About Wellsprings Equine
We offer horse interactions to facilitate connection and well-being through experiential classes, while promoting holistic equine management. We aim to expand wellness possibilities for horses and people, with curiosity, compassion, and courage.
Our recreational classes were inspired by our own search for flexible horse interactions. None of the available weekly riding lessons, unpaid internships cleaning stalls, or equine therapy sessions were feasible. We believe most people can benefit from being with horses, and seek to provide opportunities for them to experience horses regardless of schedules and commitments.
Meet The Team
Smoky Blue
The Skeptic
Smoky is a 31 year old Spanish Barb gelding, pony-sized at 13.1h, Reserved and slow to trust, he is the leader of his herd. His size is much less intimidating, and his manner is gentle, yet he still evokes the powerful horse archetype. Emotional responses are much more subtle from him, which therefore encourages attunement. Less likely to engage first, he teaches social responsibility to be someone he wants to be around.
Rohan
The Rockstar
Rohan is an 8 year old 15h Spanish Barb gelding, a confident personality who adores admiration. His emotional responses are easy to observe, and learn to identify. Very curious, he seeks attention and interaction, and teaches people to recognize and enforce their boundaries.
Debbie
The Enthusiast
Reconnecting with horses sparked a belief I could share joy and well-being in my community with my horses. The empowerment to choose a life I love is why I share opportunities for connection, peace, and joy with horses. I support Smoky and Rohan in being relaxed and engaged, and share practices to create a positive experience with them.
You
Have you missed hanging out with horses? Want to hug a horse for the first time? Interested in learning about horses and their care with your child? Or perhaps want to finally feel comfortable around such powerful animals? Feel empowered setting boundaries, recognize intuition, and explore awareness while interacting with horses. Compassion for ourselves and the horse leads to non-judgmental emotional awareness, allowing curiosity and critical thinking to come up with different ways to try again. What you know matters, but how you are matters most with horses.
Debbie's journey to Wellsprings
I knew horses were my favorite of everything ever as a toddler. Taking riding lessons since middle school, then leasing a horse in high school, to being part of the BYU Equestrian team and co-teaching classes were cherished experiences throughout my teens. Perhaps like many women, in my twenties I felt obligated to give up involvement with horses due to time and financial demands. A couple decades later, experiencing post-partum depression/anxiety motivated me to make changes, and I was encouraged to reconnect with horses. I wanted to just be with a horse, no expectations. The only opportunities I could find were weekly riding lessons, an ‘internship’ cleaning stalls as a volunteer, or mental health equine therapy lessons, all requiring financial and/or time commitments not feasible for me. Eventually a friend’s brother allowed me to groom his horse a few times a month. The chance to be around the horse helped me remember and connect with myself.
Learning to value and invest in myself led to resuming riding lessons, and finding moments of wholeness. My experiences with horses, therapy, and healing enabled me to believe I have the responsibility and power to create a life I love. A wonderful friend in the riding class inspired me to consider buying a horse even though I didn't "know everything" about ownership yet. Despite my anxiety and second-guessing, I bought a horse within the month. I choose to believe this was a gift from the divine, though the experience was not at all what I expected. A month later Rohan went lame, and subsequently had consistent illness or soundness issues. Though disappointed I was unable to ride, I discovered interacting was incredibly meaningful, and I was learning so much about myself as well as horses. Choosing to believe in possibilities instead of limiting thoughts, another horse needing a home came into my life. I never would have given myself permission to have 2 horses earlier in my journey! Though sounding cliche, my journey with depression and horses sparked a desire and belief I could share joy and well-being in my community with my horses. Friends and neighbors enjoyed invitations to meet and brush my horses, and that seemed an important way I could contribute to my community. Particularly meaningful was the visit with a neighbor in the midst of her own depression, who had given up her horse after the birth of her special needs twins. We took the horses out to simply hand graze, and at the end she remarked how this was just what she needed. I understood. One day as I drove past some farm fields, a prior conversation with a vet about horse boarding that supports equine needs came to mind, and a thought popped into my head; “Maybe I could do that.” My fears and limiting beliefs immediately dismissed the thought. Several weeks later the hope for a place where my horses could thrive intersected with my desire to share their influence with other people, and ignited a dream compelling enough for me to face my fears. Wellsprings Equine, L3C was organized for an educational purpose, to offer accessible equine interactions to share practices and experiences that support horse and human well-being. My vision for Wellsprings is an efficient 2-3 acre facility that supports holistic horse care, in an urban area easy for clients to get to. A covered arena and room for classes, interactions, and community events would provide literal and figurative space to create well-being. I try to stay open to any possibilities, as I have learned life can get better than I can even imagine.