Equispirit Healing

I hope everyone has had a good start to 2026!

I am on a chemo coma day but doing well.

I am remaining off Facebook for the time being but wanted to just check in and say I do post on my Substack if anyone ever wants to join me over there! If you have an account do feel free to share it below ♥️

Equispirit Musings | Kathryn - Equispirit | Substack Horses, motherhood, cold water swimming, travel; living with Stage 4 cancer. I follow my own spirituality based in nature. Refinding myself over and over and over and over. Click to read Equispirit Musings, by Kathryn - Equispirit, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.

There is something we do routinely with horses that we would struggle to accept for ourselves: we relocate them. Frequently. Sometimes with careful thought, sometimes casually, sometimes because the timing suits us. New yard. New field. New companions. New routine. New handlers. New expectations. And we rarely pause to consider what this actually demands of them, not emotionally but biologically.

A horse experiences the world through their nervous system, not through concepts like practical or necessary. That system is continuously assessing: Am I safe. Is this predictable. Where is threat. Can I recover. When we move a horse, we are not just changing their address. We are erasing the entire sensory map their nervous system relies on to answer those questions.

For a prey animal, every detail of their environment provides information. The terrain underfoot. The pattern of sounds. The quality of shelter. The rhythm of the day. How light moves through the space. Where other horses are. Whether they can move away when they need to. When a horse arrives somewhere new, the body immediately starts reassessment. Muscle tone shifts. Sleep patterns change. Digestion can alter. Startle responses may rise. Some horses become hypervigilant. Others go quiet and still, a state that often looks like settling in but may actually be conservation mode. This is not dysfunction. This is biology doing its job. But disruption without adequate recovery time carries a cumulative cost.

Horses do not simply live beside other horses. They regulate with them. Established herd relationships offer shared vigilance that allows rest, predictable social structure, buffering through proximity, and safety through numbers. Every time a horse is moved, these regulatory relationships are severed. Even when a horse appears to make friends quickly, the nervous system still has to renegotiate hierarchy, boundaries, proximity, and trust. Some horses do this obviously. Others do it quietly. Both require energy. A horse who has been moved many times may eventually stop investing deeply in connection, not because they do not want it, but because repeatedly rebuilding it is metabolically expensive.

After relocation, people often notice changes that get labelled as behavioural problems. Sudden spookiness. Separation anxiety. Irritability or shutdown. Resistance under saddle. Digestive changes. Altered movement quality. Loss of curiosity. Reactivity to touch. These are not random. They are often the nervous system saying: I am still orienting. I am still assessing threat. I am not yet resourced. When we ignore these signals, push through them, or try to suppress them, we do not build resilience. We build defensiveness.

To understand this without anthropomorphising, consider a human parallel. Imagine being repeatedly moved into unfamiliar homes in unfamiliar neighbourhoods with unfamiliar people, no choice, no preparation, and no stable base to return to. You would not need to feel emotional about it for your nervous system to register instability. Your sleep would shift. Your baseline tension would rise. Your tolerance for novelty would narrow. Your capacity to relax deeply would shrink. That is not a flaw in character. That is physiology. Horses operate under the same biological principles.

Some horses cope better than others depending on temperament, early experience, genetics, and support. But coping is not the same as thriving. And the absence of visible distress does not mean regulation. A horse can appear functional while carrying elevated baseline stress, and research in stress physiology shows that the body keeps score even when behaviour looks fine.

Before relocating a horse, it is worth slowing down to ask different questions. Is this move necessary or simply convenient. What does this horse stand to lose in terms of predictability, relationships, and environmental familiarity. What support will they need neurologically, not just behaviourally. Am I allowing enough recovery time, or expecting performance before safety is re-established. Am I watching for subtle strain in sleep, digestion, curiosity, recovery after work, or social engagement. How many times has this horse already faced this disruption. History matters.

When moves are necessary, we can support the transition responsibly. Give the horse several weeks for genuine settling rather than surface adjustment. Maintain as much routine consistency as possible. Reduce performance expectations at first. Provide choice where possible. Integrate into the herd gradually and thoughtfully. Watch for signs that the nervous system is still working hard. Recognise that turnout with compatible companions supports co-regulation. Understand that some horses need weeks or months, not days.

Stability is not a luxury. Horses do not reset simply because they arrive somewhere new. They carry their nervous system history forward. Every relocation adds to that history. Every disruption registers. Every period of stability is protective. This does not mean never moving horses. Life happens and circumstances change. Sometimes relocation genuinely improves welfare. It simply means acknowledging that movement is not neutral. Environment matters. Herd continuity matters. Predictability matters. Recovery time matters. And a regulated nervous system is not optional. It is the foundation for everything else we ask.

At WHJ, we are not asking for guilt. We are asking for awareness. When we truly understand the biological cost of repeated instability, we begin making different choices. We move horses less casually. We plan transitions more carefully. We watch more closely. We allow more time. We question whether convenience for us is worth destabilisation for them. These choices shape behaviour, health, and wellbeing across a lifetime. That is what it means to think well of our horses, not just in moments but in the long term.

Further reading:
The term “New Home Syndrome” has been used by Dr. Shelley Appleton to describe behavioural changes observed in horses following relocation. Readers interested in a behavioural transition perspective may wish to explore her work alongside nervous-system-based approaches. https://www.calmwillingconfidenthorses.com.au/blogs/new-home-syndrome

Sea Swim Christmas Gathering

Today was something really special — our Christmas sea swim for everyone who’s taken part in the Chill South Devon Swim Course for those living with or recovering from a cancer diagnosis. I’m so glad I made it. The whole swim was pure joy. So much laughing, shouting, and full on screaming at the waves — which were wild and relentless! They just kept rolling in, one after another. We jumped them, we pretend surfed them, and a few of us even got knocked off our feet. It was brilliant. My water shoes got dislodged a couple of times, that's never happened before 🤣

The sea was around 12 degrees, but it didn’t feel too shocking with the air about the same temperature and I was far too focussed on the waves as opposed to the cold!

It was especially lovely seeing two people from my own group and having a proper catch up. I don’t often make the regular swims, usually too tired on a Thursday after Tuesday chemo, but I was determined not to miss this one. And I’m so glad I did.

A beautiful, salty, laughter filled reminder of community, resilience, and joy. I really needed it after the last few days, I have been in quite a slump and this really lifted me!

I have a sauna booked at Suvi Saunas, Clevedon Marine Lakes on Saturday, I can't wait to get in the water again. It is incredible the benefit this cold water malarkey has on me mentally and physically. It's such a shame it is harder to find clean water to swim in in the winter, with the weekly chemo I have to be extra cautious of infection risks and with the sewage overspill and run down from fields winter swimming can prove tricky!

I need it though so I will keep trying!! It's becoming really noticeable that if I dont get my cold water swim and/or horse fix my mental health drastically suffers! It's my place to let it all go, ground and be in the moment surrounded by nature. Withdrawal symptoms definitely happen when I don't get my fix! Maybe I need to move closer to the sea!

A VERY yummy festive wrap at Café Banana this morning followed by a trip into town with Grace for some Christmas shopping. 🥰

Grace found all 10 elves hidden around the Tiverton Pannier Market and then managed to convince me to buy another book in Liznojan 😂 It was my own fault, before we went out I said no more books, then took her into a bookshop 🤦‍♀️😀 (it has been hidden away for Christmas so hopefully she will forget about it...)!

❤️

Dougal isn't too sure about the December arrivals!!

I don't have the energy or enthusiasm to think up silly things every day this year so I came up with a plan! I have been trawling through the charity shops and Vinted looking for second hand cheap books! The elves have told Grace she will be getting a book a day, all she has to do is find them each morning - so all I have to hide them, I think I can manage that 🤣 Then I have to find space for 25 more books......

Seeing Grace's excitement last night and this morning (it was a 6am wake up call) does make the effort worth it! ❤️