Equine-Connected
EMDR Intensives
Healing happens in relationship.
Sometimes, the most meaningful moments in therapy happen beyond words.
Our private Equine-Connected EMDR Intensives combine evidence-based trauma treatment with the relational and experiential principles of Natural Lifemanship.
Through intentional interactions with horses, we explore patterns of connection, boundaries, trust, and regulation as they emerge in the present moment.
No riding or previous horse experience required.
What Is Equine-Connected EMDR?
Sometimes, understanding your patterns isn't the same as being able to change them. You may know exactly why you struggle with boundaries, trust, relationships, or feeling safe, yet find yourself responding in familiar ways despite years of insight and self-awareness.
Equine-Connected EMDR brings trauma therapy beyond the traditional office setting by integrating Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) with Natural Lifemanship, a relationship-based model of equine-assisted psychotherapy. Rather than relying exclusively on conversation, this approach creates opportunities to explore your experiences through connection, movement, and present-moment interactions with horses. The felt sense of connection and relationship are at the core of all that we do in Natural Lifemanship informed sessions.
Horses are highly responsive to their environments and the relationships unfolding around them. Through interactions grounded in choice, consent, and mutual connection, we can begin noticing patterns related to boundaries, vulnerability, control, trust, and emotional regulation as they emerge in real time. These experiences can become meaningful opportunities for reflection, trauma processing, and practicing new ways of relating to yourself and others. The relationship patterns that emerge inside of the arena are often the very same patterns that clients report they struggle with outside of the arena. So what we heal inside of the arena heals outside of the arena too.
The horses are not tools, and you are not expected to perform. They are living, feeling partners with their own choices, boundaries, and experiences. You are invited into a therapeutic relationship where both human and horse have a voice.
No riding or previous horse experience is necessary. Every experience is individualized, and participation with the horses is always a choice.
Why Horses?
Because sometimes, the things we struggle to put into words are the very things that need our attention.
Trauma doesn't just live in our memories. It can shape how we experience safety, navigate relationships, respond to stress, and connect with ourselves and others. You may understand your patterns intellectually and still find yourself repeating them. This is where experiential therapy can offer something different.
Horses are highly attuned to their environments and communicate primarily through body language, movement, and behavior. When we invite them into the therapeutic process, we create opportunities to explore connection, trust, boundaries, and nervous system regulation as they unfold in real time.
Perhaps you notice yourself wanting to control an interaction, withdrawing when connection feels uncertain, or struggling to communicate a boundary. Rather than simply talking about these patterns, we have an opportunity to notice them, become curious about them, and experiment with something new.
At A Place Along the Way, equine-connected EMDR incorporates the relational principles of Natural Lifemanship, an approach grounded in the understanding that healing happens through healthy, connected relationships. The horses are not tools or passive participants. They have their own experiences, preferences, and choices, just as you do.
You don't need to know anything about horses, and riding is not required. This work is about relationship, presence, choice, and discovering what becomes possible when you have the space to experience connection differently.
What Does an Equine-Connected EMDR Intensive Look Like?
Every intensive is thoughtfully tailored to you. Some moments may involve working alongside the horses, noticing patterns in connection, boundaries, and trust. Others may involve traditional EMDR processing, quiet reflection, or simply allowing your nervous system time to settle. Some, upon client request, may bring in reiki or instruments and sound or music as part of your healing.
You won't spend every moment processing trauma, and you won't be expected to push beyond what feels manageable. We move at a pace that honors your capacity, your choices, and what emerges throughout the experience.
There is no riding required, no expectation of previous horse experience, and no single way your intensive is supposed to unfold.
Is Equine-Connected EMDR Right for You?
Sometimes, understanding why you feel or behave a certain way isn't enough to change the patterns that keep showing up in your life. You may have spent years in therapy, developed meaningful insight into your experiences, and still find yourself struggling with the same emotional responses, relationship dynamics, or protective behaviors.
Equine-Connected EMDR may be especially meaningful for individuals navigating complex trauma, attachment wounds, anxiety, perfectionism, people-pleasing, difficulties with boundaries, eating disorders, or a persistent sense of disconnection from themselves or others.
This approach may also resonate with those who find traditional talk therapy limiting, feel more comfortable connecting with animals than people, or simply want an opportunity to explore healing in a different environment. Working alongside horses creates opportunities to notice familiar patterns as they emerge in real time, practice new ways of relating, and bring those experiences into EMDR processing.
You don't need to be an equestrian, have previous experience with horses, or even know exactly what you want to work on. All you need is a willingness to approach yourself with curiosity and explore what might become possible in a different kind of therapeutic space.
Half-Day
3 hours
Find Your Intensive
Healing doesn't follow a single timeline, and neither should your therapy. Whether you're looking for a few focused hours or several days immersed in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, each intensive offers a personalized experience designed around your needs, goals, and capacity.
Full- Day
6 hours
Multi-Day
3-5 days
Not Sure Where to Begin?
You don't need to have everything figured out before reaching out. Whether you're curious about equine-connected EMDR, wondering if an intensive is appropriate for your needs, or simply exploring what healing might look like outside of traditional weekly therapy, you're welcome to start with a conversation.
Together, we can explore what you're hoping for, answer your questions, and determine whether A Place Along the Way might be a good fit for your next chapter.