Stable Heart LLC

Stable Heart LLC Equine-assisted therapy šŸŒæ
Helping teens & adults heal, grow, and reconnect. Trauma ā€¢ Anxiety ā€¢ Relationships

Why equine therapy for first responders? šŸ“First responders see and experience things most of us never will. And when you...
09/11/2026

Why equine therapy for first responders? šŸ“

First responders see and experience things most of us never will. And when your job requires you to stay calm, make quick decisions, and keep moving no matter what just happenedā€¦it can be really hard to shut that off when you go home.

Thatā€™s one of the reasons I think horses can be such a good fit.

Equine assisted therapy doesnā€™t require you to sit across from someone in an office and talk for an hour. We can get outside, move around, work with the horses, and let things come up naturally.

Horses are also really good at making us slow down and pay attention to whatā€™s happening in our bodies. They respond to our energy, body language, boundaries, and ability to stay connectedā€”which gives us a lot to work with in therapy.

For first responders, this can be a different way to work on things like:

ā€¢ chronic stress and always feeling ā€œonā€
ā€¢ anxiety and hypervigilance
ā€¢ difficult calls or traumatic experiences
ā€¢ irritability and feeling disconnected
ā€¢ trust and relationships
ā€¢ learning how to actually regulate your nervous system instead of just pushing through

And you donā€™t have to come in and tell me every detail of the worst thing youā€™ve ever experienced.

Sometimes we start with the horse.

At Stable Heart, I use the Natural Lifemanship model, which focuses heavily on connection, relationship, and nervous system regulation. Itā€™s one of the reasons I really love this work with people who are used to being the ones everyone else relies on.

You spend a lot of time taking care of other people.

Youā€™re allowed to take care of yourself, too. šŸ¤

09/04/2026

Sometimes regulation looks like this. šŸ“šŸ¤Ž

Rolling in the sand can be a sign that a horse feels safe enough to let go, move his body, and engage in a natural behavior.

For an older horse especially, thereā€™s something beautiful about watching the body soften, the guard come down, and the nervous system settle into the moment.

Regulation doesnā€™t always mean being perfectly still or calm.

Sometimes it looks like movement.
Sometimes it looks like play.
Sometimes it looks like a deep breath.
And sometimesā€¦ it looks like a good roll in the sand. šŸ¤

At Stable Heart, we pay attention to these little moments because the nervous system is always communicating.

08/26/2026

Something to consider Tuesday

Watching Spirit go from being aggressive toward other horses to a lovebug highlights the importance of our nervous system in how we relate to the world and those around us.
Spirit was aggressive because she did not feel safe. Her blindness in her right eye and poor vision in the other increased her feelings of vulnerability and caused her to lash out when the other horses were near. Her nervous system was on high alert. We actively addressed her nervous system state by providing short, safe experiences with herd members and us one-on-one, along with rhythmic, patterned, repetitive input through movement, touch, and eating. Now that her nervous system receives more safety cues from us, the herd, and her environment, her responses have shifted from fear and apprehension to more curiosity and openness.

If we had treated her as an aggressive horse instead of a horse that feels unsafe, we would have provided correction and possibly isolated her from the herd instead of regulating her nervous system. If we had done that, she would have received more threat cues from us and the herd, and her aggression would have continued. Because we understood what was happening in her nervous system, we could help her regulate and feel safer.

Helping regulate her nervous system changed everything for her. She is now a different horse than the one who arrived a few months ago. She is even engaging in difficult ā€œconversationsā€ about saddle pads and possible riding.

What would happen if we understood others in our lives from a nervous system perspective? What might we do differently? How might this one change impact us and those we care about?

BACK-TO-SCHOOL TIP: Donā€™t wait for the meltdown to regulate. šŸ§ šŸ’›Back-to-school season can be a BIG adjustment for little ...
08/24/2026

BACK-TO-SCHOOL TIP: Donā€™t wait for the meltdown to regulate. šŸ§ šŸ’›

Back-to-school season can be a BIG adjustment for little nervous systemsā€”especially for toddlers, preschoolers, and young children.

New routines, early mornings, separation, noise, expectations, transitions, and being ā€œonā€ all day can add up quickly.

One of the best ways to reduce tantrums and meltdowns?
šŸ‘‰ Build regulation into the day BEFORE your child becomes dysregulated.

Think of your childā€™s ability to cope like a battery. šŸ”‹ Regulation breaks help recharge it throughout the day.

Hereā€™s an example of what a regulation-friendly day might look like:

šŸŒ… Morning
Start slowly when possible. Cuddles, hugs, stretching, or a predictable morning routine can help your child feel safe and organized.

šŸŽ’ Before school/daycare
Try 5ā€“10 minutes of ā€œheavy workā€: jumping, animal walks, pushing a laundry basket, carrying their backpack, or climbing.

ā˜€ļø Throughout the day
Young children benefit from frequent opportunities to MOVE. Running, swinging, climbing, dancing, pushing, pulling, and outdoor play all provide important sensory input.

šŸ  Right after school/daycare
This one is important! Give them 20ā€“30 minutes to decompress with very few demands.

Try:
Home ā†’ snack + drink ā†’ quiet or preferred activity ā†’ connection ā†’ THEN responsibilities

Your child may have spent all day listening, transitioning, sharing, following directions, managing emotions, and holding it together.

Home is often where it finally comes out.

šŸŒ³ Late afternoon
Get outside! Run, climb, swing, ride bikes, play in dirt, or do another physical activity.

šŸŒ™ Evening
Gradually lower stimulation. Dim the lights, turn down the noise, take a bath, read books, color, build with blocks, or cuddle.

šŸ˜“ Bedtime
Keep the routine as predictable as possible. Predictability helps the nervous system know, ā€œIā€™m safe. I know what comes next.ā€

And remember: regulation doesnā€™t always mean ā€œcalm.ā€

Some kids need to MOVE to regulateā€”jumping, running, crashing, dancing, or swinging.

Others need to SLOW DOWNā€”deep pressure, cuddles, quiet spaces, repetitive play, drawing, or less conversation.

āœØ The goal isnā€™t to eliminate every tantrum or meltdown. Those are a normal part of early childhood. The goal is to notice your childā€™s needs earlier and give their nervous system opportunities to reset before they become completely overwhelmed.

Regulation is much easier to maintain than it is to regain. šŸ’›

ā€” Stable Heart

08/17/2026

Veterans ā€” Interested in Equine-Based Services? šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡øšŸ“

We are opening up an interest list for only Humboldt & surrounding counties right now.
Stable Heart has applied for VA grant funding that, if awarded, would allow us to provide equine-based services to VA eligible veterans at no cost. āŽ

While we await the funding decision, weā€™re creating an interest list for veterans who may want to participate.

We will receive notice by end of September.

Joining the list does not guarantee services or funding and does not commit you to participating. It simply means weā€™ll contact you with more information if funding becomes available.

Interested? Send Stable Heart a message or contact us to be added to the list. šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø

08/17/2026

At Columbia University, researchers set out to answer a question that mattered deeply to thousands of struggling veterans: does working with horses actually help treat PTSD, or is it just a nice idea? The Man O' War Project, named after the legendary racehorse and launched by Columbia's psychiatry department, became the first university-led study to rigorously evaluate equine-assisted therapy as a treatment for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Veterans in the program didn't just ride; they groomed, led, and worked alongside horses on the ground, learning to read the animals' subtle body language and regulate their own breathing and stress responses in real time, since horses respond immediately and honestly to a handler's anxiety. Researchers tracked outcomes carefully, and the results were striking: more than half of participants showed a marked reduction in PTSD symptoms and depression, effects that held up even three months after the program ended. What made the findings significant wasn't just that veterans felt better in the moment, it was that a horse, an animal with no agenda and no judgment, could teach a nervous system how to feel safe again. The project has since become a model researchers cite when studying equine therapy nationwide. Why do you think animals can reach people in ways human therapy sometimes can't?

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