Dana Thomas

When my grandparents moved away after their retirement, my heart was broken at the age of six. They were the only adults in my life I can remember feeling accepted by. I felt their love and adoration. When they moved away, I became invisible. My childhood was not the type to gift me with strong roots and an unconditional safety net filled with love. I experienced more criticism and shame within my human interactions. Which not surprisingly, led me down a path of low self-esteem and toxic relationships as an adult. I spent the majority of my adult life trying to feel complete within myself. After doing my personal work through the Touched by a Horse program with Melisa Pearce, I have finally reconnected with my soul. The last time I ever felt at home was when I was spending time with my horses.

The two things I am grateful for are the horses I grew up with and feeling nature all around me. The interactions I experienced with my horses created a healing bubble around my heart. I was able to be my authentic self with them, and it provided me with hope towards the possibility of change. I began my long journey towards self-discovery and healing, all the while with a horse by my side. It took many years to unchain my broken heart and emerge from the shadows of my past. I became a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and eventually found the Touched by a Horse program with Melisa Pearce. Now that I am dually certified through Touched by a Horse as a Master Equine Gestaltist ™, I can look back and understand what it was about the horses in my life that held such a magic layer of protecting light. Horses are my altruistic healers. I can always lean into their beingness and seek comfort in the sacred space they provide inside their graceful soul. Now having experienced my own peace, I want to pay it forward for others. I have trudged through my own self-healing with an intuitive knowing that I want to help others do the same.