Hazel's Roots Photography

“20/20”

I met an equine therapist recently who was explaining to me why horses seemingly stand around so much. It’s not that they are lazy or even tired or anything. She told me that because they are prey animals, and constantly on guard, they have to preserve their energy.

They have to keep their bodies and their hearts as calm as possible so that when a threat arrives they are ready to RUN and protect themselves. If they….dare I say…..”horse around” all day wasting their energy on things that don’t matter they won’t have enough left for the things that do.

This fascinated me, firstly because it hit so close to home. Like “am I actually a horse”? Is this why many of have only 2 speeds? 150mph and zero? And how to we know when we’re wasting our energy on useless distractions and then trying to show up, completed depleted, for the things that actually count?

A horse has to trust you to be willing to be vulnerable around you. To be willing to, for instance, to pick up a leg and briefly limit their ability to run. This horse I met this morning gently closed his eyes as I pet him. He seemed to communicate that for this moment we are both safe in each other’s company. He trusted me and I trusted him. And together we took a deep exhale out and inhale in, taking in the peace that will allow us to get through whatever comes next.

It’s back! The 2026 Intention ceremony is live and this year were preparing for the year of the Fire Horse which symbolizes a year of passion, freedom, and dynamic change.

I don’t know about you, but its been a long year already. And the fire house requires us to focus on balance, movement, and self-care so we’ll do just that.

Let’s take the opportunity to circle up by candlelight and dream up what we want our 2026 to look like.

We’ll start off with yoga led by our incredible singing swede Sofie Woods of to get our hearts and bodies moving, followed by guided journaling, creating our vision boards and a Mayan cacao ceremony.

We’ll sprinkle in healthy snacks and drinks and the incredible support of this community of women.

Use code “11off” for $11 off your ticket for the next 48 hours.

I hope you can make it 💕💕

When I was young, I fell in love with horses. My best friend Jolene rode them, wrote all of her book reports about them and would tell me all about how amazing they were. We used to sneak to the outskirts of our neighborhood to talk to the horses that lived in the farm that backed up to us, one of the last remaining hold outs that had yet to sell their land to a suburban Kansas real estate developer.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
There were at least 2 or 3 horses on that farm. Jolene and I would stand on the outside of the splintery wooden fence and call them over to us. We knew that if we could just get close enough Jolene could surely mount one and ride it ba****ck all over the pasture.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
One day she got up the nerve to climb in and get close. I, being ever the rule follower, stayed on the outside of the fence where I couldn’t technically be charged for trespassing, to stand watch.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Jolene kicked her legs through the fence posts, and made her way towards the largest of the horses, a black stallion with a long black mane. She spoke gently to him, easing him towards her. She wasn’t worried about getting muddy or getting hurt, or getting caught, as I was, she only wanted to be as close as possible to the magic of him.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Here is where the story gets murky. I know that most likely she barely pet him and then we made our way slowly back home, but my mind.....my mind likes to remember that she was able to get close enough to grab his mane. That she was strong enough to swing her leg over the top of him, mounting him ba****ck somehow with her tiny 9 year old body. That he took off in a gallop and that her long light brown hair whipped behind her as he ran across the field, with me hooping and hollering from the sidelines.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
It remains one of the most beautiful, wild moments of my life and like it probably never really happened that way. My limitless imagination may have been what provided me that amazing memory, but either way my love for horses and all things wild, taught to me by my wildest friend, remain. 🖤