It Takes the Herd

01/02/2026

Another awesome post from Equimotional - Trauma-Informed Training & Resource Hub! Thank you!

When We Stop Managing Everything, Regulation Has Space to Return ❤️

My horses sometimes stand in the rain even when there’s shelter right there.

And I let them.

Not because I don’t care. Because care doesn’t always mean stepping in.

Horses, like humans, don’t regulate well when every choice is taken away. When life becomes a series of instructions, corrections, and well-meant interventions, the nervous system doesn’t relax. It stays alert. Waiting. Braced for the next adjustment.

What looks like calm can actually be compliance. What looks like coping can be shutdown. What looks like “they’re fine” can be the absence of choice.

When my horses are given options, they don’t always choose what I would choose for them. Sometimes they stand in the weather. Sometimes they move away from comfort. Sometimes they do the opposite of what looks sensible.

People do this too.

We rest in odd ways. We avoid things that might help. We stay in situations others don’t understand. Not because we’re broken, but because our nervous systems are solving problems with the information they have.

Real support doesn’t remove agency. It protects safety and preserves choice.

That’s the difference between being looked after and being managed.

Whether it’s a horse or a human, regulation grows when someone is trusted to make small decisions again. Where to stand. When to move. How close is close enough. When to engage. When to pull back.

This is why “doing less” can sometimes be the most supportive thing we offer. Not abandonment. Not neglect. But the quiet presence that says, “You’re allowed to choose, and I’m here if you need me.”

So when my horses stand in the rain, I’m not just watching them. I’m being reminded.

Calm that is chosen feels different. And safety that includes autonomy lasts longer.
🧡

01/02/2026

Candy from our herd just had her first Reiki treatment! So blessed to have this practice so close to us! Thank you Jo-Ann! Jo-Ann van Vulpen - Reiki Practitioner!

31/01/2026

Amen.

Older horses are not disposible. It's our duty to take care of them as they grow older.

31/01/2026

Walking is the single most natural and simple way to regulate your nervous system. If you can, do it outside. The natural bilateral eye movement from walking will help you process stress, difficult situations, and will help you process emotional memories.

When stressful things happen to us, we need to move so our brain can process the emotions. When we sit still after stress for long periods of time, we ruminate. Rumination is playing a situation in our mind over and over again. We do this because the emotional memory is trying to be processed, but with the body in a state of stillness, it can’t happen.

Chronic rumination leads to depression.

It’s no coincidence that as we’ve been pulled into sedentary lifestyles, depression has increased. Our ancestors walked all the time. Throughout the day. Every day. “Walk it off,” is not just a saying, it’s a truth.

Add walking into your daily life whenever you can. Even small bursts of walking help.

Some ideas:

1. A simple walk around your block

2. Drive to a park or a street with shops and walk it (explore new parks or hikes you haven’t been on before)

3. Park father away every time you have a chance

4. If weather is bad, walk indoor malls or shopping centers

5. Find a walking buddy to hold you accountable

6. Ask to do therapy or coaching on the phone so you can walk

7. Get a small treadmill and a stand for your laptop so you can work and walk

Without enough natural movement and light, humans will inevitably end up depressed

30/01/2026

As a member of this community, and also offering mental health services to this community, the following news article both angered and saddened me. To have served one’s country as admirably as this group of women have, to have the energy and dedication to keep up the fight and try to make things better for others after their own retirement, and to have these sorts of impediments experienced is not acceptable.

Five of the 12 members of Canada’s Women Veterans Council — set up to deal with gender inequality in the military — have resigned in protest. One former memb...

23/01/2026

Love this!!!! Thank you Equimotional - Trauma-Informed Training & Resource Hub!!

It’s Friday.
So here’s your end-of-week truth bomb 💣

🚫 Just because it looks calm doesn’t mean it’s safe.
🚫 Just because someone means well doesn’t mean they’re not harmful.
🚫 Just because you’re coping doesn’t mean it’s sustainable.

This week, did you:

Swallow your needs to avoid being ‘too much’?

Smile through discomfort to keep the peace?

Stay in a space that drained you because you didn’t want to make a fuss?

That’s not strength. That’s survival mode dressed up as people pleasing.

And let’s be clear—we don’t heal by pretending it’s fine.

We heal by burning the rulebook they gave us,
rewriting our own scripts,
and sometimes, by standing in a muddy field with a horse who gives zero f*cks about your CV but everything about your presence.

So here’s your Friday dare:
Don’t be polite. Be real.
Don’t be palatable. Be powerful.
And don’t settle for safe-looking. Settle for safe-feeling.

✊

21/01/2026

Well hello Stan! Well hello Ingrid!

21/01/2026

Beyond excited about this! Thank you to all who supported us! We love what we do!

10/01/2026

I was just going to post about this - and the news beat me to it! For those asking, I am a registered counseling therapist in the province of Nova Scotia and I am doing my equine certification through Professional Equine Facilitated Wellness Canada. I have a strict ethical code to practice within and a scope of practice that I must stay within as well. I will ALWAYS welcome questions about my background and training.

With a new year, comes the phrase ‘new me’ and for Canadians seeking therapy, industry experts warn that a growing gap between demand and supply – particularly in the public system – is making it harder for people to find the right therapist, and in some cases, any therapist at all.

08/01/2026

At It Takes the Herd, we LOVE our Labradors Ingrid and Nelson!

27/12/2025

Stay tuned for an upcoming post-festive season offering at the barn. Watch this page!

Post-Festive Survival Rituals 🫖✨

Welcome to that strange pocket of time after Christmas where
the cheese still exists,
the decorations are still up,
and no one can tell you what day it is with confidence
And there seems to be many leftover sprouts. 🧀🎄😵‍💫

This is not the time for resets.
This is survival with tinsel.

Here’s what helps me not lose the plot:

I plan rest after Christmas. 😴
Annual leave. Empty days. Time with no agenda except “exist horizontally”.

I keep one small thing to look forward to. ☕
Not a goal. Just a nice thing.
A coffee. A walk. A reason to put real trousers on eventually.

I lower expectations to an acceptable, cheese-based level. 🫠
This is not glow-up season.
This is “leftovers are a personality now”.

I eat like a raccoon in a festive kitchen. 🧀🍪
Bits of cheese. Chocolate. Something beige.
Meals are vibes-based.

I stay connected, but lazily. 📱
Voice notes. Memes. Messages that say “lol same” and nothing else.

I assume I am tired and stop questioning it. 🧠
No overthinking.
December is loud , twinkly and glittery.

This is the fallout zone from the festive nuclear explosion. 💥

And I don’t rush feeling normal again. 🧘
Normal will return when it’s ready.
Probably after the last mince pie.

If this period feels weird, floppy, cosy, and slightly unhinged, that’s correct.
That’s the post-festive experience.

Slow counts.
Rest counts.
Eating cheese straight from the fridge while staring into space absolutely counts. 💛

Drop your own post-festive survival rituals below.
Messy answers encouraged. 🧀💬

25/12/2025

Too beautiful not to share