Change and Letting Go

My Horses - My Great Teachers!

There's something about standing next to a horse that strips everything back to what's real.

No performance. No pretending. Just you, your breath, your heartbeat, and theirs.

Over the years, horses have been some of my greatest teachers. They don't care about the version of yourself you show the world. They respond to the version of yourself you are, the one beneath the roles, the responsibilities, the carefully managed feelings, the messy hair, the dirty clothes, and all that comes comes with life.

It was in that space, quietly and without fanfare, that one of the biggest shifts of my life began to take shape.

When One Door Closes

'My horses have been my great teachers'

For a long time, my work as a therapist was my calling. Sitting with children and families in their most vulnerable moments, holding space for grief, confusion, anger, fear, it was sacred work, and something I always felt privileged to be involved with. It still is. But somewhere along the way, I began to feel a gentle, persistent nudging. A stirring. Something new was asking to be born.

Very recently I left being a therapist behind. Leaving the therapy space wasn't a decision I made lightly. If I'm honest, there was real fear in it. A real stirring deep down in my stomach every time I thought about it. What if my clients feel let down? What if I'm abandoning something meaningful? Those questions sat heavy in my chest for a long while.

But the horses showed me something I keep coming back to -You cannot move forward if you are gripping too tightly to where you've been.

All feelings need to be felt, expressed, and then released. Not pushed down. Not avoided but moved through. That's what I watched the horses do, time and again. And eventually, slowly, that's what I learned to do too. By no means am I suggesting that all feelings are easy to approach in this way, but all feelings do shift. It may take a while with some, but they do soften and move on. Sitting with the uncomfortable stirrings had to be felt so they could soften and move through me.

The sketch of Star connecting and also to be the cover of 'Hoofbeats and Heartbeats'

Finding the Leap

As my equine assisted therapy work deepened and my years in school and counselling accumulated, I kept noticing the same thing, children need more ways to access their inner world. They need stories. They need language for the big, swirling things they feel but can't yet name.

One day, I truly couldn't tell you exactly when other than it was a few years ago, it just came to me. What if I could bring these experiences into a book? What if a story, gently told and beautifully illustrated, could reach families I might never sit across from in a therapy setting?

That idea became ‘Hoofbeats and Heartbeats’ my first illustrated children's picture book, told in rhythmic verse and brought to life through stunning watercolour artwork of my three beautiful horses, Star, Koda and Shadow. It's coming soon, and I am equal parts thrilled and terrified, which I've decided is exactly the right way to feel when you're doing something that matters. Right?

Still Here. Just Differently

What I want you to know is this: I haven't stepped away from children and families. If anything, I've stepped closer.

I'm still in the classroom, weaving everything I've learned through counselling, equine assisted therapy, and play therapy, into the everyday moments that shape a child's sense of self. Helping children feel seen, heard, felt, and understood doesn't require a therapy room. It requires presence, attunement, and the right words at the right time.

And that's exactly what I hope to offer through my books, more of which are already taking shape in my mind and on the page, each one bringing a tricky emotion or life challenge to children in a way that feels safe, gentle, and true. A way that can be shared at family times to build connection.

"You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending."  C.S. Lewis

On Fear, Judgement, and Coming Home to Yourself

I used to hold back. A lot. There was a version of me that was so worried about being judged or disliked that she would shrink herself down and share only the "acceptable" parts, keep the rest neatly tucked away.

I'm not entirely sure what shifted it. Maybe it's the years of training. Maybe it's age. Maybe it's the horses, who, as I said, have never once cared about my curated self. Probably it's all of it together.

But I can tell you that I feel whole in a way I haven't in a long time. All the parts of me, not just the polished, professional ones, are back at the table. And that feels like coming home.

What's Next

‘Hoofbeats and Heartbeats’ will be available to purchase within the next couple of months, and I cannot wait to share it with you. If you're a parent, a carer, a therapist, a teacher, anyone who loves a child and wants to help them navigate the big feelings of being human, this book was made with you in mind.

This is not a goodbye. It's a becoming.

And I think that's worth being a little brave for!

With warmth, Joanne, Trusting Connections | www.trustingconnections.com.au

Want to be the first to know when Hoofbeats and Heartbeats is available? Contact us for the release date. I'd love to have you on this journey with me.