The Generous Horse Project

11/15/2025

Chip is sound and doing well — but he lives with chronic navicular, which means chronic pain. And just like in people, chronic pain touches more than the body. It shapes mood, capacity, and how safe it feels to soften into another being’s hands.

Today our farrier showed what trauma-informed care looks like… without ever needing to name it.

It was in the small things:
• moving slowly
• giving Chip a moment to shift his weight
• noticing when he needed a pause
• using a mini hoof stand so he didn’t have to overload his front feet

This kind of attuned care makes a difference — not just for the hoof, but for the whole nervous system.

Chronic pain is easier to carry when you’re supported:
by professionals who move at your pace,
who don’t push,
who track the subtleties,
and by a herd that stays close with quiet regulation.

And Ellie noticed.
She watched him the whole time — soft, steady, curious — her way of offering, “I’m here. You’re not alone.”

The farrier’s approach today was trauma-informed in all the ways that matter: slow, responsive, built around what Chip’s body could truly manage.

He walked away more relaxed — not because the pain disappeared, but because he felt safe, understood, and held by both his team and his herd.

⸻

11/13/2025

The nervous system is like a bird. You can’t force it to sing, you have to inspire it. If you bring the right conditions to a person they will transform reinvent and heal right before your very eyes.

10/03/2025

The nervous system is a herd animal.

Just like horses, we were built to sense safety through connection. One calm, steady presence can settle an entire group — and one safe relationship can begin to rewrite years of fear.

This is why we turn to the herd in our work. Horses show us what regulation looks like in real time: alert but not braced, connected without losing themselves. They remind us that healing isn’t about going it alone; it’s about returning to relationship and allowing our bodies to feel safe enough to rest.

🐎✨ Read the full reflection: The Nervous System Is a Herd Animal — link in bio.
https://wix.to/C1OTgM5

08/22/2025

05/26/2025

Some trauma doesn’t scream.
It doesn’t lash out or rage.
It’s not loud. It’s not obvious.
It shows up in silence. In shutdown. In absence.

I see it in horses first.

Not the ones who kick or bolt.
But the ones who quietly check out.
Who stand a few feet away, not rejecting—but not reaching either.
Who seem calm, but aren’t connected.

And I’ve seen the same in humans.

The parents who aren’t screaming.
The kids who aren’t acting out.
The caregivers who are trying—but frozen.
The people who’ve gone through something too much, too fast, or too long… and had to go through it alone.

That’s what I mean by trauma.

Not a buzzword.
Not a label.
Not a competition of who has suffered more.

But the felt experience of overwhelm without support.
The pain that gets lodged in the body when connection isn’t there.
The ache of needing something… and having no one attuned enough to respond.

When I use the word trauma, I use it gently.
I use it to create space for the things we don’t always have words for.

I’m not here to add to the noise of “trauma is everywhere.”Because yes—it’s a word that’s been overused, watered down, and sometimes misapplied.

But I share this for those of you who know what I’m talking about—who’ve felt something deeply, but couldn’t quite name it.

Who’ve learned to stay quiet.
To disconnect.
To survive with as little need as possible.

I share it because this kind of trauma often goes unseen. And what goes unseen… rarely gets healed.

And maybe today is a day we make a little more space for that today.
We see you. We feel you.
You are not alone.

12/31/2024

✨🩷❤️As caretakers of these magnificent, empathetic, and loving creatures, we carry a great responsibility to ensure they are cared for. But we can’t do it alone. With your support, the Generous Horse Project can continue to provide a safe space for horses to live and heal, while transforming the lives of the people around them.🩷❤️✨

Join us today—donate to help create a lasting legacy for our therapy horses and all those whose lives they touch. Together, we can sustain this deeply meaningful mission for years to come.

Donate Now—because every donation counts, every dollar heals, and every kind gesture makes a difference.

Your generosity changes lives—for both horses and humans. Thank you for being part of this journey!

Help The Generous Horse Project reach their goal by donating or sharing with your friends.

12/03/2024

Interested in our attachment and trauma-informed work with horses? Visit our new blog to learn more! https://wix.to/EqjB38u

04/28/2024

Reposting this one because it’s a good one. As the end of the school year approaches let’s be mindful some of the these behaviors may rise up.

02/12/2023

01/13/2023

❤️

01/03/2023

And the NUMBER ONE post of 2022:

Horses sleep in three different positions: standing, semi-recumbent, and fully recumbent.

Each of these positions allow the horse to reach different levels of sleep.

1. Standing, which is the safest position for a prey animal, offers the lightest level of sleep.
This allows the horse to wake and run away quickly if in danger.
2. Semi-recumbent, as shown in the picture, is where the horse lays down, but with their legs underneath them.
This allows for a deeper sleep than standing, but their legs are still underneath them for a quick stand up and run away.
3. Fully recumbent is where a horse is laid flat out on their sides. This is the only position in which a horse can get to REM sleep - deep, restful sleep.

However due to the horse's body size, they can only lay fully out for 45 minutes a time or risk crushing internal organs.

In total, horses need anywhere from 30 min to 3 hours of REM sleep a day.

What happens if a horse doesn't get enough sleep? In the next post we'll go over common symptoms of a sleep-deprived horse.