You might have heard about the wonders of Equine Facilitated Therapies such as Gestalt, or maybe you’ve experienced them for yourself. In this interview with Kelly Dukarski of A Wild Omen, we dive into the ooey-gooey life changing center of what tapping into healing with horses is all about.

Kelly is an Equine Gestaltist who partners with horses to offer a somatic healing experience in which clients are able to clear trauma from the body, reclaim their happiness, and embrace the beauty of who they are. She is based in West Newbury, Massachusetts, and has over three decades of experience as a horsewoman, in addition to 25 years working as a horticulturist and 15 years as a folk herbalist.

Her deep love of horses comes right across in this interview, as she talks about how she’s walked a nontraditional path as a horsewoman, and weaves her healing work with herbs and nature into her work with horses.

In this interview we talk about: 

- The importance of giving back to our horses in return for all they give us through nature-based rituals and herbal medicine

- How partnering with horses to facilitate healing in a consent-based approach offers the horse to stand in their power

- The profound ways in which horses show up to offer us insight and help us move through difficult experiences and traumas

- How doing our personal work must come first before we go forth to help others

- That special horse - who for Kelly was a horse called Vision Quest - who kicked off her horsemanship journey with a bang, and showed her what relationships founded on mutual respect look like

- Reconnecting to the land and bringing awareness to the lost art of ranching as a preservation practice

- The collective healing power of women gathering to center horse medicine, community, and connection to nature

- And how even after years of witnessing the transformative power of doing work in this field, it still remains beyond words to truly explain

Resources:

This show is supported by The Herd.

I believe we’re only as strong as our herd. Become a Herd Member today! Membership offers behind-the-scenes bonuses for each episode, and access to my growing archive of content on all things health, wellness, and horses.

Check out the interview transcript for this episode, ‘Transforming Trauma and Honoring Nature with Kelly Dukarski’ on the blog.

Links from this episode:

A Wild Omen

A Wild Omen on Instagram

Wild Willing Therapeutics & Training

Wild Willing on Instagram

The Herd Membership

Podcast cover photo by Tricia Mogensen