Wow, this conversation with Robin Waugaman truly had my mind crackling with connections and ideas! Her way of drawing the connections between stewardship of land, horses, and her own body and being is powerful, and I had a few big aha's during our chat, as you'll hear, including an epiphany on why we might use force with horses (even if we don't want to), especially in our "pusher" culture. We also get into what she means by regenerative ranching and how it works, how she manages her own nervous system with her horses ranging on 1,800 acres and what lessons she's learned about supporting the land to return to itself more fully. 

Also, show of hands, who wants to go to New Mexico after listening to her description of where she lives? It sounds heavenly! Join us for this mind-opening conversation reminding us that how we do one thing is how we do all the things, and that healthy relationship to land is supportive to all our other relationships, especially with our horses.

Robin serves as the Land and Animal Steward at a regenerative ranch in Taos, New Mexico, where she also work as a horse-human relational facilitator at Taos Equine Connection.

Her work focuses on the collaborative regeneration of 1,800 acres of high desert ecosystem through integrative land management practices that center the roles of equines—horses and donkeys—as active agents in ecological restoration. Grounded in a non-hierarchical, multispecies perspective, her approach draws from a diverse background in ecology, French classical dressage, somatic experiencing, and equestrian sport.

She is particularly interested in the relational dynamics between species and how embodied attunement, agency, and choice contribute to resilience across systems. Her practice weaves scientific inquiry with experiential knowledge to explore new models of interspecies connection, land stewardship, and ethical cohabitation.

Follow Robin @taosequineconnection on IG 

Season 8 has been one of my faves so far - and this chat with Equine Osteopath Allie Plaschka is no exception. As you'll hear at the beginning of this episode with Allie of Triple V Therapy, we found out in real time that we both went the BC College of Equine Therapy! What are the chances? 

In this geeky conversation, filled with coincidences and connections, we chat about equine osteopathy, how her learning at BCET impacted her work now, the bigger ripples of "hidden" injuries like pull-backs, gelding scars, deep adhesions and how to support their healing, and of course, I had to ask some questions about her top horse-keeping strategies to support her work (hint, movement is definitely top of the list!). I also brought up a somewhat controversial and essential topic, namely what age she feels a horse should be ridden - listen in to hear her answer and why. 

Hope you enjoy this conversation with Allie for her very first podcast ever (I don't think it will be her last!). 

Allie is an equine and canine osteopath based out of Enderby, BC, Canada. She has been working with horses in the therapeutic realm for 13 years, with osteopathy being her main focus for the last seven. She is passionate about helping horses and dogs achieve optimum vitality through a whole body treatment approach in addition to education about species-appropriate care. She travels throughout the Okanagan, Kootenays, and beyond and also occasionally accepts rehab cases at her home farm. She is a true horse nerd in every aspect and loves to talk track systems, behavior science, biomechanics and more.

She is steward to two mares, Rayne and Ciri, spending time learning classical dressage as well as dabbling in other disciplines. Learn more about Allie and her work at https://www.triplevtherapy.com/

I spend this episode with my mentor Sandra Wallin riding waves of emotion - as you'll hear in our chat, this is our first time connecting for a good chat in almost a decade and it felt so good to be back in her depth of presence, the very same presence that supported me so essentially during my year as her student almost 20 years ago. What an honour to have Sandra on the podcast and what a pleasure to share her wise self with all of you. 

In this episode we travelled back through time to remember her mare Grace, now walking in spirit, but a very key part of my learning and growth as she was to many, we unpacked some of our time together in her Art of Equus program, and we discussed the value of curiousity, kindness, clarity and following your hunches. We also pulled a card from her co-creation, the Way of the Horse Council Oracle deck. Get your tissues out. This is a goodie! 

Sandra Wallin is a psychotherapist and educator who walks the wild edge where science and psychology meet the wisdom of earth and hoof. Her Chiron’s Way programs offer experiences that invite people to rewrite old stories, reconnect with what matters and take the lead in their lives, often in the company of horses.

Her work weaves together the psychology of transformation, the biology of belief, and the mythic terrain of the heart through which change becomes less about force and more about listening – deeply and reverently to what already knows how to grow.

A teacher of teachers and a lifelong student of the horse, Sandra brings warmth, depth, and a fierce Grace to every conversation. In this episode of the Whole Horse Podcast, she reunites with Alexa Linton to explore how real change happens … through relationships, gentle noticing, and a willingness to get your boots a little muddy along the way.

To learn more about Sandra, along with her new cocreation, The Council of Horses Wisdom Cards and Guidebook, go to https://www.sandrawallin.com or join her on Instagram at https://instagram.com/chironsway

This is a short and sweet episode and it's just me, which I haven't done since the very beginning of season one! In this episode, I sit out with the herd and share the story of how this space and land came to be for us, the horses and our other animals, as it definitely was a miracle how it all came together. I also go into our hopes and dreams for this space (hint: it involves you!)

It's just 20 minutes long, have a listen and let me know what you think of our new farm name which I share publicly for the first time in the episode. Enjoy! 

If you'd like to follow our journey here as we land here and create cool stuff make sure to follow my IG @alexalinton

As we continue this season's mentorship series, this conversation with one of my current mentors was as potent as I had imagined. Carmen Spagnola has been a support, guide, teacher and esteemed colleague for over 12 years, and I have benefitted greatly from her depth of presence, attunement, clarity and nuance. She has spent time with my mares Diva and Raven, and has recently, and excitingly, become the steward of two geldings. Her love and care for horses (and humans) spills forth in this conversation and in her many offerings. 

In this conversation, we unpacked the concept of attachment theory, and specifically how secure attachment in any relationship can be facilitated by understanding and prioritizing contact nutrition, essentially nourishing ourselves and others through presence, attunement, co-regulation, safe touch, and empathy. How we interact with our horses, as fellow mammals, and their nervous systems, impacts the quality of our relational experince, and their sense of feeling safe, secure, and soothed. There are so many nuggets of goodness in this hour and it reminded me once again why I am so grateful to have Carmen in my life! Grab a tea, some chocolate, a shedding comb, or a manure fork, and enjoy this sweet chat. 

Carmen Spagnola is a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef turned trauma recovery practitioner, clinical hypnotherapist and kitchen witch. Carmen has taught intuition development and earth-based spirituality to hundreds in her online mystery school, The Numinous School, from 2013 - 2021, as well as retreats and workshops.

Carmen's work cross-pollinates themes of attachment, animism, myth and justice, supported by extensive training, certification, supervision and mentorship. Carmen has hosted The Numinous Podcast since 2014. She is author of Spells for the Apocalype: Practical Magic for Turbulent TImes (2025) and The Spirited Kitchen: Recipes & Rituals for the Wheel of the Year (2022).

Welcome to the first of my mentorship series. where I have conversations with some of my most important mentors, allowing you to access some of the goodness and wisdom that I was so supported by on my journey.

The first in this series is my teacher and friend Sabina Pettitt, who is the founder of Pacific Essences, a company here on the west coast of Vancouver Island that makes vibrational remedies. Many of us have heard of Rescue Remedy, which is the most commonly used flower remedy, but have perhaps not looked too much further into what it is and how it works. If you are curious about what a vibrational remedy is, how they work, and how they relate to horses, this is the episode for you!

Sabina shares all about why she founded her company almost 40 years ago, how vibrational remedies work, why every being, including every horse, can benefit, and how she became the first person to make a sea essence. This is a true "teaching" episode, and I'm truly grateful that I met Sabina almost 20 years ago - she is a remarkable human and has dedicated her life and her work to supporting others. Hope you enjoy this chat and learn a thing or two! 

Sabina Pettitt is the founder of Pacific Essences® and a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

As well as introducing the first sea essences in the world Sabina has spent over 40 years building a system based on TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) that explains how essences work to the prevailing allopathic model. Essences balance and harmonize our energy anatomy and energy physiology and promote optimal well-being.

She is committed to assisting humans to understand their deep and constant connection with Mother Nature, the energy template of their human form and how to work with energies to stay healthy, and the possibility that each of us came here with “a mission” and that essences can assist us to discover and fulfill that mission.

Learn more at https://pacificessences.com/

This conversation with Dr. Tomas Teskey blew my mind in the best possible way, as he shared about what veterinary care looks like for him (and truly, what I would love to see much more of) - as he puts it, examining every square inch of a horse and what's impacting their health, including hooves, teeth, environment, feed, supplements and more. Tomas opens up about what a typical day looks like for him, why he started to focus on hoof care many years ago, and how shifting the environment has started to be one of the most important aspects of his care plan. Listen in to find out what simple changes he regularly recommends to his equine clients (spoiler alert: I loved his answer!). I also couldn't help but ask him about miniature horses and ponies and what they need to stay healthy, now that I've got a little in my world. 

Listen all the way to the end of the episode to hear about a very exciting life update for my herd and I, and how you can support to make my biggest dream come true. Thanks for listening and hope you enjoy this chat! 

Dr. Tomas Teskey is a human, native to Arizona and the second oldest of five siblings in a six-generation ranching family. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Botany from Northern Arizona University in 1991, and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Colorado State University in 1995. He has practiced large animal medicine and surgery in Arizona since graduation, with the majority of his work focusing on horses.

Taking a special interest in equine podiatry since 2001, he became a passionate supporter or the barefoot performance horse, and published “The Unfettered Foot, A Paradigm Change for Equine Podiatry”, in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science in February, 2005. This sparked greater attention, discussion and interest within the veterinary community about the benefits of a more holistic and natural approach to hoof care versus the more antagonistic approaches of conventional farriery. Numerous other articles have continued to explore these not-so-new ideas.

Tomas specializes in natural horse care, and hold Holistic health lectures world wide, providing professional veterinary support for individuals, horse clubs, families and communities seeking Real Answers about keeping horses healthy. More on Tomas and his work www.insighttoequus.com

Season 8 of the Whole Horse podcast is here! To start us off right, I chatted with my friend and colleague Brittany Ashworth of Sacred Echos and we headed right into some wild and wonderful territory. Rewinding back almost 12 years, Brittany shared about how she met her horse Duke, after never being a horse person, and how his presence and his story changed her path in a potent way. We reflected on their powerful and immediate connection starting her in the direction of her life's work, animal communication. Throughout our chat, Brittany shares in depth about the fascinating topic of soul contracts between horses and humans and we finish up by discussing her learning and work with the Akashic records (and what they are!). I love edge-pushing and thought-provoking conversations, and this is definitely in that category!

Brittany Ashworth is an Animal Communicator, Akashic Records Reader, Horse Medicine Leadership faculty member, and dedicated Educator. With a profound passion for bridging the gap between humans and animals, Brittany is committed to fostering understanding, communication, and genuine partnership across species. Her practice is deeply rooted in her intuitive connection, the guidance of animals, and passion for educating others. Brittany’s work blends physical and spiritual approaches, creating transformative experiences for both humans and animals.

Her practice is deeply intertwined with the guidance of animals, her intuition, and her passion for educating others. In her work, she strives to support both humans and animals along their journey in a way that's authentic to each being, bringing both the physical and spiritual worlds together. As a lifelong learner, Brittany is dedicated to her craft and the evolution of people's understandings and partnerships with themselves and their animals. Through each exchange, she hopes to support and empower positive change and growth in the lives of both humans and animals.

Whether working one-on-one or in group settings, Brittany’s goal is to inspire positive shifts that enrich lives on both sides of the human-animal partnership. Learn more about Brittany’s work at https://www.sacredechos.com

In this episode, marking the end of season seven of the podcast, I spoke with Dr. Karen Gellman. What an incredible journey she has been on, culminating in her dedicating her life and veterinary practice to the study of equine health as it relates specifically to postural mechanisms, as well as sharing this body of knowledge with others.

During our conversation she shares some of the keys to supports horses to live well in gravity, how to support your horse to be healthier and happier through simple changes to their inner and outer environments, what postural rehabiliation is all about, and some of the physiology playing out when postural mechanisms become a problem. She is indeed a wealth of knowledge. I hope you enjoy our chat!

Access to a PDF for Whole Horse listeners - Equine Dentistry Handout

Dr. Karen Gellman is a graduate of Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, and has a doctorate from Cornell in animal locomotion biomechanics. She has advanced training and certification in veterinary acupuncture and veterinary chiropractic, and has practiced these and other modalities since 1995.  She is the educational director of DVM Detective, which offers the Postural Rehabilitation training course for veterinarians and other equine professionals. She is also Research Director of Maximum Horsepower Research, and principal investigator on a study on equine posture funded by the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Foundation.

Dr. Karen Gellman holds DVM and PhD degrees from Cornell University in animal locomotion biomechanics. She has advanced training and certification in veterinary acupuncture and veterinary chiropractic, and has practiced these and other holistic modalities since 1995.  Dr. Gellman has taught in multiple professional CE venues, lecturing on posture, biomechanics, and holistic therapies to veterinarians in North America and Europe.  She has been a featured speaker at annual conferences for AHVMA (2014), AVCA (2021), IVCA (2015), IVAS (2012), Danish Veterinary Chiropractic Association (2013-2014), Wild West Veterinary Conference (2010), Norwegian Veterinary Chiropractic Association (2020), Hawaiian State Veterinary Association (2022), New York State Veterinary Medical Society and more.  With Dr. Judith Shoemaker and Elizabeth Reese, she founded “Postural Rehabilitation”, a professional education venue.  Her lectures are featured on The Equine Documentalist, Centaur Biomechanics and Equidemia. Dr. Gellman’s company DVM Detective offers professional training in equine posture to horse professionals, in online and in-person formats, and provides a world wide directory of professionals trained in restoring equine neutral posture.

Learn more about the Postural Rehabilitation Professional program or head to http://www.equinesportsmed.com

In this episode with Holly Barnett, I learned all about the new style of breathwork she created called InteroBreath, which is a way of working with the breath that focusses on our sixth sense, interoception. 

Holly walks us through the definition of this breathing practice, including what interoception is, how she developed it, why it's so powerful for our health and well-being, and the impact practicing it can have on our horses' well-being! 

We also discussed Holly's top not-so-secret secrets as a bodyworker and saddle fitter of over 20 years' experience, and what she's noticed as being the keys to real results in the industry. 

Holly is a professional Breathwork Facilitator with a background in Applied Neuroscience. When faced with a sudden surgery she used her knowledge to create a modality to reduce stress, manage her emotions and regulate her nervous system. This method prepared her for a major surgery which resulted in the ideal internal environment for healing. Interoception is the ability to sense, interpret and integrate signals from your body. It is well researched as a fundamental aspect to physical and mental well-being. This practice activates your body's innate healing capabilities and is foundational for self-awareness, self-regulation and self-trust. Breathwork is the conscious awareness and manipulation of your breathing patterns that promote physical, mental and emotional well-being. InteroBreath combines the profound healing and regulating properties of Interoception & Breathwork. Each session is unique, and participants report feeling deeply peaceful post session. Holly leads InteroBreath Club which offers live sessions twice a week. Members (many of whom joined back in January) include equestrians, equine veterinarian, farrier, bodyworker and all report a deeper connection with equine companions and clients through InteroBreath. Holly’s mission is to empower people around the world to find inner peace and power by connecting them to their breath and inner state. Equestrians have the added advantage of cultivating even deeper relationships with their equine partners during co-regulation and shared heart space. Holly resides in Puslinch, ON (just west of Toronto, Canada) with her shepherd Jazz, Siamese Cliff and her horses Whiskey & George.

Catch up with Holly on her socials, or sign up for her breath club via her website:

https://www.interobreath.com 

 @regulate_with_holly 

@equineconsultant