The Bible, The Barn & The Horses: When You Know Who You Are,Your Horses Know Too -What My Mares Taught Me AboutTrue Identity

For most of my life, I thought my identity was earned often times looking at life through the lens of my false identity. I thought in order to be seen or loved I had to show up strong, competent, available, capable, helpful, or whatever the world seemed to demand.  

But, the more I have pressed into who God says I am - my true identity - the more I recognize what I failed to see.  My horses respond to the identity I’m living from.  

Scarlett with her seasoned wisdom and Waimea with her tender sensitivity can sense if I am approaching them from fear, striving, or truth.  Their reactions have become one of my most unexpected mirrors for spiritual transformation in becoming who God created me to be.  

1.  Horses Sense the Identity You Bring Into the Barn:

Horses don’t respond to titles, credentials, resumes, or perfection.  They respond to presence - the invisible, energetic truth you carry in your body.  You can’t fake it. 

When I walk toward my mares rushed, anxious, or mentally scattered, they feel it.  When I come grounded and aware that I am safe, loved, seen…everything shifts.  

I’ve watched Waimea, who is notoriously particular about touch, soften her eyes and let me brush her neck when I approach her with peace.  I’ve watched Scarlett lean into me as if she’s saying, “There you are.  Your true self showed up today.”

Their sensitivity isn’t a challenge.  It’s an invitation.  

Horses read identity without us speaking a word. 

2.  Your True Identity Brings Safety to Sensitive Beings

Horses - especially mares - value emotional congruence.  (I’ve learned that I do too). If you feel scared but pretend you are fine, they notice the mismatch.  If you’re unsure of yourself, they won’t follow your lead.

This used to bother me until I realized:My horses weren’t rejecting me. They were revealing where I was operating out of fear rather than truth. 

When I step into who God actually created me to be (was a long process discovering this person) - steadfast, discerning, grounded - the mares relax.  Their breathing slows, their ears soften, and they willingly step into partnership.  

They respond to the most healed version of me.  And in those moments, I hear God whisper, “This is what happens when you live from truth.  Everything around you begins to settle.”

3.  Mares Reflect the Parts of Us We Haven’t Fully Owned Yet

Scarlett, my older mare, mirrors my capacity for strength that doesn’t need to prove itself. She reminds me that leadership can be gentle and that wisdom is often quiet.

Waimea mirrors the parts of me that once felt unsafe.  When she flinches or pulls back, I see my younger self - the one who needed gentleness, patience, and consistency.  The one who needed to hear that being “too sensitive” was God’s gift.  

Working with horses becomes a form of inner healing.  Not because they fix us, but because they reveal where we need to return to truth.  

4.  Horses Thrive When We Show Up Authentically

In identity work — especially faith-integrated identity work — we talk about moving from the “false identity” (for me it was not being seen or valued) to the “true identity” (for me this was truth keeper, discerner, seen, loved).  

Horses feel that difference instantly.

When I approach as the version of myself trying to earn something, they become tense or uninterested.  When I approach as the woman God called me to be, they meet me halfway.  

5.  What My Mares Are Teaching Me About Rooted Health

As I prepare to welcome women into Rooted Health, I’m realizing something profound:

The same identity principles that create connection with my horses create healing in humans.  

Women don’t just want lab work and hormone support — though I will absolutely provide those. They want to be seen without judgment.  To have space to breathe.  To experience the peace that comes when someone is operating from their true identity.  

My mares have become my unexpected mentors in building a practice that feels:

• Grounded

• Compassionate

• Safe

• Unhurried

• Deeply human

They remind me daily that when I live from truth, everyone around me —including patients—feels more grounded too.

The Barn Is Where My Identity Takes Shape

Some women find clarity in church pews or journals.  For me, clarity often shows up in the barn — hay scattered on the floor, breath rising in the morning air, two mares watching me with eyes that somehow see everything.  

They don’t care about my productivity.

They don’t care about my to-do list.

They care about who I am when I walk toward them.

And maybe, just maybe that’s the most beautiful God given picture of identity:

A steady, grounded, presence —unshaken, unhurried, and fully aligned with who God made me to be.  

It’s the presence my horses responded to.  And it’s the presence I hope every woman feels when she steps into Rooted Health.

John 15:5

“I am the vine; you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.”