We often talk about the demanding side of professional grooming. The long days, the physical work, the responsibility, and the limited time off. But when grooms are asked why they do this work, the answer often comes back to the same thing: the horses.
What is it about these animals that makes us so devoted to them? Why do certain horses stay with us long after they have left our care? And how can a relationship with a horse help us understand something about ourselves?
These are some of the questions explored in this episode of The HorseGrooms Podcast with Lynn Thomas of Horses for Mental Health.
This conversation is a little different from our usual discussions about horse care and the grooming profession. It invites us to look more closely at something many horse people experience every day but may rarely stop to think about.
The relationship itself.
And, as Dinette discovers during a guided reflection with Lynn, sometimes a horse can help us recognize something about ourselves that we had not quite understood before.
Meet Lynn Thomas of Horses for Mental Health
Lynn Thomas is a mental health professional who has spent nearly 30 years incorporating horses into her work. Her introduction to horses came while working with young people in a program based on a working ranch. She had previously worked in wilderness programs and already believed in the value of nature, movement, and hands-on experiences.
When she began working with horses, she was struck by how quickly some people were able to recognize patterns in their behavior and begin making personal changes. She describes seeing people reach insights during an hour with horses that might have taken much longer to reach in other settings. That experience helped shape her professional journey.
Horses for Mental Health
In 2021, Lynn co-founded Horses for Mental Health to raise awareness of professional mental health services that incorporate horses and to support the organizations providing those services.
Lynn explained that many people are familiar with therapeutic riding or services for people with physical disabilities, but fewer know about programs that incorporate horses into mental health treatment and personal development. Horses for Mental Health works to make these services more visible and help the professionals and organizations delivering them.
Learn more at horsesformentalhealth.org
What Makes the Horse-Human Connection So Special?
Lynn’s professional background in mental health allows her to view the relationship between horses and humans in a different way. “Horses have been part of human history for centuries. Their size may influence how we interact with them. Their sensitivity to their surroundings may also play a role,” said Lynn.
Lynn believes their sensitivity to nonverbal communication is particularly important. Horses respond to what is happening around them, including our movements and behavior. Their responses can sometimes make us notice things about ourselves that we were not consciously aware of.
The Horse’s Response Can Create an Opportunity to Reflect
In her work with young people in correctional programs, Lynn saw individuals who initially presented themselves as tough become more emotionally open during interactions with horses. She described the experience as one in which the horses seemed to see past the protective fronts the young people presented to the world.
For Lynn, one of the remarkable aspects of working with horses is that people can sometimes examine difficult things about themselves without experiencing the same fear of judgment they might feel in interactions with other people.
The horse’s response can create an opportunity to reflect.
That does not mean every horse behavior has a hidden meaning or that horses can tell us exactly what we are feeling. The important part is what we notice during an interaction and how we reflect on our own responses.
And sometimes, that reflection begins with a very ordinary experience.
Meet Milkshake: The Mustang Who Taught Lynn to Listen to Herself
One of the first questions in the podcast is whether a particular horse has taught Lynn something important about herself.
Her answer is a story about Milkshake, a yearling Mustang she unexpectedly adopted. One day, Lynn needed to move him from one pasture to another because of muddy conditions. Milkshake had not yet learned to lead with a halter and lead rope. Lynn had never taught a horse to do that before, either. It was a new experience for both of them.
They made some progress, stopping and starting along the way, until Milkshake stopped and did not want to continue. Lynn thought he looked frightened. Her first instinct was to approach him and offer reassurance, but she hesitated. She had been taught that comforting a horse in that situation might reward an unwanted behavior. She found herself caught between what she believed she should do and what she felt was appropriate in that particular moment. Eventually, she decided to approach Milkshake, pet him, and give him time without applying pressure. After a while, he began walking again.
The experience made Lynn recognize a pattern in herself. How often did she focus on what she thought she was supposed to do instead of listening to her own judgment? She was glad she had listened to herself in that moment, and she felt the experience was meaningful for her relationship with Milkshake.
The lesson was not a universal training instruction about how to handle a frightened horse. It was Lynn’s personal realization about her own decision-making. It is an example of how an everyday interaction with a horse can lead to a question that reaches far beyond the barn.
The Deep Emotional Groom-Horse Connection
We all know that professional grooms spend an extraordinary amount of time with horses. They care for them early in the morning and late at night. They prepare them for competition, travel with them, recognize their habits, and learn to notice small changes in their behavior. They also experience difficult moments alongside them.
But the relationship between a groom and a horse is not simply the result of completing daily care tasks. There is often a deep emotional connection.
Before recording the podcast, Lynn interviewed three professional grooms for an upcoming article on HorseGrooms.com. She explained that learning more about the profession gave her a new appreciation for the amount of love and care involved. What stood out most was the depth of the grooms’ feelings for their horses.
Lynn believes that the amount of time grooms spend with horses creates an opportunity for a particularly deep relationship. What impressed her most during her interviews was not only the love the grooms expressed, but also the small moments they described when they stopped working and simply enjoyed being with their horses.
The ‘Ordinary’ Moments Can Be Very Special
These moments may seem ordinary to a groom, but Lynn recognized something special in them: the ability to be fully present with a horse, without an agenda or a task to complete. One groom described seeing a horse lying down and deciding to lie down beside him, just to enjoy being together.
Many grooms will recognize these moments. Sitting quietly with a horse after a long day, spending a few extra minutes in the stall, or simply enjoying its company without having another task to complete.
Lynn believes we sometimes underestimate the value of these pauses. We are so focused on getting things done that we forget how important it can be to spend time together without an agenda. These moments allow us to appreciate the relationship and may also help us become more aware of what it means to us.
A Horse Who Helped a Veteran Breathe Again
Lynn also shares a moving story from Acres for Life, a mental health program in Minnesota. A veteran experiencing severe post-traumatic stress symptoms was observing horses during a session when one particular horse caught his attention. He called him War Horse.
As the veteran approached the horse, a helicopter flew overhead and triggered a panic attack. The veteran dropped to his knees, struggling to breathe. War Horse approached him, lay down beside him, and rested his head close to the veteran’s head. They remained together for approximately 20 minutes. Afterward, the veteran told the therapist and equine professional facilitating the session that the horse had helped him learn how to breathe again.
It is a personal account from a professional mental health program, but it illustrates the kind of meaningful experiences Lynn has witnessed through her work. She believes many grooms will recognize that feeling of having a special moment with a horse that is difficult to put into words.
A Guided Reflection: What Can a Horse Teach You About Yourself?
One of the most interesting parts of the podcast is a short exercise in which Lynn invites listeners to think about a horse they have felt especially connected to. What drew you to that horse? Was it its personality, appearance, or something you experienced together?
During the exercise, Dinette thinks of Blue Paper, a horse she owned in the Netherlands. She describes him as wise and sweet, a horse she competed with but also took on trail rides and even brought along when visiting neighbors for coffee. She always felt that Blue Paper could see right through her and that she had to be completely herself around him.
Lynn then asks an interesting question: Where do the characteristics we value in a horse appear in our other relationships?
For Dinette, the exercise leads to a realization about how important honesty and authenticity are to her, both in horses and in people.
Lynn also invites listeners to think about a horse they did not feel particularly connected to and consider what they might learn from that relationship.
Listen to the episode and follow along with the exercise yourself. You might discover something you had never considered before.
HORSETOBER: Celebrate Your Connection With Horses
The collaboration between HorseGrooms and Horses for Mental Health began with a conversation about HORSETOBER, a new annual celebration of the horse-human connection launching in October 2026. Throughout the month, Horses for Mental Health invites people to spend meaningful time with horses and share stories about what those relationships mean to them.
#PassTheBraid: Show Your Braiding Skills and Share Your Story
The #PassTheBraid Challenge is part of HORSETOBER. Participants are invited to share a photograph featuring a braid, tell the story of a horse that means something special to them, and nominate others to do the same. The braid symbolizes connection and the way our individual stories are woven together.
For grooms, this is a wonderful opportunity to put our professional skills in the spotlight. Braiding is an important part of our profession, and many grooms and professional braiders have developed it into a true art.
Show Us Your braids!
Share photographs of your work, whether they are beautifully finished competition braids or a style you are particularly proud of. Alongside your photos, tell the story of a horse that means something special to you.
Use the hashtags #HORSETOBER, #PassTheBraid, and #horsegrooms, tag @horse.grooms and @horsesformentalhealth, and nominate fellow grooms and braiders to share their work and stories too. This is how we pass the braid along and encourage more people to participate.
Together, we can showcase the skill and dedication behind professional grooming while raising awareness of Horses for Mental Health and the powerful connections between horses and humans.
Visit horsesformentalhealth.org/horsetober to learn more and participate.
Let’s Show the World What Grooming Really Means
HORSETOBER is also an opportunity to introduce the grooming profession to a wider audience. People may see grooms preparing horses, cleaning stalls, and working at competitions without realizing how deep their relationships with horses can be. Sharing our stories can help others understand what motivates grooms and why these horses mean so much to us.
Listen to Lynn Thomas on The HorseGrooms Podcast
Listen to the full conversation with Lynn Thomas, including her personal story about Milkshake, the guided reflection exercise, and the introduction to HORSETOBER.
The HorseGrooms Podcast is available here, on the podcast page on our website, on the Equus Radio Network, and on all major podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
If you enjoy the episode, please leave a review of The HorseGrooms Podcast on your favorite podcast channel. Your review helps more horse people discover our conversations.
This Episode of the HorseGrooms Podcast Is Presented by Horcery
Horcery AI-powered Stall Monitor helps horse owners, grooms, and barn managers stay connected to their horses around the clock. It monitors activity inside the stall and sends intelligent alerts when unusual behavior occurs. It is an extra set of eyes that can provide valuable peace of mind when you are away from the barn.
HorseGrooms readers and listeners receive 5% off a Horcery Stall Monitor with the discount code HORSEGROOMS05.
Read this article or visit horcery.com to learn more about this helpful tool for the barn.
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HorseGrooms is a platform of resources, education, and support for grooms by grooms. This is an online community, hub of resources, and spotlight of industry highlights born out of love for the horse and love for the sport. But our mission goes beyond simply providing resources and creating content.
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