Happy Hooves Wellness

10/29/2026

It’s the final week of with Horses for Mental Health and their challenge. Hard to believe that it’s almost come to an end!

In our final week we’re suppose to incorporate the braid into artwork of our choice and share the meaning behind it.
In the photo you see a colored pencil drawing of our two minis, Deacon & Dory. You’ll see Deacon’s two braids as well 😊 the drawing was done by a wonderful client. She ended up doing more of the animals here at the farm. Besides her enjoying the art process and my joy in receiving the art, it ended up having even more purpose 🩷 many of our clients here on the farm are sensory specific so they can struggle with wearing apparel. I needed to find a company who would be willing to find clothing to meet these clients needs. Inclusivity is important. Luckily I found Hierank Marketing Solutions and the founder, Matt, promptly found apparel that would work. He then went above and beyond figuring out a way to print this artwork on apparel. So now our animal friends are memorialized on clothing. In the picture is a folded tee-shirt. What a wonderful way to remember all the lessons our furry friends quietly teach us each day 🩷 so this artwork has quite a bit of meaning to me and all the folks here at Happy Hooves Wellness.

~ Crystal

10/22/2026

It’s Week 3 for the challenge in . Huge thank you to Horses for Mental Health for starting this initiative. We here at Happy Hooves appreciate your dedication to bringing awareness to the horse-human connection.

This week the challenge was about celebrating those organizations & businesses in your area who celebrate this special bond that people have with horses. I would like to give a shout out to Connected Growth & Wellness Equine Assisted Learning for all their equine facilitated Psychotherapy work and mental health workshops. The woman behind the name is Jill Rainwater. I’ve been working on a mental health workshops collaboration with Jill at Happy Hooves which is coming up this Saturday! Talking and planning with her over the past several months has been fun. She has such a joyful presence with a kind & giving nature. This translates into her work with human and horse. Her passion for best practices has been part of my inspiration to return to school to finish out my degree in social work. She is the real deal! Jill brings common therapy modalities like CBT & EMDR into her sessions with the horses. You can learn more about her practice at this link: https://www.michigan-emdr.com/equine-therapy

I shared the below pic of Tink her braids because as you can see that they are not perfect. That’s how we humans can show up at the farm, not perfect and perhaps our “braids” are a bit messy, which is totally fine. Show up as you are. The horses accept us as we are today and leave room for us to be different tomorrow ♥️

I believe this resonates with Jill & her psychotherapy work as well. We appreciate you, Jill! ♥️

10/13/2026

It’s the second week of ! With it comes another prompt from Horses for Mental Health and the challenge.

I chose to read the document: The Healing Power of Horses: How Equines Support our Well-Being by Dr Helen Sharp and Dr Pebbles Turbeville.

My favorite quote was at the end: “Next time you are near a horse, take a moment to appreciate the quiet, powerful ways they help us become more balanced, resilient, and whole.”

When I was young I remember just loving horses. I had horse EVERYTHING. From my bedsheets to my cowgirl boots 😂🩷🐴 I just loved being around them. From the age 6 to about 19 I rode, trained, and showed horses all over the Midwest. Almost every weekend we were traveling. I also participated in my local 4h program and high school equestrian team. Somewhere along those travels I misplaced how to love the horse for just being a horse, a sentient being. I got lost in the perfect trail course, sticking the 360 degree spin, and winning the points for my team. The horse became less of a friend & more of a way to accomplish something. Even when that “something” was wrapped up in a pretty bow of important life skills which looked like self confidence, leadership, or teamwork.

I shared this picture of Hippo, the chestnut mare, as she is a constant everyday reminder to me to simply appreciate the horse 🩷 her favorite gear is “parking brake” or “neutral” 😂 speedy she is not but she is very good at resting and self care. Her worth is not tied up in what she can do for me.
She also helps raise awareness for invisible disabilities as Hippo has PSSM2. Each day can be a bit different for her depending upon how her body is doing but she shows us that a bit of warmth, gratitude, and coming from a place kindness goes a long way in our friendship. Thank you Hippo 🩷

Each day you remind me how to be more balanced in my daily self care, and resilient & patient when difficulties arise. This all helps me hold gratitude in my heart and become a more whole person.

~ Crystal

10/06/2026

Mental health affects all of us. 1 in 5 people will be affected by mental illness in their lifetime, yet many people still struggle to find support that works for them.

Horses can be part of the solution.

With their sensitivity, presence, and nonjudgmental nature, horses can create opportunities for connection, regulation, and growth, sometimes reaching people in ways words alone cannot. Through professionally guided programs, they can provide real-time feedback and help people build trust, self-awareness, and hope.

This , we’re highlighting the powerful role horses can play in mental health and the meaningful connections that can help people feel seen, supported, and less alone.

10/05/2026

As a participant for I am participating in a reflection each week.

I rarely share my learning through horses here. Usually I’m sharing clients stories and experiences. For the month of October, you get to hear some of mine. Since it has to be with a horse that has a braid, that will narrow down my options! 😂

Prompt #3 that Horses for Mental Health gave us was about the impact that stays with you. The picture is of a horse we had on the farm for many years and had the pleasure of eventually owning ourselves. Finn taught me many things like the importance of “power with not power over” as he was the most confident and self assured horse I’ve ever met. While that lesson was important, the lesson that has stuck with me though is the importance of goodbye. We rehomed Finn this past year which was an extremely difficult decision to make. Saying goodbye has never been easy for me due to past situations that have left not positive residual memories, not just in my head but I felt it in my bones. So my body rejects the goodbye and instead I want to hang on tight. From the time we unloaded him from the trailer, he walked in his new home like he owned the place, completely comfortable & happy in his new surroundings. He is now doing trail rides every weekend with his new owner (aka. new dad) and living his best life. Finn showed me that it can be okay. That saying goodbye isn’t always tragic and heartbreaking. This has helped me over the last year as I’ve had to say some other goodbyes. Life changes. We can breathe, feel the emotion yet not drown in it, and hold space for hope & peace for tomorrow. Thank you, Finn 🩷 happy trails my friend.

~ Crystal

09/25/2026

I know it’s been quiet here.

Everything is okay. Farm is good. Just made the decision to head back to school. With that decision comes the time suck that is all the work that comes with it. I will end up with a MA in Social Work at some point here which will allow me to bring clinical therapy to the farm 🤗🥳🩷

So all good news. My goal is to post 1x per week. Keep y’all updated on the program and farm. Along with hopefully something thought provoking to everyone thinking & hopefully learning 😊

~ Crystal

09/24/2026

Super well written article on the shift happening in the equine therapy world. Thank you Leana Tank

Link 🔗 https://yourdressage.org/2026/09/24/a-shift-in-the-equine-therapy-world/?fbclid=IwdGRleAUiXHxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBwZG9mBWZkaWQWUPADmTpCDsoRkpLFmd6wWxC2DKw_oHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR7lQ_PNofUbHtHFQAQp9emYB9gYmxR31GbWkPmwwNbV-8eNxL2JeSBJDKp0cw_aem_aKKEOSKsP4nfdp8g5Tw-DA

09/19/2026

Imagine what could happen when combined with therapeutic coaching in relationship with a farm friend….awesome things 🤗♥️🐴🐐🐑🐓

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2026/09/17/just-3-minutes-with-mini-horse-or-donkey-improves-teens-moods-study-says/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwdGRleAUawtFwZG9mBWZkaWQWUOs65D-LwMXharLD6WWpcfN4wApQNWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR5rhRl6n3iA5eAcwYmThEXKCw3coS-spl63oT7uhNkCecZQmPnPij-c6WTFGw_aem_5CjQ7dhf1oKnMXsRNV64RQ

The teens reported feeling less anxious, sad and lonely and more calm after interacting with the equines.

09/05/2026

07/13/2026

Horse change lives 🩷 check out this trailer.

https://vimeo.com/1207376914?fl=pl&fe=sh

Warwick Schiller's Attuned Horsemanship

This is "REKINDLE - OFFICIAL TRAILER" by TASTY PICTURES on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.