The Next Step, Equine Activities

'"Certainly we need great movers and powerful jumpers, but above all we need a partner, not a slave. We need horses who are supremely independent and courageous, fiercely such a horse and phenomenally agile.

Find him and treasure him. Teach him that you will trust him with your life. Give him the education he will need, and then sit quietly while he does the job you have very skillfully and very patiently taught him. He won't let you down.

We owe all this and more to our horses."
~Jim Wofford'

Sessions offered on Wednesdays. Private sessions available on demand, by appointment. Contact us to take your Next Step!

Come work with our wonderful herd of horses to regain connection and presence. Sessions opening on Wednesdays, contact us to take your Next Step!

You are not your thoughts. Join us at The Next Step to work with our horses. Learn how to notice and how to observe, without prejudgement, just like our horses.

Here’s why working with our horses and our program are so effective at helping people become “unstuck”. Somatic, body led healing resets the nervous system, and allows you to move forward.

Contact us to take your Next Step.

Riders, help us with a research project! Complete the following sentence in a comment:

"Why Does My Horses _____________________?"

Booking workshops starting March 15th. Contact us for details, we can come to your farm, or you can come to us here in Lyme.

Video: Opinion | Why Doesn’t Pro Sports Take Mental Health Seriously?

This is great, take a look. Not just for Olympians...we can help!
https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000007372207/alexi-pappas-depression.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20201207&instance_id=24780&nl=the-morning®i_id=110888582&segment_id=46245&te=1&user_id=a49dc3f9f4bdceaf7a8389ee6cad3d97

nytimes.com “What if we athletes approached our mental health the same way we approached our physical health?”

So pleased to be asked to present our "Understanding Fear in the Horse and in the Human" unmounted workshop for riders at Idlenot Farm in Clinton on November 29th!

Message us if you are interested in a workshop at your farm. Great way to continue learning about horse and human behavior. Listen, Learn, and Grow! COVID safe, small group, and social distanced.

Pandemics, Pods, and Ponies

Back to school offering, designed for virtual learners and learning pods. Message me for more info.http://www.thenextstephorses.com/pandemics-pods-and-ponies.html

The New Normal: Pandemics, Pods and Ponies Horses have lived in pods (known as "herds) for 50 million years! We will discuss the similarities and the differences, the advantages and...

How much weight can a horse carry.

In our experience, a horse can carry an infinite amount.

They carry the weight of broken hearts, broken homes, and broken bodies. Countless tears sometimes comb their tangled manes. Moments when parents and friends cannot be there to help and hold a person, horses embrace and empower. They carry physical, mental, and emotional handicaps. They carry hopes and dreams; and they will carry the stress from your day when you can't carry it anymore.

They carry graduations, they carry new careers, they carry moves away from everything familiar, they carry marriages, they carry divorces, they carry funerals, they carry babies before they are born, and sometimes they carry the mothers who cannot carry their own baby. They carry mistakes, they carry joy, they carry the good and they carry the bad. They carry drugs and addictions, but they also carry celebrations.

They will carry you to success when all you have felt is failure. They will carry you, never knowing the weight of your burdens and triumphs.

If you let them, they will carry you through life, and life is hard, life is heavy. But a horse will make you feel weightless under it all.

We are open and offering sessions - outdoors, socially distant and in compliance with State and CDC guidelines (we finished our second session with a new group yesterday!). Come experience a new, lighter, easier way to navigate your daily life, learning with our beautiful horses. Medical providers, caregivers, essential workers, parents...reach out to us regarding scholarships.
http://www.thenextstephorses.com/care-for-the-caregiver.html

Care for the Caregiver

Now scheduling sessions, starting May 20th. Safe sanitation practices, and limited number of participants -- our sessions take place outdoors! Come experience some relief...our horses are ready to help.
http://www.thenextstephorses.com/care-for-the-caregiver.html

thenextstephorses.com go from this...

We miss you all, in these most unusual times. Social Distancing is keeping each other safe. Until those times we can safely share space again, we leave you with Kat and Zeke, who are sharing a connection and co-existence that we now long for.

Rest assured that we will be here for you, once all of this ends...and it will. Now, more than ever, we are in need of understanding our emotions, and regaining the ability to live in the present. Kat and Zeke live this way, every day.

Times right now have us all on edge, disconnected, and hyper-vigilant. That's ok for now, but we can't last that way. If you are struggling with coming back to level, reach out to us. We are here, our horses are ready to help, and the farm will be open to you as soon we are able.

In the meantime, stay safe, stay healthy and stay in touch. We are here for you.

Jonnie Edwards
Patty Ganey

So pleased to be included in the Health and Wellness Expo 2020! Located at the Clinton Public Library on March 21st. Stop by and say hello, and learn about The Next Step and Equine Assisted Activities, and other paths to wellness.

Learning starts before you get on your horse!

Booking our new, fun, interactive, unmounted workshops now, at your farm or ours.

Contact us to take your Next Step!

Equine-Facilitated Psychotherapy: Facing Trauma With a Horse by Their Side | McLean Hospital

What we do...this.
Contact us to take your Next Step 😎🐎

With Jonnie Edwards

https://www.mcleanhospital.org/news/equine-facilitated-psychotherapy-facing-trauma-horse-their-side

mcleanhospital.org In the spring of 2019, four women with trauma histories visited a small farm in Lexington, Massachusetts, to try a new type of therapy. These sessions turned out to be quite a change of pace from typical group therapy—but not just because they involved horses.

In your mind, do the exercise perfectly. But do what your body will allow. Over time, your body will respond to what you see in your mind.
It takes time. But don’t quit, thinking it is too hard...

Keep going. Keep trying. You'll get there...

Ready to take your Next Step? Contact us, we can help.

Happy Birthday to our Zeke, a 2006 OTTB baby!

Did you know that all registered Thoroughbreds mark their birthday as January 1, regardless of their actual birth date?

Come work with Zeke and the rest of our team...here’s to a new you in 2020!

Contact us to take your Next Step!

“I wonder about the narrative of how horses came into our lives.

I doubt there was some version of an ancient rodeo. Cowboys didn’t invent horse training.

I think horses wandered into our camps. They befriended us, but our ego took the credit.

Horses maintained their pride, their intelligence, and that made us look bad. And we are predators after all, more prone to fight than negotiate.

Still, after centuries of humans showing horses that we are not smart or dependable, they continue to volunteer.

I hate over-romanticizing horses but I will never believe that we domesticated them. I will be eternally grateful that horses continue the work of domesticating us.” -Anna Blake

If you rearrange the letters in "depression", you get "I pressed on". Your current situation is not your final destination.

Let us help! Contact us to take your Next Step!

Contact us to take your Next Step!

The feeling you get from horses may seem like magic, but there is more to it than magic! Curious? Contact us to take your Next Step!

Change is hard; if it wasn't we would be effortlessly making changes all of the time! Come work with us and our wonderful horses to understand how to make change not so hard...
Contact us to take your Next Step!

Give the gift of clarity. Give the gift of introspection. Give the gift of FUN!

These are some of the things that horses give to people everyday. Do you know someone ready to take their Next Step? Gift certificates available.

You are not your thoughts. Join us at The Next Step to work with our horses. Learn how to notice and how to observe, without prejudgement, just like our horses.

Wonder why it's called a good cry? Let it go...we can help.
Contact us to take your Next Step.

We have a few horsemanship lesson spots available! Not just RIDING lessons, but HORSEMANSHIP lessons...yes, our lessons are different!

Monday sessions enrolling now, come take your Next Step!

Children And Horses - An Alternative To The Internet

Would your child benefit from a "reset"? Would your child benefit from making authentic, honest relationships? Would your child benefit from spending time in the moment, in nature, away from the distractions of social media? Contact us, we can help you take your Next Step alongside our wonderful herd of horses.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/children-and-horses-an-alternative-to-the-internet_b_595413c4e4b0c85b96c65ee0?fbclid=IwAR38pOiaSsggHihLienadMUWLOv9oZ_0guWFBQurAFUZFCr_u0hbsssL9_o

huffpost.com Throughout human history, people have loved owned, and ridden horses. Horses fascinate us; they silently speak to our hearts. However in the last few yea...

From the insightful Brene Brown. Written for a person-to-person relationship; what if we applied it to a person-to-horse relationship? What are your thoughts?

Why Horses and Senior Citizens are a Great Match - Horse Illustrated

Connection, movement, socialization, care giving, goal setting...there are plenty of reasons to work with horses, at any age! Contact us to take your Next Step! Volunteers interested in barn work and horse care needed.
https://www.horseillustrated.com/horse-community-why-horses-and-senior-citizens-are-a-great-match/amp

horseillustrated.com When John Robinson retired, he knew that becoming sedentary was not an option. So he got on a horse. “I figured that I had to do something or I’d fossilize,” recalls Robinson, 76, who had considered studying veterinary medicine before he became a church Pastor. “I was already volunteering ta...

Science Finally Confirms That People Absorb Energy From Others - Spiritual Unite

That’s right, energy and emotions are contagious. Learn how to identify and manage your emotions, learning and practicing with our wonderful herd of horses at The Next Step!
New session starting Monday, June 10th.




https://www.spiritualunite.com/articles/science-finally-confirms-that-people-absorb-energy-from-others/

spiritualunite.com A biological research team at Bielefeld University has made a groundbreaking discovery showing that plants can draw an alternative source of energy from other plants. This finding could also have a major impact on the future of bioenergy eventually providing the evidence to show that people draw ene

It's not about "WHY can't we get along", but "HOW can we get along"...The Next Step can help! Come work with us and our wonderful, safe, well-trained horse partners, it doesn't have to be so hard!
New weekly afternoon sessions starting Monday, June 10th.
Contact us to take your Next Step!

Our bodies are constantly sending us messages, we just need practice to learn to listen. Come practice and learn with our wonderful herd of horses! Contact us to take your Next Step, Monday sessions are ongoing...we can fit you in. Don't wait!
http://www.openculture.com/2019/05/mapping-emotions-in-the-body.html?fbclid=IwAR04zYoTEvyb4ImP66OdxxhjYJdZlEZnBVXcH9yn_rd3SyM4TkLk4Z7occM