Ara Equus Horse Guided Wellness & Psychotherapy

08/05/2026

https://rivervalleysun.ca/horses-meet-you-where-youre-at-ara-equus-brings-equine-therapy-to-carleton-county/

With a herd attuned to human physiology, the founders of Ara Equus say their therapy helps clients find clarity, calm, and a truer sense of self

07/22/2026

What is it you feel when you see these images? Allow me to provide context. Today was a day like many others with a long list of to do chores to tackle. By mid-day my energy was directed toward installing a gate replacing the temporary rope gate that has served its purpose but needed to be replaced with something more substantial. You see Chunk has started challenging his enclosure by nudging the braid fencing. I’m not sure what he is thinking but to me he seems so proud of himself and at the prospect of getting into mischief. What a little bu**er he is. Well Chunker Boy momma doesn’t want you visiting the neighbours, so we are putting in metal gates. As I fastened the lower bracket to the pole, the boys huddled around me. Perhaps one of my equine apprentices might give me a hand, I thought. They completely distracted me and I spent the next few minutes experiencing pure joy. Gus stood over me. His warm breath smelled of grass and his whiskers brushed against my cheek. Chunk and Raffy leaned in nudging me and Joey stood a few feet away watching. In those moments, the gate took a back seat and my time with the boys became center stage. Sitting on my knees put me in an exceptionally vulnerable position. One of them could have easily stepped on me or kicked. Yet, I could not feel safer in their midst. Why? Because, over the years we have cultivated trust in all things big and small. They choose what feels right for them. Trust flourishes over billions of micro moments where consent is sought and where they are treated with kindness. So today, I felt very much at ease with them.

Ultimately, the gate didn’t get installed but what I experienced was more valuable. It’s the kind of connection that cannot be described. As for the gate… there is always tomorrow.

06/21/2026

Father’s Day is one that one day of the year when we wake up to find ourselves surrounded by messages of gratitude, celebration, and the special bond between fathers and their children. It’s unavoidable. The marketing machine, and social media splash beautiful tributes to amazing dads with lavish advertising of gifts, cards and activities to celebrate fathers and the amazing roles they play in their families.
But what if this is a very difficult day for you? For many people, Father’s Day may come with painful realities. A father’s absence in their lives, complicated by the reasons for this lack of protective presence, can stir a wide gamut of feelings like grief, anger, confusion, guilt, loneliness, making this a day of pain rather than celebration.
What if you are estranged from your father for reasons beyond your own choice? Maybe that is a necessary disconnect for reasons such as abuse, neglect, or an irreparable relationship. Memories resurface around significant trauma that you would rather bury than have to revisit.
What if your father has a terminal diagnosis, dementia, memory loss, or another challenging situation? Anticipatory grief has already set in and your awareness is heightened, as are your memories of what is lost, what could have been, what needs to be reconciled within yourself.
What if your father is already gone? That longing to hear his voice but the phone call you cannot make, and simple life update you cannot share. You cry for the things your father missed, that he never got to see or understand and you celebrate those moments, however plentiful or few that he did share with you.
Today grief can resurface in ways you never expected, especially if many years have passed since your father left your world and you may become overwhelmed with emotions. Know that you are not alone. It is ok to be angry and to cry, to feel all of your feelings, and to grieve in your own way.
Some people have a father who stopped being, or never was, safe, nurturing, or capable of providing the love and support they deserve. Your pain is shared by countless others who have experienced abuse, neglect, addiction, violence, or emotional harm. Society idealizes family relationships as special, to be preserved at all costs. That may have put you in the difficult decision of creating distance from your father in order to protect your mental, emotional, and/or physical well-being.
On Father’s Day especially, many who do not understand the kind of harm that occurred or the complicated relationship that you have with your father, may encourage forgiveness. Well-intentioned friends may suggest reconciliation when they have no idea what led to the estrangement and continue to violate your boundaries.
Father’s Day may trigger feelings of grief for the relationship you wish you could have had rather than the one that actually existed. Maybe you never knew your father and never experienced what it was like to have one, the missed milestones, conversations, paternal guidance and protective presence. That kind of grief deserves recognition too.
Today can resurface questions and emotions that are more buried the rest of the year. Do you experience feelings of rejection or questions about self-worth. As a child you may have internalized a parent’s absence, or unacceptable behaviour, blaming yourself for being unworthy. This can carry into adulthood even when it was never about you.
If Father’s Day is painful, remember that what you feel is real. It is not just in your head. Grief is one of the most universal human experiences, yet it remains deeply personal and often misunderstood. It is not just an emotional journey. It is also a biological one. The brain processes grief using circuits tied to pain, memory, attachment, and even reward. You are not weak. This is a natural biological response and understanding the neuroscience behind it not only validates your lived experience but also becomes a crucial step towards healing.
Today is also National Indigenous People’s Day, honoring First Nations, Inuit and Métis, and highlighting the Seven Grandfather Teachings - moral values and guiding principles used to live a good, balanced life. Coinciding with Father’s Day, it may be especially difficult for some people who have suffered in this community.
At Ara Equus, we partner with our horses in a culturally-competent, holistic, neuroscience-informed healing environment. We understand the depths of complicated grief, trauma, and the physiological processes of injury and healing. In the company of horses, and credentialed mental health practitioners, (psychotherapist, equine specialists) you will find a compassionate, safe, non-judgment space for whatever emotions that need to arise so that you can move forward.
Meet Gus, the surrogate daddy on the farm to Raffy and Chunk, our youngest.

06/07/2026

WHAT IS DARVO and HOW HORSES CAN HELP!

DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender) is a response exhibited by perpetrators to deflect blame and responsibility. When using DARVO, perpetrators deny their involvement in wrongdoing, attack their victims’ credibility, and argue that they are the real victims in order to avoid punishment or repercussions. They may also gaslight the survivor to confuse and manipulate them into doubting their own reality and second-guessing what happened. The offender aims to make it seem as though they are the one who has been abused and that they are being targeted for reasons such as money, extortion, or whatever suits their denial. DARVO can affect how other people perceive the survivor, who they may view as less trustworthy, and the abuser who they may see as more believable. This becomes divisive and harmful.
A 2022 study looked into the experiences of 89 women who experienced sexual assault while at college. Researchers found that almost half of the participants experienced DARVO tactics from their abusers when they had confronted, reported or had further contact with them. We also witness this repeatedly in our justice system, especially during r**e trials.

How can DARVO affect mental health? Let’s examine it briefly from a nervous system perspective.

When people are abused, assaulted or experience traumatic events, their physiology is altered as their bodies go into survival states. They fight, flee, freeze, fawn, appease, shut down, become immobilized or go still as their nervous system takes over to keep them alive. When they report the assault, they are revictimized by police, the judicial system or the court of social opinion.
When there are no legal repercussions, they begin to question ‘Do I matter? What about me?’ And the answer they gets is that they matter less or not at all. That is a secondary trauma, overlapping the initial, loading more dysregulated stress hormones into their systems.

As for the perpetrator, when they commit a violent act and nothing happens to them afterwards, their nervous system learns that it was safe to do so because they faced no consequences, were acquitted, and got away with it while the victim was publicly shamed and went silent. Their bodies file it away as something they can do again.

The victim and perpetrator are learning completely opposite lessons about safety.

A 2021 Canadian study (Springer) investigated how female survivors of sexual assault felt when police did not believe them. Researchers found lost trust in the police and experienced the secondary trauma of being revictimized by the police who made them feel at fault. The negative effects on their overall mental health and well-being included a loss of self-worth, self-image, self-confidence, or self-esteem. Other studies reveal how chronic unresolved trauma stored in the body also contributes to many physical illnesses.

A 2017 study in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma found that Perpetrators of violence often use a strategy of Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender (DARVO) to confuse and silence their victims. 138 undergraduate students were asked to report on a time they confronted an individual over a wrong-doing. Analyses revealed that DARVO was commonly used by individuals who were confronted, women were more likely to be exposed to DARVO than men during confrontations, and higher levels of exposure to DARVO during a confrontation were associated with increased perceptions of self-blame among the confronters. These results provide evidence for the existence of DARVO as a perpetrator strategy and establish a relationship between DARVO exposure and feelings of self-blame. Exploring DARVO aids in understanding how perpetrators are able to enforce victims’ silence through the mechanism of self-blame.

A study from 2023 with undergraduate students looked into the effect of DARVO on their perception of perpetrators and survivors of sexual assault. Researchers found that study participants rated perpetrators who used DARVO as less abusive, less responsible for the sexual assault, and more believable than perpetrators who did not use DARVO.

Additionally, participants rated survivors of perpetrators who used DARVO as less believable and more abusive. They were also willing to punish the survivor and less willing to punish the perpetrator. It is important for people who have survived abuse to understand that they are not to blame for what happened to them. The responsibility lies with the person who abused them.

DARVO is very common but not acceptable. You are not alone. Support is available.

Educate yourself and others on how to identify DARVO tactics when it is occurring. Studies have found that this makes perpetrators less believable and less abusive.
Record DARVO dates and times of DARVO actions, set boundaries and seek help or support from a professional trained specifically in trauma and abuse.

At Ara Equus, you have an incredible opportunity to heal in the company of horses alongside specialists in trauma, including a licensed psychotherapist. Horses do not judge. They do not lie, manipulate, blame or shame. Their brains are just not wired for such functions, yet they instinctively understand survival states like flight, freeze, etc. and can help you find a sense of safety. Because horses are prey animals, they are hyper-attuned to their environment and to human emotion. The presence of a calm horse can signal physical safety to your brain, lowering heart rate, reducing muscle tension, and boosting mood-enhancing neurotransmitters through a process called co-regulation. Learn to grow your window of tolerance, set healthy boundaries, expand your insight and understanding of yourself and how your physiology processes trauma from a different level with a different intervention or therapy than traditional methods you may know or are used to. The body has to thaw before the mind can heal.

In-person, on the farm, virtual, horse and non-horse guided psychotherapy sessions are available.
araequushorseasmedicine.com [email protected] 506-991-0700

05/24/2026

NEW TO CARLETON COUNTY, serving Western NB, the Maritimes & beyond:
Ara Equus is a pioneering mental health and wellness centre in Bedell, NB, specializing in trauma therapy and personal wellness programs to facilitate healing and personal growth. Our mission is to offer a safe space for individuals to feel seen, heard, felt and validated as they explore paths to self-discovery, inner healing and empowerment.
Experience the support of horses as well as certified trauma-informed professionals in a private equine therapy session. We are available for one-on-one sessions with clients starting in June 2026. Each session lasts approximately an hour but longer sessions can be arranged and can be scheduled weekly, biweekly or monthly as suited to your needs. No riding or horse experience is necessary because our sessions are non-riding. Our interests include the integration of evidence-based neuroscience and psychotherapy modalities into horse guided wellness and mental health programs with a special focus on chronic treatment resistant and trauma-related conditions. It has been proven that horses can take you to places that are unreachable in conventional therapy! Consent, choice, compassion and safety are pivotal in all interactions. In-person and virtual sessions are available.
We recommend a minimum of 4-8 sessions depending on your personal needs and insurance coverage. Our services are covered by many private or workplace benefits or extended health plans.

Find session details at: www.araequus.com or [email protected]
Share this info with anyone you feel might benefit from it!

05/10/2026

When Mother’s Day is not so Simple

Mother’s Day originated in the early 20th century and since has become a cultural institution. Initiated, with good intentions, to celebrate the ideal image of a warm, present, unconditionally loving matriarch, for many it is not that straightforward. Mother’s Day can be deeply triggering.

Complicating this holiday are the complexities of relational trauma. For anyone whose mother was emotionally unavailable, abusive, absent, chronically ill, mentally unstable, addicted, or simply not the mother the cultural holiday idealizes, Mother’s Day can be the most difficult day of the year.
Consider Meraki, the newest member of our herd. We know very little about her, but what we do know is that she born on an Indigenous farm in Northern BC. Narrowly escaping the Japanese meat truck, she mothered a foal at the age of 3. Like many horses, mother and foal were separated and sold separately. As we welcome her into the herd, we continue to monitor her needs. In the horse and human world, it can also be most difficult for children/adults who did not grow up with their original mothers. For children who were given up at birth, adopted, fostered, or whose mothers died young, developmental trauma is experienced on multiple levels. Ruptures in consistent care can surface throughout life presenting in the form or anxiety, insecure or ambivalent attachment, and a host of emotional aliments. When chronic in nature, unexplained illness manifest in the for of autoimmune conditions like diabetes, arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, Crohn’s and many others.

Relational trauma is the psychological injury that results from repeated experiences of feeling unsafe, unseen, unheard, or unvalued in significant relationships, especially during those formative years. It’s not about a single traumatic event but an accumulation of emotional neglect, inconsistency, or control in the relationships that were supposed to teach you what love looks like. Grief in the context of relational trauma is not just about death. It’s about mourning the relationship, the childhood, or the version of a parent you never had. It’s the ache of realizing that the love you deserved was never available, and that healing means grieving a loss no one else can see.
For many, navigating this holiday is like running a gauntlet of public celebration of a relationship you may have mourned your entire life. You have no safe container, no ritual, and no language for grieving the mother who was unable or unwilling to show up in the ways that you needed her most. The very mention of Mother’s Day can trigger sadness, dysregulation, numbness, or even dissociation. This is your nervous system acknowledging your truth, your biology. It is not ingratitude. It’s neurobiological and it’s honest.
Whether you’re carrying unresolved maternal wounds, fears about your own parenting, or both, trauma-informed therapy offers a space to untangle the layered emotions that surface when a holiday designed to celebrate mothers instead activates grief, rage, or shame.

At Ara Equus, we not only understand trauma but are trained specialists in attachment and trauma therapy. Alongside our herd, who also embody their own wounds of early maternal loss, caregiver loss, or abuse and are painfully honest, we provide a safe space to honour and process your mother wounds. We honour choice, consent, connection and empowerment in healing. If your feelings of love, longing, disappointment, anger, shame and guilt are causing you distress amid a cultural script that expects you to discard the truth and only honor the good, we hear you and we see you. You don’t have to take sides or appease anyone, on one Sunday in May or any other day of the year. Healing the mother wound starts with permission to feel what you authentically feel rather than what you think you’re expected to feel.