Not a Mirror, Nor a Mystic

🎙️ Relatively Stable – New EpisodeNot a Mirror, Nor a Mystic

Inside the Unspoken Dynamics of Healing, Projection, and Power in Equine-Assisted Services

🧠 In this episode, I explore what happens when we ask horses to fix us—and what they’re forced to carry in the name of human healing. This is a reckoning with transference, containment, and the subtle violence that can live inside even the most well-intentioned equine-assisted work.

I reflect on my own evolution from riding instructor to coach, and the moment I realized the projections landing on the horses were spilling over—onto me. With insights from therapists, industry peers, and lived experience, this episode asks: what are we really doing with the horses? And what happens when the mirror refuses to reflect what we came looking for?

This is a conversation for anyone working in, participating in, or questioning equine-facilitated programs—and for anyone who’s ever wondered what it really means to love horses.

📌 Mentions + Resources

🔗 Read the full essay on Substack: Not a Mirror, Nor a Mystic – Stable Roots

🎧 Related Podcast Episodes:• My conversation with Kim Walnes, world champion equestrian and animal communicator whose wisdom on pedestal-making and projection shaped this piece.

👥 Upcoming Workshop Collaborator: Sarah Finley, LCMHC — Upcountry Counseling: Therapist and equine professional. Co-facilitator of upcoming workshops exploring transference, boundary repair, and the realities of horse-centered work.

🎧 Explore the Regathering Audio Series:• The Horse Beside You and The Gate Is Open: These auditory meditations offer a way to arrive—wherever you are—and reconnect with the rhythm of the farm and the animals who live here.

📚 Referenced Modalities: EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a structured therapy that helps individuals process and release traumatic memories using bilateral stimulation. CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thought patterns and behaviors to improve emotional regulation and mental clarity.

💌 Support This Work

Stable Roots is a reader-supported publication and living archive of essays, sessions, and stories shaped by the horses and humans at Bramblewood Stables. Subscribe for free or become a paid subscriber to access exclusive content and help sustain the farm and its mission:

👉 stableroots.substack.com

Thanks for listening.

Let the horse be the horse.

Love, Kim