holistic horse community by becoming a Herd Member today! Membership offers behind-the-scenes bonuses for each episode, access to my growing content library on all things health, wellness, and horses, and much more. Check out the interview transcript for this episode, ‘Raising Energy and Active Pendulum Dowsing with Dana Jenkins’ on the blog. This episode’s bonus for Herd Members is a 15% discount on Dana’s offerings at Elevation Equine - including remote Active Pendulum Dowsing. Go to The Herd’s membership site to learn more. Links from this episode: Elevation Equine Services Elevation Equine on Instagram Wild Willing Therapeutics & Training Wild Willing on Instagram The Herd Membership Podcast cover photo by Tricia Mogensen

  4. #11 Wild Horses and Rewriting Stories

    10/13/2023

    #11 Wild Horses and Rewriting Stories

    Wild horses spark inspiration in our hearts and minds, but that isn’t all that they fuel. They are also source of hundreds of years of controversy and debate, that continues to this day in the not-so-wild west. This episode is about my journey coming to know wild horses, from an activists perspective, then a trainer’s perspective, a guardian’s perspective and then finally from the perspective of a researcher. In this episode I’ll be sharing all about the history of the wild horse in North America, as well as their present day plight, and why it’s even of consequence. The main reason I’m devoting this episode to wild horses, though, is because over the last decade I have essentially voluntarily and figuratively been dragged away by wild horses. I wouldn’t be where I am today without their influence in my life. And that said, I have some big announcements to share - all of which, were inspired by wild horses. I’m self publishing a book, What We Tame, a collection of stories on gentling wild mustangs! Pre-sale options will be coming soon. The book will be available in print and as an e-book (soon, I promise)!!! I’m also breathing new life into an old project, geared towards better understanding American mustangs, and all stories and perspectives that weave their narrative. I've launched The Wild Side - which is part Archive, part Community, designed to bring the wild horse community closer together and educate people about why wild horses matter. So if you are voluntarily dragged away by wild horses too, I hope to see you over at The Wild Side. In this episode I talk about: + The history of the wild horse in North America, as well as their present day plight + What exactly an American mustang is, and why they matter + The graphic details concerning the violence committed against them that led to the grassroots activism campaign and the passing of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act + The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program and the complex pros and cons of the current management practices + How my interactions with wild horses as a trainer led me to question the management practices of on-range populations + Why my research on American mustangs in my postgraduate program in Anthrozoology drove me to gallop headlong into the wild horse controversy + The importance of reflecting on our beliefs, unpacking our perspectives, and truly listening to others who think differently + The difference between wild horse activists and wild horse advocates (and why I call myself an advocate) + Why I believe that wild horses are the main character in my story + How essential it is to think outside of ourselves - to think what the horse would want, instead of just what we want, and why there is often a difference between the two Resources This show is supported by The Herd. Saddle up to find greater harmony in your health and horsemanship. Join the holistic horse community by becoming a Herd Member today! Membership offers behind-the-scenes bonuses for each episode, access to my growing content library on all things health, wellness, and horses, and much more. Check out the post that expands on this episode, ‘Wild Horses and Rewriting Stories’ on the blog. Links from this episode: The Wild Side Archive The Wild Side Community What We Tame - my book coming soon!!! Montgomery Creek Ranch Wild Horse Native Species Research Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program Mustang: The Saga of the Wild Horse in the American West by Deanne Stillman Wild Horse Country: the History, Myth, and Future of the Mustang by David Philipps Population Genetics of Great Basin Wild Horses Wild Horse Annie and the Last of the Mustangs by David Cruise and Alison Griffiths Wild Horses Adopted Under a Federal Program are Going to Slaughter by Dave Philipps Wild Horses, Wilder Controversy by Ben Masters Wild Willing Therapeutics & Training Wild Willing on Instagram The Herd Membership Podcast

  5. #10 Innate Wisdom and Channeling Intuition with Ashley Frye

    08/21/2023

    #10 Innate Wisdom and Channeling Intuition with Ashley Frye

    An Equine Therapy Facilitator, Earth Intuitive, Seer, and Space Holder, Ashley Frye speaks to the importance of “letting the wisdom of our bodies supersede any doubts we have about a particular path in life.” I was nothing short of blown away during my conversation with Ashley. She shared about the many paths she’s walked - as a high school educator for eleven years, a birth doula, a space holder for people to heal using photography and videography as her medium, and more. I’m so grateful for Ashley’s authenticity and courage as we delved into the shadows of what it’s like to have an incredible innate gift to channel, intuit, and work with Earth Medicine, only to fear being ostracized by the dominant culture. I feel so inspired by Ashley’s courage in sharing about her pursuit to not live small, and lead with an open heart, and I know you will too. In this interview we talk about: + Ashley’s intense initiation through grief during the hardest time of her life and her decision that she was not going to live with a closed heart + The importance of pause, and taking a moment to let things happen even if they are a struggle, instead of stepping in with the ‘fix-it’ mentality + How horses have so much grace for us and continue to show up in spite of ourselves + The way that horses sync their heart rate to humans with elevated respiration and innately work to regulate their nervous system + Ashley’s work as a birth doula and how she is called to help people find the “yes, you can do it” when fear and doubt closes in + Not playing it small and showing up authentically even with the fear of being ostracized for being different + The gift of channeling or “seeing” which Ashely has had her whole life and how she is working to overcome cultural norms and share her gift with the world openly + How when horses meet us where we are it gives us grace to meet ourselves where we are too + And unlearning the need to have control, and how Ashley believes that horses are “exceptionally good medicine in teaching us to show up and be with what is Resources This show is supported by The Herd. Saddle up to find greater harmony in your health and horsemanship. Join the holistic horse community by becoming a Herd Member today! Membership offers behind-the-scenes bonuses for each episode, access to my growing content library on all things health, wellness, and horses, and much more. Check out the interview transcript for this episode, ‘Innate Wisdom and Channeling Intuition with Ashley Frye’ on the blog. This episode’s bonus for Herd Members is a 15% discount on Ashley’s Earth Medicine and Remote Journeywork offerings booked in 2023 through her business Of Breath and Bone, as well as access to the full behind-the-scenes post ‘How Horse Medicine Helped Me In Labor’ which explores horse medicine in a personal story of transformation. Links from this episode: Of Breath and Bone Of Breath and Bone on Instagram Ashley’s Earth Medicine offering Ashley’s Journeywork offering Wild Hearts Equine Therapy Wild Willing Therapeutics & Training Wild Willing on Instagram The Herd Membership Podcast cover photo by Tricia Mogensen

  6. #9 Equine Craniosacral and Deep Listening with Maureen Rogers

    07/25/2023

    #9 Equine Craniosacral and Deep Listening with Maureen Rogers

    When the body is deeply listened to, miracles happen. Maureen’s pioneering work applying craniosacral therapy to horses speaks volumes to the “miracles” that happen when the body is truly seen, and deeply listened to. Maureen is a pioneer and leading expert in the field of equine craniosacral therapy. She is the founder of Equine CranioSacral Workshops - an international education program that offers the most extensive program of study. She founded her program in 1999 and has over twenty years of teaching experience. A really big takeaway from this episode is that there are amazing therapies available at our fingertips. Craniosacral being a very profound one. I’m eager to learn more about craniosacral in my continuing education as a bodyworker. And for you listening out there, even if you don’t learn to do cranial yourself, I hope you seek out a practitioner to experience it for yourself, and for your horses. Experience for yourself how the body responds when it is truly, deeply listened to. I believe that’s when “miracles” happen.  In this interview we talk about: + The severe whiplash injury that led Maureen to craniosacral as “living in pain wasn’t an option” + How Maureen got back into the horse world, and her experience with a special foal named Willy who inspired her to apply craniosacral to horses + Why craniosacral is especially vital for horses, as they contend regularly with pressure on their head, neck, and in the sensitive structure of their mouth from bridles, bits, nosebands, halters, and dentistry that has ramifications for their whole body + How the tack and equipment we use is second to the hands that use it, but still has the potential to greatly or negatively influence our horse’s physical wellbeing + The common problems that horses being worked in all disciplines of equitation run into, and the compensations that develop due to certain movement patterns + Myths about horse conformation that are rampant in the horse industry + Many issues, lamenesses, and patterns of disharmony that can be relieved or addressed by craniosacral that include, head shaking, navicular, spookiness, chronic pain, headaches, back pain, TMJ issues, head shyness, and more + The importance of educating ourselves and horse guardians to be able to assess imbalances and harness simple tools that can help the horse find balance + How all bodywork is a conversation, not a “fix it” strategy + Why we need more good horse handlers in the world + Maureen’s studies in shamanism and indigenous healing arts balance her knowledge of science and ultimately inform her cranial work + The belief that earning the horse’s trust is at the center of it all Resources This show is supported by The Herd. Saddle up to find greater harmony in your health and horsemanship. Join the holistic horse community by becoming a Herd Member today! Membership offers behind-the-scenes bonuses for each episode, access to my growing content library on all things health, wellness, and horses, and much more. Check out the interview transcript for this episode, ‘Equine Craniosacral and Deep Listening with Maureen Rogers’ on the blog. This episode’s bonus for Herd Members is access to the full behind-the-scenes post, ‘Poll Range of Motion Exercise’ which covers the functional anatomy of the horse’s poll joint, and the exercise I learned to help my training improve so that my horse’s heads were feeling good, balanced, and moving as they were designed to. Links from this episode: Equine CranioSacral Workshops Maureen Rogers on Instagram Horses are the original shamans - Dr. Tracy Rainwaters quote Wild Willing Therapeutics & Training Wild Willing on Instagram The Herd Membership Podcast cover photo by Tricia Mogensen

  7. #8 Botanical Medicine and the Divine Feminine with Jordan Stanton

    06/24/2023

    #8 Botanical Medicine and the Divine Feminine with Jordan Stanton

    Jordan practices what she calls equine soul work, offering a blend of somatic work, depth psychology and nature based practices to women while also educating people about botanical medicine, and how to bring herbs into our horse care and self care. Jordan is a lifelong horsewoman, herbalist, and marketing maven. She has been practicing herbalism for 25 years, and is a plant medicine woman in her blood and bones as her great grandmother was an indigenous healer in Oaxaca, Mexico. She offers workshops, classes, and wellness consultations on how to offer plant medicine to horses. To say I enjoyed nerding out with Jordan about herbal medicine would be a grand understatement. We also covered great emergent topics like the importance of integration in healing work, how to work with plants as living, energetic beings, and why horses are our heroes. In this interview we talk about: + Honoring and owning feminine energy and the difference between horsemanship and horsewomanship + Jordan’s experience becoming an herbalist, and how a love of plant medicine was instilled in her through her ancestry + How herbal gardening can help us develop an alliance with plants, and to see them as another living, energetic being + The importance of not only offering horses access to herbal medicine, but trusting that they have innate wisdom about their own bodies to make their own self care decisions + How the horse world needs more herbalists who work small and go deep, and less of imposter syndrome that keeps us doubting our valuable knowledge and wisdom + Why Jordan believes (and I second) that horses and the human soul speak the same language + The importance of integration, and the alchemy of turning undigested experiences that manifest as trauma into wisdom + How horse’s saved Jordan’s life as a childhood trauma survivor, and made her feel alive when nothing else did + And why we need to ask the question of whether our pursuit of health is exploitative of another being or community Resources This show is supported by The Herd. Saddle up to find greater harmony in your health and horsemanship. Join the holistic horse community by becoming a Herd Member today! Membership offers behind-the-scenes bonuses for each episode, access to my growing content library on all things health, wellness, and horses, and much more. Check out the interview transcript for this episode, ‘Botanical Medicine and the Divine Feminine with Jordan Stanton’ on the blog. This episode’s bonus for Herd Members is access the full behind-the-scenes post, ‘The Beginner’s Guide to Home and Stable Herbalism’ which offers my go-to herbal resources to guide you on the plant path as you bring herbal medicine into your self care and horse care. Links from this episode: JS Horsewomanship JS Horsemanship on Instagram United Plant Savers The Business of Botanicals by Ann Armbrecht Wild Willing Therapeutics & Training Wild Willing on Instagram The Herd Membership Podcast cover photo by Tricia Mogensen

  8. #7 Transforming Trauma and Honoring Nature with Kelly Dukarski

    05/30/2023

    #7 Transforming Trauma and Honoring Nature with Kelly Dukarski

    You might have heard about the wonders of Equine Facilitated Therapies such as Gestalt, or maybe you’ve experienced them for yourself. In this interview with Kelly Dukarski of A Wild Omen, we dive into the ooey-gooey life changing center of what tapping into healing with horses is all about. Kelly is an Equine Gestaltist who partners with horses to offer a somatic healing experience in which clients are able to clear trauma from the body, reclaim their happiness, and embrace the beauty of who they are. She is based in West Newbury, Massachusetts, and has over three decades of experience as a horsewoman, in addition to 25 years working as a horticulturist and 15 years as a folk herbalist. Her deep love of horses comes right across in this interview, as she talks about how she’s walked a nontraditional path as a horsewoman, and weaves her healing work with herbs and nature into her work with horses. In this interview we talk about:  + The importance of giving back to our horses in return for all they give us through nature-based rituals and herbal medicine + How partnering with horses to facilitate healing in a consent-based approach offers the horse to stand in their power + The profound ways in which horses show up to offer us insight and help us move through difficult experiences and traumas + How doing our personal work must come first before we go forth to help others + That special horse - who for Kelly was a horse called Vision Quest - who kicked off her horsemanship journey with a bang, and showed her what relationships founded on mutual respect look like + Reconnecting to the land and bringing awareness to the lost art of ranching as a preservation practice + The collective healing power of women gathering to center horse medicine, community, and connection to nature + And how even after years of witnessing the transformative power of doing work in this field, it still remains beyond words to truly explain Resources This show is supported byThe Herd. Saddle up to find greater harmony in your health and horsemanship. Join the holistic horse community by becoming a Herd Member today! Membership offers behind-the-scenes bonuses for each episode, access to my growing content library on all things health, wellness, and horses, and much more. Check out the interview transcript for this episode,‘Transforming Trauma and Honoring Nature with Kelly Dukarski’ on the blog. This episode’s bonus for Herd Members is access to the full behind-the-scene’s post ‘My Healing Experience with Equine Gestalt’ which gives the full story of my session receiving this work firsthand. Links from this episode: A Wild Omen A Wild Omen on Instagram Wild Willing Therapeutics & Training Wild Willing on Instagram The Herd Membership Podcast cover photo by Tricia Mogensen

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A podcast exploring the many healing paths we walk with horses. Come along with me on this wild ride as we explore the vast, growing world where horsemanship and healing intersect.

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