What Horses Teach Us About Healing and Connection

Four practitioners sit down with Professor Ace to talk about horses — what they teach us, how they heal us, and why being in their presence asks something different of us than the rest of modern life does.Dr. Penny Lloyd is an equine veterinarian of 35 years and the founder of Connection Medicine. She talks about therapeutic partnership — the idea that healing between people and animals can move in both directions — and about coherence, presence, and the simple practice of pausing before approaching an animal. She shares the research that sits underneath this work, including studies on heart rate variability and the brainwave patterns horses naturally hold at rest.Karin O'Mahony owns Hoku Lio Farms in Waimanalo, O'ahu, and brings children from a family homeless shelter to spend time with the horses. She shares the Hawaiian moʻolelo of the Bowl of Light — a practice her farm uses at the pasture gate to set down whatever someone is carrying before they meet the animals.Wendi Crandall Amidon owns Sweet Nectar Forest and Farm in Pa'auilo on Hawai'i Island. A former teacher and longtime animal massage practitioner, she talks about breath, silence, and the experience of caring for a wild horse from Waipi'o Valley. She also describes the practice of painting on the animals with milk-powder paint as part of therapeutic touch work with women healing from trauma.Alicia Stettler, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and yoga therapist who works with Indigenous communities in Alaska. She speaks about trauma, embodiment, and why the body doesn't always feel safe enough for traditional therapy — and shares the Circle of Self, a seven-element framework she developed for healing within and outside the clinical system.The conversation moves through addiction as a disconnection problem, the Ubuntu philosophy of "I am because we are," what it means for animals to thrive rather than just survive, and what Revolutionary Social Work could look like if the profession stepped outside the cubicle. It closes on the question of what it means to listen to animals — and what we hear when we do.🐴 Watch the Rescued Hearts film: rescuedheartsfilm.com📚 Revolutionary Social Work: revolutionarysocialwork.com🔔 Subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@thecriticalsocialworker?sub_confirmation=1📩 Contact Professor Ace: [email protected] & LinksDr. Penny Lloyd · Equine Veterinarian · Connection Medicine — connectionmedicine.comKarin O'Mahony · Owner, Hoku Lio Farms (O'ahu) — hokuliofarms.orgWendi Crandall Amidon · Owner, Sweet Nectar Forest and Farm (Hawai'i Island) — @sweetnectarfarmAlicia Stettler, LCSWHeartMath Institute — heartmath.orgChapters00:00 Intro01:30 Meet the guests03:08 The Rescued Hearts film and personal connections to horses06:06 Why horses calm us: coherence and brainwaves07:51 Karen's origin story and the work at Hoku Lio Farms10:01 Wendi on synchronicity, Waipiʻo's wild horses, and yoga on horseback11:24 Addiction, disconnection, and presence12:53 Horses as mirrors: non-judgment and authenticity16:01 Thriving Together workshops: stillness, touch, and movement20:47 What coherence actually is22:27 Breath, the body, and trauma25:30 Revolutionary Social Work: the cubicle vs. the pasture27:41 The Circle of Self framework29:22 Surviving vs. thriving31:08 The dogs-and-humans study33:53 What animals need to thrive36:52 Ubuntu, win-win, and the appreciation party39:23 The Hawaiian Bowl of Light40:56 Upcoming events and offerings44:57 Listening to animals: a two-way conversation53:37 Simple steps to reconnect with nature55:58 Closing reflections#equinetherapy #horseshealing #revolutionarysocialwork #thecriticalsocialworker #animalassistedtherapy #socialwork #traumahealing #breathwork #connectionmedicine #hawaiianhealing #naturetherapy