Who Is Taking Care of the Therapy Horse? (With Amanda Held)

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Horse First, Lockie Phillips explores a quieter form of dominance that often goes unnamed in horse culture: the way human anxiety, overthinking, and unresolved tension can fill the space around a horse, even in the absence of force. When a handler’s internal experience becomes the centre of gravity, horses adapt by shrinking, complying, or going quiet. This conversation offers a steady lens on proportion, regulation, and what it means to truly make room for the horse’s voice. A grounding episode for anyone learning to stay present without taking up too much space.The EH School is a quiet place in a loud industry.A low-cost, high-value membership where horse people come to slow down, think clearly, and build real skill with horses at the centre.With a deep video library, an off-social discussion space, and live calls with Lockie, you’ll have support that feels steady, practical, and refreshingly human.Not a system to obey. A craft to practice.https://emotionalhorsemanship.com/eh-school-sign-upCome and learn with Lockie inside the EH School. A low-cost, high-value, flexible membership for horse people who want more than quick fixes and louder answers.Inside, you’ll find a growing video library, a thoughtful off–social media discussion space, and live coaching calls with Lockie, all designed to help you get to the heart of what’s really happening in your horsemanship.This is not about following a method. It’s about building clarity, skill, and confFor more information check out www.emotionalhorsemanship.com!

Send a textIn this episode of Horse First, Lockie Phillips sits down with Amanda Held, a horsewoman working at the intersection of therapeutic horsemanship and horse behaviour. Drawing from years of experience in equine-assisted programs, Amanda shares insights into how horses communicate their internal state and why reading those signals matters deeply when horses are asked to support human healing. Together they explore the potential blind spots within equine therapy settings, the responsibility humans carry when horses serve people therapeutically, and what it truly means to keep the horse’s wellbeing at the centre of the work. The conversation also touches on Amanda’s development of a new app designed to help horse owners better identify what their horses may be feeling in real time, opening the door to more informed, compassionate partnerships.https://www.facebook.com/amanda.coalethompsonhttps://equinewisdominstitute.orgCome and learn with Lockie inside the EH School. A low-cost, high-value, flexible membership for horse people who want more than quick fixes and louder answers.Inside, you’ll find a growing video library, a thoughtful off–social media discussion space, and live coaching calls with Lockie, all designed to help you get to the heart of what’s really happening in your horsemanship.This is not about following a method. It’s about building clarity, skill, and conf The EH School is a quiet place in a loud industry.A low-cost, high-value membership where horse people come to slow down, think clearly, and build real skill with horses at the centre.With a deep video library, an off-social discussion space, and live calls with Lockie, you’ll have support that feels steady, practical, and refreshingly human.Not a system to obey. A craft to practice.For more information check out www.emotionalhorsemanship.com!

Send a textIn this episode of Horse First, Lockie Phillips explores why urgency runs so deep in horse culture, and why slowing down is often the most competent choice we can make. When speed gets mistaken for discipline, horses lose space to learn, communicate, and stay whole. This conversation looks at the myth that faster means better, the reality of changing capacity in both horse and human, and the quiet strength of choosing accuracy over appearance. A grounding invitation to breathe, reassess, and remember that nothing meaningful is lost by waiting.Come and learn with Lockie inside the EH School. A low-cost, high-value, flexible membership for horse people who want more than quick fixes and louder answers.Inside, you’ll find a growing video library, a thoughtful off–social media discussion space, and live coaching calls with Lockie, all designed to help you get to the heart of what’s really happening in your horsemanship.This is not about following a method. It’s about building clarity, skill, and confidence, with horses first.If you’re looking for a steady place to learn, reflect, and progress without force or overwhelm, you’ll feel at home here.https://emotionalhorsemanship.com/eh-school-sign-upCome and learn with Lockie inside the EH School. A low-cost, high-value, flexible membership for horse people who want more than quick fixes and louder answers.Inside, you’ll find a growing video library, a thoughtful off–social media discussion space, and live coaching calls with Lockie, all designed to help you get to the heart of what’s really happening in your horsemanship.This is not about following a method. It’s about building clarity, skill, and confFor more information check out www.emotionalhorsemanship.com!

Send a textIn this episode of Horse First, Lockie Phillips is joined by Becks Nairn, equine dissectionist, educator, and long-time advocate working across rescue, education, and welfare. Becks brings an anatomically grounded lens to questions of behaviour and performance, challenging many of the stories we’ve been taught to tell about “problem horses.” Together, they explore what the body reveals about pain, adaptation, and compensation, and what this knowledge demands of us when it comes to breeding, husbandry, and training. Recorded at a moment when Becks is newly able to speak more plainly about issues she was previously constrained from addressing, this conversation is honest, unflinching, and deeply necessary for anyone who wants to understand horses beyond surface behaviour.Come and learn with Lockie inside the EH School. A low-cost, high-value, flexible membership for horse people who want more than quick fixes and louder answers.Inside, you’ll find a growing video library, a thoughtful off–social media discussion space, and live coaching calls with Lockie, all designed to help you get to the heart of what’s really happening in your horsemanship.This is not about following a method. It’s about building clarity, skill, and conf The EH School is a quiet place in a loud industry.A low-cost, high-value membership where horse people come to slow down, think clearly, and build real skill with horses at the centre.With a deep video library, an off-social discussion space, and live calls with Lockie, you’ll have support that feels steady, practical, and refreshingly human.Not a system to obey. A craft to practice.For more information check out www.emotionalhorsemanship.com!

Send a textIn this episode of Horse First, Lockie Phillips explores the uneasy but essential truth that good intentions don’t always prevent harm. Impact and blame are not the same thing, and horses need our clarity far more than our guilt. Together, we unpack how love can create blind spots, why discomfort is often a sign of growth, and what accountability looks like when it makes us more capable instead of smaller. A steady conversation for anyone learning to stay open, listen deeper, and do differently once they know better.Come and learn with Lockie in the EH SCHOOL, a low-cost, high value, flexible community where a video library, discussion forum (off social media) and live coaching calls with Lockie help you get to the heart of the matter with your horsemanship.https://emotionalhorsemanship.com/eh-school-sign-upCome and learn with Lockie inside the EH School. A low-cost, high-value, flexible membership for horse people who want more than quick fixes and louder answers.Inside, you’ll find a growing video library, a thoughtful off–social media discussion space, and live coaching calls with Lockie, all designed to help you get to the heart of what’s really happening in your horsemanship.This is not about following a method. It’s about building clarity, skill, and confFor more information check out www.emotionalhorsemanship.com!

Send a textIn this special episode of Horse First, Lockie Phillips is joined by Kat HoSoo Lee for a conversation on the Year of the Fire Horse. Together, they explore what it means to move through a season of intensity, transformation, and truth-telling, both in ourselves and in horse culture. This is an episode about heat and clarity, about the parts of horsemanship that can no longer be performed or avoided, and the kind of courage it takes to stay present when old patterns burn away. A reflective and grounding dialogue on change, accountability, and the deeper listening that becomes possible when we let the fire refine rather than destroy.Kat is an emotional alchemist, nature nerd, Daoist, aspiring homesteader, and writer living in eastern Washington with her husband and their menagerie. Substack: https://emotionalalchemy.substack.com/IG: https://www.instagram.com/kat.hosoo.leeMagazine: https://www.interbeingmag.com/Come and learn with Lockie inside the EH School. A low-cost, high-value, flexible membership for horse people who want more than quick fixes and louder answers.Inside, you’ll find a growing video library, a thoughtful off–social media discussion space, and live coaching calls with Lockie, all designed to help you get to the heart of what’s really happening in your horsemanship.This is not about following a method. It’s about building clarity, skill, and conf The EH School is a quiet place in a loud industry.A low-cost, high-value membership where horse people come to slow down, think clearly, and build real skill with horses at the centre.With a deep video library, an off-social discussion space, and live calls with Lockie, you’ll have support that feels steady, practical, and refreshingly human.Not a system to obey. A craft to practice.For more information check out www.emotionalhorsemanship.com!

Send a textNoticing Normal is an episode about the quiet ways harm can hide inside routine, especially in horse culture, where “this is just how it’s done” can slowly replace curiosity. Lockie Phillips explores how familiarity dulls perception, how the horse world teaches us what not to see, and the subtle signs horses offer long before anything breaks down. This isn’t a conversation about blame, it’s an invitation to wake back up, to question what’s become ordinary, and to remember that real care begins with noticing.Come and learn with Lockie in the EH SCHOOL, a low-cost, high value, flexible community where a video library, discussion forum (off social media) and live coaching calls with Lockie help you get to the heart of the matter with your horsemanship.https://emotionalhorsemanship.com/eh-school-sign-upCome and learn with Lockie inside the EH School. A low-cost, high-value, flexible membership for horse people who want more than quick fixes and louder answers.Inside, you’ll find a growing video library, a thoughtful off–social media discussion space, and live coaching calls with Lockie, all designed to help you get to the heart of what’s really happening in your horsemanship.This is not about following a method. It’s about building clarity, skill, and confFor more information check out www.emotionalhorsemanship.com!

Send a textBringing Season 2 to a soft closing with some thoughts about the year, state of the horse world as I see it, and some personal reflections about how much has changed. Explore all that we can offer you here:www.emotionalhorsemanship.comFor more information check out www.emotionalhorsemanship.com!

Send a textThe first step to permanent change for the better, is acceptance of the truth of what we currently have.  And the truth is, the horse industry has a BIG problem with big violence, at every level, in many forms, in many disciplines and every country. Nobodies hands are clean.  The time has come to get off the fence, and make real steps forward. I am building a community for people who denounce stories like this and are fully ready to move forwards.  It is accessible, I take an active role there, so does my team. Consider joining us to find some solutions and solace in community of people that want a higher standard for horses. https://emotionalhorsemanship.com/the-eh-schoolFor more information check out www.emotionalhorsemanship.com!

Send a textSign up for FULL CLINIC RECORDINGS HEREhttps://emotionalhorsemanship.com/fcr-landing-page750529Learn more about Shelby here: https://milestoneequestrian.ca/For more information check out www.emotionalhorsemanship.com!