The Landy Peek Podcast

Training a wild mustang is teaching me something I did not expect: there is rarely one perfect way to do anything.

In this episode of the Mustang Summer series, I share what happened when three experienced horsewomen approached the same challenge in completely different ways—and how quickly my brain turned someone else’s idea into proof that I was wrong.

It wasn’t.

It was simply another option. And in that moment, it was the option that worked.

From rebuilding Denny’s trust in fly spray to navigating bridges, trailers, obstacle courses, and the deeply ingrained belief that you should never “let the horse win,” this episode explores what changes when we stop forcing every situation through the one method we already know.

Because horses, children, relationships, therapy, and life are not one-size-fits-all.

The answer depends on the horse you have today, the person you have today, the circumstances in front of you—and your willingness to notice when your own fear, expectations, or need to be right are shaping what happens next.

I also share why we so often assign negative intentions to someone else’s behavior, how our bodies can communicate something entirely different from what we think we are asking for, and what Denny’s decision to jump over a bridge taught me about recognizing when someone has simply reached their limit.

And beneath all of it is an even more personal realization: working with Denny has brought me back to a version of myself I had left behind for more than a decade.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

This conversation is about more than Mustang training. It is about loosening your grip on the belief that there is one correct answer, becoming curious about what is actually happening, and responding to the individual in front of you instead of following a rigid formula.

It is also an invitation to remember the part of yourself you may have let go of because life became busy, practical, or complicated.

Maybe that part of you is still there, waiting for you to come back.

Follow Landy and Denny’s Mustang Summer journey on Instagram at @landy_peek.

What if the reason you feel stuck isn’t that you aren’t trying hard enough—but that you’re trying to jump over the steps that would make progress sustainable? In this episode, Landy shares what training her wild mustang yearling, Denny, is teaching her about pressure, fear, support, and the power of taking one small step at a time. With an August showcase getting closer, comparison creeping in, and the pressure to get Denny “ready” growing louder, Landy noticed herself doing what so many of us do: focusing so intensely on the final result that she stopped paying attention to what was happening right in front of her. Because whether you are building a business, parenting through a difficult season, healing an old pattern, training for a goal, or trying to make a major life change, pushing harder does not always move you forward. Sometimes it creates more resistance. You’ll hear what happened when Landy stopped trying to force Denny across a bridge and began breaking the process into smaller, safer steps. She also explores why stopping after one small success can feel so uncomfortable—and why it may be exactly what creates confidence, trust, and lasting change. In this episode: Why focusing only on the end goal can make you feel more overwhelmed and stuck How fear, comparison, and ego quietly influence the way we push ourselves The difference between making something happen and building a foundation that lasts Why one small success can be more powerful than ten more repetitions How to recognize support when it arrives differently than you expected What it means to make decisions from love instead of fear Why slowing down can ultimately help you move forward faster How to identify the missing micro-steps between where you are and where you want to be Landy also shares an honest look at solo parenting, changing summer routines, receiving unexpected support from her children, and learning to release the timelines and expectations she thought she had to follow. Ask yourself: Where are you pushing because you are afraid you are falling behind? What foundational step might you have skipped? What would change if, instead of forcing the final outcome, you focused only on the next best step? You do not have to abandon the bigger vision. You can hold the vision of where you are going while staying present enough to notice what you—and the people or animals beside you—actually need today. Follow Landy on Instagram: @landy_peek Listen, share this episode with someone who has been pushing themselves too hard, and stay curious about what might become possible when you stop rushing the process.

What if the behavior you’re struggling with isn’t the real problem?

While training Denny, our yearling mustang, I realized how much working with a young horse feels like parenting: everyone has advice, nothing works for every individual, and you are often learning what to do while trying to teach someone else.

In this episode, I’m sharing the moments that made me wonder whether I had taken on more than I could handle—and the lessons that completely changed how I worked with Denny and my kids.

After getting support from horsewomen Amy Budd and Kayla Stone, I began to see what I had been missing. I was becoming so focused on completing the task that I was losing connection with the horse in front of me. I was expecting results without breaking the task into the small skills required to succeed. And sometimes, what looked like resistance was actually fear, confusion, limited capacity, or completely normal behavior for her age.

The same thing happens in parenting—and in our own lives.

We expect ourselves and our children to complete the whole task, regulate the big emotion, follow the direction, or handle the hard situation. But sometimes there is a missing step no one has identified or taught yet.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

You’ll also hear the story of Denny learning to cross a bridge, the surprising way my eight-year-old helped her do it, and what that moment taught me about curiosity, patience, and allowing someone to learn through experience.

You do not always need to push harder.

Sometimes you need to pause, reconnect, clarify the next step, and ask:

Does this person actually know how to do every part of what I’m asking?

Because when someone is missing a step, they cannot succeed through pressure alone.

And when we stop treating every struggle like defiance or failure, we create room for learning, confidence, connection, and real progress.

Parenting stress, child behavior, emotional regulation, nervous system regulation, co-regulation, parenting preteens, parenting strong-willed children, mustang training, horse training, liberty work, capacity, fight-or-flight responses, experiential learning, breaking down tasks, communication with children, age-appropriate expectations, and building trust.

Follow Landy on Instagram at @landy_peek to see Denny’s mustang-training journey and the moments behind the podcast.

This week on The Landy Peek Podcast, I’m sharing a moment with Denny that did not go the way I wanted.

We were working on fly spray, and after I thought we had taken the right steps, she had a big spook. What had felt like progress suddenly became a place where we had to slow way down, go back to the beginning, and rebuild trust.

This episode is about the difference between tolerating something and truly feeling okay with it.

Because sometimes a horse can stand there and seem fine, but her body is not actually settled. And honestly, we do this as humans too. We get through the hard thing. We hold it together. We survive the moment. But that does not always mean our body has fully processed what happened.

In this episode, I talk about anticipation, stress, repair, nervous system responses, parenting, anxiety, and the way horses can reveal what we so often miss in ourselves.

We’ll look at why “we’ve done this before” does not always mean “we’re okay today,” why repair often takes longer than prevention, and why the body needs to know the answer before the question is asked.

This conversation is for anyone who has ever realized they were calling something fine when their body was only tolerating it.

Have you ever snapped over something small and then wondered, Why did I react like that?

The backpack on the floor.
The socks no one can find.
The one more question at the end of a long day.

In this episode, Landy shares what training her wild Mustang yearling, Denny, is teaching her about stress, attunement, parenting, nervous system regulation, and the moment we mistake the “last thing” for the real problem.

Using Warwick Schiller’s concept of the 13 rabbits, Landy explores why people — and horses — don’t usually explode out of nowhere. There are almost always subtle signals first. A turned ear. A step away. A shorter fuse. A body already carrying too much.

This conversation bridges horse training, motherhood, perimenopause, emotional reactivity, and the reality that we are not the same person every day. Some days we have more capacity. Some days we are closer to our limit before the day even begins.

And when we learn to work with the horse, the child, the partner, and the self we actually have today, everything changes.

Landy talks about:

Follow our journey on IG @landy_Peek

Trust isn't built when you ask for something.

It's built long before that moment ever arrives.

Before a horse accepts a halter, lifts a hoof, or follows your lead, they're studying you. They're paying attention to whether you're predictable, consistent, attentive, and safe to be around.

People do the same thing.

In this episode, we're sharing our first two days working with Denny, the wild mustang yearling we were matched with through the Mustang Challenge. Joined by my daughter Tegan and son Isaac, we talk about the unexpected milestones, surprising moments, and the foundation that made them possible.

What surprised us wasn't what Denny learned.

It was how much trust had already been built before we ever asked anything of her.

Together we explore:

• Why relationship comes before training
• The surprising progress Denny made in her first two days
• What horses teach us about trust, safety, and connection
• How choice creates confidence
• Why calm training isn't boring—it's the goal
• The balance between trusting a horse and respecting that they're still a horse
• What happens when you stop focusing on outcomes and start paying attention to the relationship

This conversation goes far beyond horses.

It's about leadership, parenting, relationships, and the reality that trust is rarely built in the big moments. It's built in the hundreds of small interactions that happen beforehand.

Because before anyone follows your lead, they're deciding whether they feel safe with you.

What happens when a mother and daughter open the email that will shape their entire summer?

In this special episode of The Landy Peek Podcast, Landy and Tegan finally learn which Devil's Garden Mustang yearling they'll be training through the Wild Rose Mustang Challenge—and the reaction is everything. But this episode is about more than a horse assignment. It's about the complex reality of America's wild horse population, the thousands of horses currently living in government holding facilities, and the opportunity to make a difference one horse at a time.

Landy shares a thoughtful look at the conversations surrounding wild horse management, adoption, and training while exploring why horses have such a remarkable ability to read human energy, emotion, and authenticity. From nervous system science to herd dynamics, this episode examines what horses can teach us about trust, leadership, congruence, and connection.

You'll also hear the story of Maddie the Clydesdale, lessons from liberty work, and why horses don't respond to who we pretend to be—they respond to who we actually are.

And then comes the moment you've been waiting for:

The email opens.
The screaming starts.
And Denny officially becomes part of the family.

Follow the journey as Landy and Tegan document every step of training their wild mustang yearling this summer.

Instagram: @landy_peek

This summer, my daughter Tegan and I are taking on a new adventure: training a wild mustang yearling through Wild Rose Mustang Advocacy Group.

Before we've even been matched with our horse, we've had the opportunity to spend time caring for and observing the 10 yearlings that recently arrived from Devil's Garden, California. In this episode, we're sharing our first impressions of the herd, the personalities that are already emerging, and the horses that have captured our attention.

We talk about:

• What it was like watching the mustangs come off the trailer for the first time

• How horses establish a pecking order and what we are learning by observing herd dynamics

• The subtle body language horses use to communicate

• Why trust, awareness, and presence matter when working with wild horses

• Our favorite yearlings and which horses we're hoping to be matched with

• What it's like for an 11-year-old to step into a herd of young mustangs

• The lessons these horses are already teaching us before training even begins

This episode is part of our Summer of the Mustang series, where we'll be documenting the entire journey from meeting our horse to the final Mustang Challenge showcase.

If you love horses, wild mustangs, animal behavior, or simply hearing stories about growth, connection, and learning something new alongside your kids, you'll enjoy this conversation.

Connect with Landy:

Instagram: @landy_peek

Website: www.landypeek.com

Follow along on Instagram @landy_peek to meet the herd, see the horses, and follow our journey through the 2026 Mustang Challenge.

’ve been drawn to wild horses since I was a little kid. There’s something about them that taps into something deep inside people — the freedom, the instinct, the untamed aliveness.

This summer, my daughter Tegan and I are stepping into something completely new as we train a wild mustang yearling through the Wild Rose Mustang Advocacy Group here in Colorado.

In this episode, I share my history with horses growing up in Montana, becoming a therapeutic riding instructor in my twenties, reconnecting with horses again in midlife, and why this experience feels so meaningful to me right now.

We also talk about the Devil’s Garden mustangs arriving from Northern California, what makes wild horses so fascinating through the lens of the nervous system, and why I think horses have a lot to teach humans right now.

This is the beginning of our summer journey training a wild mustang and I’m taking you along for the ride.

Want to learn more about the Wild Rose Mustang Advocacy Group You can learn more about their work, training programs, and mustang advocacy on their website www.wildrosemagic.org. 

⚠️ Explicit Content Warning: This episode contains conversations around grief, trauma, war, emotional despair, and mental health themes that may be sensitive for some listeners.

In this deeply moving episode of the Landy Peek Podcast, Landy sits down with writer, teacher, mystic, and creative guide Ellen Laura for a conversation about grief, creativity, identity, and the path back to yourself after life changes you forever.

After losing her first husband in the Vietnam War at just 19 years old, Ellen shares how trauma and heartbreak became the catalyst for reclaiming her voice, creativity, and sense of purpose. Together, Landy and Ellen explore how beauty, connection, and small daily acts of creativity can become lifelines during seasons of despair.

This episode is a powerful reminder that healing does not require becoming someone new. Sometimes it begins with listening to music, setting the table beautifully, planting flowers, or allowing yourself to feel connected again.

“You have no choice. If you don’t find a way to reclaim yourself, you will sink into a pit of despair.” — Ellen Laura

“Beauty is the first step to awakening.” — Ellen Laura

“Don’t focus only on what’s misaligned. Nurture what’s still alive.” — Ellen Laura

“Creativity can look like setting the table, planting flowers, turning on music instead of isolating.” — Landy Peek

Ellen Laura is a writer, meditation teacher, mystic, human design analyst, and creative mentor who has spent decades helping others reconnect with creativity, healing, and spiritual insight. Her work explores grief, archetypes, creativity, transformation, and reclaiming meaning after loss.

She is the author of Love in the Shadow of Saigon and the creator of the upcoming creativity reclamation project Blossom.

If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who may need this conversation today.

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