In May, I had the opportunity to watch Nahshon Cook train a herd of horses in Wisconsin. Nahshon is one of my greatest teachers, guiding me to change my life and my horsehumanship, as he calls it, for the better each time I see him. Watching this group of 9 horses and talking to Nahshon about them prompted deep ruminations about rehabilitation, classical dressage, and the processing of pain and fear. These horses defied all odds and expectations of previous professionals, not only in their ability to heal from deep physical and emotional traumas, but also surpassed the level and quality of dressage training that I have ever seen with my own eyes in person. These horses were joyful, sound, athletic, and so very wise. I’m currently gathering a group to go see them and Nahshon again in 2026.

Our nervous system state is inextricably tied to both our emotions and our physical posture. No matter who I’m teaching or what they’ve come to learn, I find myself always coming back to the concept of the nervous system— the big, broad general umbrella of all the systems in our body that work to keep us alive. And how when we or our horses become dysregulated, we trade our ability to live in the moment to simply survive instead.