Natural Answer

10/01/2026

Foundation Certificate In Equine Assisted (IACP CPD Approved, ACCPH externally accredited)

Are you?

in a “people supporting” profession such as mental health professional/practitioner, coaching, counselling or therapy; or
someone who is already working with horses (riding instructor for example) who is in interested in working in this field; or
just interested in developing more connected and meaningful equine interactions; or
curious to explore why a focus on horse wellbeing represents an important foundation for equine supported learning; or
looking to learn the business skills required to establish and develop a professional practice; or
looking for personal growth supported by an existing community with a wealth of collective experience;
This Level 2 Foundation Certificate also serves as the first part to the externally accredited Level 4 and Level 5 Diplomas in Equine Assisted Services.

I’m excited be part of the Athena training team to be Co Facilitating this Level 2 certificate with my colleague Michaela and hosting the course at Oaksbrook Retreat in April this year. The training takes place over 4 days in the comfortable Walnut barn overlooking the orchard, a tranquil space for you to immerse yourself in this wonderful modality. My horses and ponies will be an integral part of your learning and journey.

You can see our profiles here:

Jane. https://athenaherd.org/learning/training-team
Michaela. https://athenaherd.org/learning/training-team

Event Details Start Date 09 April 2026 at 09:00 (BST) End Date 12 April 2026 at 17:00 (BST) Cost (GBP) £ 1899 Course Type Level 2 Certificate Event Description Foundation Certificate In Equine Assisted (IACP CPD Approved, ACCPH externally accredited)Are you?in a “people supporting” profession....

31/12/2025

14/11/2025

A big update from Athena where I did my Equine Facilitated Interactions qualifications to Level 5. Over the last few years they have been working hard behind the scenes to establish an accredited register with the Professional Standards Agency and are now broadening the inclusion of other Animal Assisted Therapies and modalities as well as Horticultural. 👏🏻👏🏻

📣 Important Update 📣

We are pleased to share that the Athena Herd Foundation CIC has formally become the:

💜 Association for Animals, Horticultural & Equine Practitioners (AAHEP): AAHEP.UK💜

This change strengthens the independence of the UK’s first and currently only PSA Accredited Practitioner Register, ensuring it stands as a clear and trusted voice for national standards, across Equine Assisted, Animal Assisted and Horticultural practice.

🔹 Athena will continue as the training and education brand, with all courses and pathways remaining the same: athenaherd.org

🔹 The Professional Standards Authority has also approved additional practitioner titles, reflecting the breadth and professionalism of our sector: https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/organisations-we-oversee/find-a-register?page=1

🔹 Aahep: Accredited Practitioner Register has the support from for example HCPC in holding titles such as the Equine Assisted Occupational Therapy titles and as well as being in discussions with practitioners and providers also supporting Animal 🐾🐝 and Horticultural 🍃 practices.

Thank you to everyone who continues to support this work as we grow, evolve, and champion safe, ethical and high-quality practice across the UK. 💜🐴🌿

09/11/2025

“In every quiet moment with a horse,
a little piece of yourself returns.” - Human & Horse

29/10/2025

I’m really enjoying having the mares and Zeena the sheep up on the 4 acre field. There is so much more of an enriching environment here with all the trees, trails and mound. It’s lovely to just sit and observe them behaving naturally. They often tend to gravitate to where I’m sitting with the dogs and just hang out with us while we admire the far reaching views. Oaksbrook Retreat

25/10/2025

I can totally agree with this. Willow is having a last big season and boy is she acting wild. Breaking out and dashing to flirt outrageously with the geldings, separation anxiety for the boys even though she’s with her mares and sheep who she is usually very content with, growing an extra hand, braced and tense, bellowing and yodelling at the top of her lungs and threatening to buck, rear and bolt after two cyclists that were whizzing along the road in the distance whom I’m absolutely convinced she thought they were Wraheem and Captain. For a split second I thought she was going to take off after them. She’s was a little sheepish and did calm down quite quickly when she realised it was cyclists with a grey and red helmet on. We had the high blowing alert warning several times too. This morning galloping round the field up and down the fence line for ages because she wants to get to the boys. Sorry sweetheart they are all geldings so can’t give you a foal 😂😂

🍂 "As our autumn daylight shortens, many mares will experience one last big cycle before the winter shutdown. It’s pure biology - shifting oestrogen, progesterone, and adrenaline levels can make even the calmest mare hypersensitive, clingy, or reactive, as their internal chemistry is changing gear.

Think less 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦… more 𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵."

🍂 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗺𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀
𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦: 𝘌𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭’𝘴 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯, 19𝘺𝘰 𝘛𝘉 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯

We’re moving towards the final stretch of our October Winter Transition campaign, and we’re feeling it already - winter socks, wellies, and fingerless gloves are back in action!

This week, we’re shining a light on our mares - and their often-overlooked autumn hormones.

There was a great line in a recent Simple Systems newsletter:

“𝙉𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨.”

It made me sit up - I for one needed the reminder, as our own Carmen is making it very clear she’s not taking any orders right now!

As our autumn daylight shortens, many mares will experience one last big cycle before the winter shutdown. It’s pure biology - shifting oestrogen, progesterone, and adrenaline levels can make even the calmest mare hypersensitive, clingy, or reactive, as their internal chemistry is changing gear.

Think less 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦… more 𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

𝗪𝗲’𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵...
Here are our featured blends for emotional & hormonal balance:

🌿 𝗠𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗲 – calms nervous energy while supporting hormones and adrenals
🌿 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘆𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 – emotional grounding
🌿 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 – natural calm for the tough days
🌿 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘂𝗺 - eases muscular and neural tension

🛒 All these and more - 20% off in our 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲
- use code 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗧𝟮𝟬
- https://www.equinatural.co.uk/october-2025-sale

𝗠𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱:
“𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳.” 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘢 𝘉.

As always, if you’re not sure where to start, just shout - we’re here to help you decode the seasonal shifts and support your horse naturally, from the inside out.

Carol & The EquiNatural Team

PS - We’ve also got a Blog coming - “𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀, 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗱𝘀 & 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰”, following a message from a lovely lady who’s really struggling with her mare after moving yards. This time, it’s biology and emotion intertwined - and once we understand what’s really going on, the whole picture starts to make sense. Stay tuned!

24/10/2025

22/10/2025

Willow enjoying a pear.

21/10/2025

The Bach Flower Remedies were the first flower essence modality I studied and was lucky to do my level 3 at Dr Bach’s house at Mount Vernon, Oxfordshire.

What a fascinating book which Dr Bach consulted when selecting his first 19 essence plants.

I’m really hoping to attained the BFVEA annual Gathering in 2026. I thoroughly enjoyed the 2025 gathering, lots of amazing workshops and inspirational speakers, Amerdown is a lovely centre as well.

Below is a copy of ‘British Wild Flowers’ by Sowerby & Johnson (1858) - the flora Bach consulted when selecting his first nineteen essence plants. He spent countless hours absorbed in its pages, observing the habits and characteristics of the species that spoke to him, often annotating the margins with notes for future reference. Later, at Sotwell, Bach’s process became so deeply intuitive he was able to experience various emotional states until he was guided to the plants that could offer help. At our 2026 Gathering, Ammerdown grounds and the Chalice Well gardens will provide rich opportunities to explore Bach’s and other essence making approaches, so do bring your equipment and prepare to deepen your connection with the plants that call to you. Book your place here: https://www.bfvea.com/bfvea-annual-gathering-2026/

21/10/2025

Just setting up for a lovely Reiki session with crystals, drumming and other sound healing tools for a client that’s spent a relaxing stay in our Shepherd hut.
Sessions start from £45 for an hour or discounted if booked as part of a day visit package. Available on certain days this Autumn and Winter.
Do message for more information.

05/10/2025

My Flutes and other instruments are all tuned to 432hz the natural frequency. What I love about the flutes is when I’m playing I can feel the physical vibration of the frequency not just hear it. It can be very calming and grounding and my go to if I’m feeling stressed.

My wife stood in the doorway, arms crossed, watching me crouch on the bathroom floor at 3:12 AM.I was shirtless, freezing, and pressing two fingers to my neck.“Counting,” I said. “My resting heart rate’s 91. I’m literally doing nothing… and my heart thinks I’m running.”That was the m...

17/09/2025

This Autumn I am hosting an Introduction to Essences Workshop Oaksbrook Retreat

Following on from this I may add some shorter morning sessions for working with essences for specific themes for those that might like to immerse themselves more into the world of flower, crystal and other vibrational essences and who may want to work on their personal growth in a safe supportive and friendly environment.

Those attending this initial longer workshop will receive take homes and a gift plus discount voucher towards a consult or any of my other services.