My guest is one of my own students, Sheri Scurr. Sheri is an experienced horsewoman and certified equine-assisted experiential learning facilitator who has been leading equine-assisted workshops and healing retreats since 2021, including work with veterans, people in addiction recovery, and practitioners seeking professional development. She is currently becoming certified in Polyvagal Theory under Dr. Stephen Porges, Deb Dana, and other co-founders of the Polyvagal Institute, and she founded Pathways to Authentic Connection to help equine-assisted professionals bring nervous system awareness into their programs.
The neuroscience of safety in plain language: why a horse can be in a perfectly safe arena and still not feel safe, and the cues of safety our horses are looking for from us
Polyvagal Theory as a practical map: what the safe, mobilized, and shut-down states look like in both people and horses, and how to tell a truly calm horse from a shut-down one
Why closeness isn't the same as connection: what's really going on with the horse who follows you everywhere, and why you can't fake regulation with a horse
How co-regulation works between horse and human, and why your own regulated, congruent presence is your most powerful tool
How equine-assisted practitioners can elevate their programs, and how all of us can transform the way we partner with our horses
As Sheri puts it, authentic connection isn't a skill to be learned or a single ah-ha moment. It's a state of being that grows from a healthy, consciously regulated nervous system.
This conversation matters deeply to both Sheri and me, especially for equine-assisted practitioners and equestrians alike. Horses are at the center of this work, yet too often they're treated as objects rather than partners with their own needs and nervous systems.
Whether you're a horse owner, trainer, coach, therapist, or equine-assisted learning practitioner, this conversation will give you a new lens for everything you do with your horse, on the ground and in the saddle.
May you always be one with your horse, Caroline Beste Tao of Horsemanship Feel as One · Think as One · Move as One
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