Season 9 just wouldn't be complete without an epic conversation with Shannon Beahen of Humminghorse, this time about the rollercoaster ride that is recovery from a significant health event in our horses. Both Shannon and I come to this conversation with very real and personal experience of this rocky road in our own bodies, and with members of our herds. As you'll hear, I've been in the stressful beginnings of this walk with my new gelding Reykur, and Shannon at the (hopefully) end stages with her gelding Ivan, and this chat felt like an important one to share our experiences and support others that might be going through something similar. We get right into the big stuff as we unpack the very real issue of caregiver fatigue, the guilt/shame/isolation that so often accompanies caring for an unwell horse, how to be with wanting it to be different, and what to do when you don't know what to do. Shannon also outlines her process of observing nuances in condition, vitality and movement as a way to track progress and change, how she knew that Ivan wanted to stick around even when he was struggling and how she went from questioning her life decisions to feeling a sense of deep privilege to care for and learn from her herd. I share some of my main take-aways from my journey with Reykur and how his health event is actually changing our connection for the better, as challenging as it's been. This is one of those conversations packed with goodness and wisdom and hard truths and I truly hope you take the opportunity to listen. If you haven't listened to my previous conversations with Shannon, check out episodes 121, 92 and 81 of the Whole Horse Podcast, or dive right in to today's episode. Shannon Beahen is an alternative horse trainer, online educator, academic and writer. She specializes in teaching her own "high vibration" approach to natural dressage and liberty as well as the creation of species-appropriate habitats that promote dynamic movement and sovereign equine lifestyles. She is passionate about exploring and articulating the ethics of embodied horse-human relationships. Her hope is that through teaching a deeper awareness of human-animal and human-environment relations, equestrian education ceases to be a privileged pastime; and instead may just provide some of the seeds to birth a new earth. Learn more about Shannon and her work at www.humminghorse.com

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