let nature guide you
equine experiences
What is an equine experience?
Searching for your authentic voice? Struggling to believe in yourself and your purpose? Want to learn how to love yourself? Striving to feel calm amid the chaos? Trying so hard for so little return? Feel like you’re “too much” for others? Grappling with control issues? These questions ask us to become aware of the subtle energies that underlie everything we do and everything we interact with in this world. With so many “shoulds” competing for your attention, with so much pressure to fit into prefab systems and structures, and with so much dependency on external systems to inform us about our internal states, it has become too easy to disconnect from feeling. It’s become too easy to disconnect from the infinitely wise organic energies at (and within) our fingertips.
Join me, the horses, and all of Nature in discovering your power to feel your way to emotional balance and physical ease.
Our Equine Experiences help you notice and invite these subtle energies to the surface, and help you feel your way forward into deeper presence, grounding, and peace.
During Equine Experiences, we encounter Nature’s wisdom and connect with the body through breathwork and moving energy, which prepares us for meeting the horses on their own turf, where their honest and non-judgmental reflections of energy offer vast transformation wrapped in compassion and gentleness. Every encounter is unique, just as you are.
Our incredible equine partners each bring different energies and gifts. Clyde, a BLM Mustang from the Fox Hog herd management area (HMA), is very interested in Heart Coherence (well, they all are, but him especially!), while Samurai, a BLM Mustang from Fish Creek HMA, has a lot to say about subtle feel and surrender, whereas Partner, a BLM Mustang from Triple B HMA, wants to share the power of grounding. And so much more…
With our stunning equine friends, we may organically encounter topics such as sensory awareness, grounding energy, proprioception, emotional balance, intuition, visualization, intention, empathy, focus, and judgment, among others. But we don’t treat these topics classroom-style or clinically. We play and flow with Nature’s easeful, fluid rhythms. We don’t force or analyze anything. We practice being more than doing (and I mean being in the sense of presence, which can infuse physical stillness and activity equally). Participants will gain a clearer understanding of their emotions, behaviors, and actions; develop stronger trust in their emotions as non-threatening useful information; amplify intrinsic motivation and curiosity; feel more confident in setting healthy boundaries that allow their authenticity to flourish; and feel more confident building healthy connections with others.
My Approach
Nature is at once a humbling and empowering guide.
The myriad meandering strips of bark on our Eucalyptus Trees show us there are infinite ways to the top, infinite ways to grow into higher vibration, infinite roads to deeper self-connection. I offer you experiences here in Nature, and allow you to navigate them at your own pace, from your unique perspective. These experiences invite your authentic expression; and, if you aren’t sure what that means or you feel disconnected from your authentic expression, I offer a safe space for you to re-connect with your voice and creative self. Through the troughs and crests of your journey, I am here to shine a light on your power.
We explore Nature, breath, and movement to bring ourselves more fully into presence. We also visit with the Rayo Ranch horses at liberty in their pasture to experience the organic wisdom they feel is pertinent to the moment. Nature reflects the energy of the moment in non-judgmental ways, making the reflections digestible, impressionable, and nourishing.
Equine Experiences are open to kids, teens, and adults. Participants must wear closed-toe walking shoes, and I encourage participants to bring water and sun protection.
Individual Equine Experience - approximately 1 hour, $165
Group Equine Experience - duration and cost tailored to your group size
Please use the Contact Page to book your visit.
about hilary & Partner
Hilary Merrill dove head-long into competitive equestrian sports at age eight, moving up the levels in Hunter/Jumper, Show Jumping, and Three-Day Eventing with her trainer Beth Cadwallader in Los Angeles. Disillusioned with the pressure and limitations of the traditional competition scene, she experimented with Horseback Archery, a unique sport that helped her explore self-confidence and trust on deeper levels as she trained and partnered with foreign horses in competition all over the world. Horseback Archery led Hilary to question the mainstream, ego-driven ways that we dominate and direct horses - the question of force versus power - which started a beautiful avalanche of self-exploration and innovation. Extensive intuitive practice, exploration of the gifts within present and past-life wounds, vocal sound play, Qigong, and, most importantly, immersion in Nature helped her walk through deep challenges and discover true power and authentic expression in surrender and vulnerability.
Hilary’s horses, dogs, and all of Nature are her deepest friends and spiritual guides. She is thrilled to share these experiences with you and empower you in navigating your own authentic expression.
Partner is a BLM Mustang from the Triple B herd management area of Nevada, gathered in 2019. He endured fracturing traumas and separation from loved ones in the round-up, as is sadly a common story. But in his own words, he has been putting himself back together one piece at a time. He is strong and steady, extremely grounded, and has a hilarious, dry sense of humor. Partner guides Hilary deeper and deeper into the meaning of Partnership, checking her when she needs to ground, and looking to her for levity and motivation when he feels stuck. Partner and Hilary have shared lifetimes together and now continue their mission together to guide others compassionately and powerfully across momentous thresholds in their lives.