Hello, I'm Joanne and my Horses
Changed Everything
I didn't set out to become an author. I set out to help children, families, and anyone who needed me alongside them.
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Over the past few years, that's exactly what I did, working as a registered counsellor, an accredited equine assisted therapy practitioner, a certified play therapy practitioner, and a registered teacher, I would be alongside children, young people and families through some of their most challenging seasons, where trust had to be built slowly, one small moment at a time.
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It was during the equine assisted counselling sessions, here in the beautiful hinterland of Mudgeeraba, where I witnessed things that still moves me deeply. Children, as well as adults, who struggled to find stillness, or words, or trust, would find what they needed, and this was often discovered standing side by side, in a paddock, simply watching, or being in the present moment, with one of my horses who would simply be.
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I still work in education, and I bring the same care, attentiveness and deep respect for children into every school day, just like my horses would. But Star, Koda and Shadow planted a seed that kept growing and eventually, it became a book!
I am so glad you found your way here.
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The Pivot - "The Horses Kept Whispering - Write the Book"
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After sitting with children, and adults, in their big feelings, I began to notice something the horses had always known.
They don't analyse. They don't fix. They don't rush toward the hard thing or away from it. They simply stay present, fully, attentively, completely, and allow feelings to move through their body, through movement, their breath, and moving back to the present moment. Somehow that presence creates the safest space imaginable for a child to just be themselves in the moment.
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That insight lives at the heart of everything I do. Yes, it’s not always easy to move through emotions and be present in difficult times, but I know things shift and being fully present in the moment can allow for a calmness inside. These insights have been in the counselling room, in the paddock, in the classroom, and now, in the pages of my first book.
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I am new to being an author. I won't pretend otherwise. But I have spent a long time gathering these lessons, and I feel that my horses have been nudging me toward this for years, so thank you, Star, Koda and Shadow. It is time to share what they have taught me with as many families as possible.
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Grounded in Knowledge, Guided by Heart
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The work I do has always been underpinned by genuine training, experience and a deep commitment to the wellbeing of children and families. But qualifications only tell part of the story.
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What shaped me most was time, the time spent with people, with the horses too, learning what actually helped versus what the textbooks said should help. Time standing quietly in a paddock, watching my horses do in five minutes what a traditional therapy session sometimes couldn't.
'Hoofbeats and Heartbeats: Wisdom from the Herd' grew out of thousands of real moments with Star, Koda and Shadow. It is my attempt to take the profound simplicity of what horses know and offer, presence, emotional honesty, living in the now, and translate it into something a parent and child can explore together at home, at bedtime, or on a difficult afternoon when the feelings are big and the words are hard to find.
My background includes:
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Prior registration as a Counsellor with the Australian Counselling Association
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Extensive years in supportive education, working with children who learn and experience the world differently
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Training in somatic approaches, mindfulness, trauma-informed practice and child-centred play therapy
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Six years offering equine assisted counselling and play therapy alongside Star, Koda and Shadow at my home in the peaceful Mudgeeraba hinterland
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Ongoing work as an educator, guided every day by the values of connection, curiosity and emotional safety
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I share this not to impress, but to reassure you. If you are a parent wondering whether to trust this book, or this space, with your child's heart, everything here has been shaped by years of genuinely caring about children and learning what helps them most.
