Shea Stewart
My goal in my horsemanship journey was to connect to the heart and mind of the horse, and to
help people have a better understanding of the possibilities of this connection. What I started
to learn along the way was how this relationship with horses can be incredibly healing for the
human. Communicating with a horse by exchanging a heartfelt feel brings us into an
awareness of our own self concept, our own embodiment, our own rhythms in how we walk
through life. I watched as this relationship with horses taught people how to slow down their
minds and have faith in the present moment.
This chapter of my life started in the mid 90’s after I spent much of my early adult life traveling,
discovering new places, new ways of thinking, making new friends and mentors. A few people
during this time stand out to me as playing a pivotal role in shaping how I walk through life
today. Having deep admiration for my grandfather and his ways with nature and his love for the
indigenous tribes of the arctic, I found myself being drawn to nature-based healing modalities
and ended up with friends and mentors who taught me a great deal about this realm. As I
became more connected within myself, my career path brought me back to my childhood love
of nature and horses.
My professional horsemanship journey opened the door to meeting some amazing friends,
mentors, and teachers who brought more awareness to the incredibly grounding nature horses
bring, and the meaningful connection that can develop between horse and human. The
moment I met Harry Whitney in 1998, I knew he would be a big influence on my development
as an instructor and trainer. His focus on understanding and connecting to the horse’s mind
greatly enriched my own horsemanship practice, and is an ongoing endeavor today. Over the
years I also studied with classical trainers, attended formal courses in functional anatomy and
dissections, took a deep dive in nutrition, and studied different modalities in body work. I
created a program that combined holistic healing and horsemanship training, teaching at my
facility in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and also traveling throughout the state of CA.
Around 2012 I made a move back to my home state of Texas, where I began to focus more on
equine body work. Having already experienced the healing power of the rhythms found in our
natural environment, it is no surprise that I resonated the most with craniosacral. So much so
that I took a deep dive into advanced biodynamic craniosacral studies with Ryan Hallford. I
learned first hand about the elemental forces of nature and spirit that have fed indigenous
knowledge for eons. Ryan challenges his students to explore the vastly underutilized
perceptual capabilities within the human sensory system. These studies augmented my love
for meditation and spiritual attunement to our own natural world.
With over 900 hours of formal craniosacral classes, and over 15 years of equine clinical
practice, I am proficient in biodynamic, visionary, and biomechanical approaches to
craniosacral. I have developed my own unique curriculum that is updated regularly and
launching a new program for 2023. I also have my clinical practice and have incorporated
horsemanship lessons and help owners with basics such as saddle fittings and consultations.
Shea Stewart
