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Equine Assisted World with Rupert Isaacson

Equine Assisted World with Rupert Isaacson

By: Rupert Isaacson
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 Here on Equine Assisted World. We look at the cutting edge and the best practices currently being developed and, established in the equine assisted field. This can be psychological, this can be neuropsych, this can be physical, this can be all of the conditions that human beings have that these lovely equines, these beautiful horses that we work with, help us with. Your Host is New York Times bestselling author Rupert Isaacson. Long time human rights activist, Rupert helped a group of Bushmen in the Kalahari fight for their ancestral lands. He's probably best known for his autism advocacy work following the publication of his bestselling book "The Horse Boy" and "The Long Ride Home" where he tells the story of finding healing for his autistic son. Subsequently he founded New Trails Learning Systems an approach for addressing neuro-psychiatric conditions through horses, movement and nature. The methods are now used around the world in therapeutic riding program, therapy offices and schools for special needs and neuro-typical children.  You can find details of all our programs and shows on www.RupertIsaacson.com.Horse Boy LLC Alternative & Complementary Medicine Hygiene & Healthy Living Personal Development Personal Success
Episodes
  • Your Brain, Your Way: Curiosity, Neurodiversity, and Healing with Dr. Chantel Prat | EP 28 Equine Assisted World

    Your Brain, Your Way: Curiosity, Neurodiversity, and Healing with Dr. Chantel Prat | EP 28 Equine Assisted World
    May 15 2025
    In this episode of Equine Assisted World, Rupert Isaacson sits down with Dr. Chantel Prat—a neuroscientist, psychologist, linguist, and horsewoman. Dr. Prat teaches at the University of Washington and is the author of The Neuroscience of You, a groundbreaking book that examines how every brain is different and what that means for our lives, relationships, and learning processes.Rupert and Chantel dive deep into individual brain differences, the neuroscience of curiosity, attention, and empathy, and how equine-assisted practices can benefit from this knowledge. From mirror neurons to movement, nature, and neurodivergence, this episode explores how understanding our brains can transform education, therapy, leadership, and horsemanship.📚 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:The Neuroscience of Individuality (Starts at 02:00)Why one-size-fits-all brain models fall short.How your brain builds reality from bite-sized inputs and past experience.Rewiring How We Think About Intelligence (Starts at 06:00)Moving beyond deficit-based views of learning and attention.Understanding the trade-offs and strengths of different brain types.The Trouble with Normal: Education, Economics, and Brain Diversity (Starts at 14:00)Why school systems misunderstand how brains actually learn.The mismatch between economic systems and human neurodiversity.Curiosity, Creativity, and Collaboration (Starts at 17:00)How diversity of thought increases innovation and team success.Cultivating workplace cultures that support different kinds of brains.Mirror Neurons and Theory of Mind (Starts at 24:00)What mirror neurons really are—and what they aren’t.Understanding empathy, imitation, and their relevance in equine work.Making Implicit Social Cues Explicit in Therapy (Starts at 34:00)Strategies for working with people who experience the world differently.The power of observation and simplification in building empathy.Movement, Nature, and Attention (Starts at 41:00)Why nature and motion restore brain function and emotional regulation.The importance of soft focus, rhythm, and the outdoors for learning.The Brain and Attention: Not a Deficit, Just Different (Starts at 45:00)The real neuroscience behind ADHD and attention struggles.Why labeling differences as disorders is often inaccurate and harmful.Curiosity as the Ultimate Learning State (Starts at 58:00)The PACE model: Predict, Assess, Curiosity, Explore.Why psychological safety is key to curiosity and learning.Medication, Diagnosis, and the Developing Brain (Starts at 1:17:00)The complexity of medicating kids for attention or behavior.Centering the child's experience in therapeutic decisions.Plasticity, Psychedelics, and States of Consciousness (Starts at 1:29:00)What dreams, serotonin, and neuroplasticity tell us about brain healing.The difference between natural and artificial brain interventions.🌟 Memorable Moments from the Episode:"The brain is not broken. It’s just doing its job in a noisy world."Why nature isn’t a distraction—it’s the optimal learning environment (42:00)Curiosity increases dopamine and accelerates learning (1:02:00)Movement and rhythm unlock creativity and cognitive restoration (44:00)Reframing ADHD as adaptive in hunter-gatherer societies (50:00)A playdate with mom: the best definition of successful training (1:25:00)🤝 Connect with Us:Contact Dr. Chantel Prat: 🌐 Website: http://www.chantelprat.com/Books by Chantel Prat: 📘 The Neuroscience of You: How Every Brain Is Different and How to Understand Yours – https://amzn.to/3YJ4TBQSee All of Rupert’s Programs and Shows: 🌐 Rupert Isaacson: https://rupertisaacson.com 💻 Equine-Assisted Programs: https://newtrailslearning.comFollow Us:Long Ride Home 📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/longridehome.lrh 📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/longridehome_lrh 🎥 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@longridehomeNew Trails Learning Systems 🌐 Website: https://ntls.co 📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/horseboyworld 📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/horseboyworld 🎥 YouTube: https://youtube.com/newtrailslearningsystemsAffiliate Disclosure: Links to books and products may include affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission if you make a purchase through these links. This does not affect the price you pay and helps support the podcast.
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    1 hr and 39 mins
  • Beyond Crime: Healing Trauma, Restoring Humanity with Leana Tank | Ep 27 Equine Assisted World

    Beyond Crime: Healing Trauma, Restoring Humanity with Leana Tank | Ep 27 Equine Assisted World
    May 1 2025
    In this episode of Equine Assisted World, Rupert Isaacson sits down with Leana Tank, an occupational therapist from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and an accomplished horsewoman specializing in equine-assisted services and behavioral health. Leana works with individuals at the extreme end of the mental health continuum—people coming from psychiatric hospitals and the criminal justice system, many diagnosed with schizophrenia, cognitive impairments, autism, and complex trauma.Through her radical acceptance, sensory-based therapy, movement integration, and nature-centered approaches, Leana redefines how we think about healing, trauma, and society's marginalized populations. Her work invites us to reconsider the humanity, sensitivity, and resilience of individuals often deemed "other."📘 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:Meeting the Margins: Understanding Leana's Population (Starts at 02:00)Why those labeled as "monsters" are often society's most sensitive souls.The profound failures of social support systems and how they shape lives.Radical Acceptance as a Therapeutic Tool (Starts at 06:00)How releasing judgment creates real avenues for healing.Why dismantling assumptions is crucial to genuine human connection.The Impact of Psychosis, Brain Injury, and Trauma (Starts at 15:00)Psychosis versus premeditation: how cognitive states influence behavior.Brain injury, trauma, and the thin line that separates "us" from "them."The Transformative Power of Movement and Nature (Starts at 29:00)Why nature is the most accessible and effective healing environment.How movement and rhythm regulate the nervous system.Occupational Therapy for the "Invisible" Population (Starts at 43:00)Supporting adults with serious mental illness through practical, embodied therapies.The role of sensory integration, cooking, and daily activities in recovery.Safety, Risk, and Working Without Fear (Starts at 54:00)How Leana assesses safety when taking clients into community spaces.Why authoritarian approaches escalate crises—and how she avoids them.Building Healing Environments: Indoors and Out (Starts at 1:03:00)The overlooked importance of aesthetics, art, and comfort in institutional settings.Creating sensory-friendly spaces that foster connection and resilience.Resilience Through Horses: Personal and Professional Lessons (Starts at 1:19:00)How Leana’s young horse taught her about boundaries, patience, and attunement.Transferring lessons from horsemanship to healing human trauma.Attunement and the Power of Radical Listening (Starts at 1:24:00)How true attunement—"listening with your whole body"—becomes medicine.Mirroring nervous system states to bring clients back to themselves.The Future: Supporting Staff, Scaling Healing (Starts at 1:56:00)Why staff education in attunement and trauma-informed care is essential.How small shifts in environment, training, and nature access could transform mental health systems.🌟 Memorable Moments from the Episode:"They are not what they've done."The surprising safety of working with people society labels as dangerous (29:00)Why taking clients to Lake Michigan and cooking meals together brings more progress than clinical interventions (44:00)The critical difference between healing and cure (41:30)The "poison plant" metaphor for understanding trauma and sensitivity (2:07:00)Radical acceptance as the doorway to true change (2:03:00)🤝 Connect with Us:See All of Rupert’s Programs and Shows:🌐 Rupert Isaacson: https://rupertisaacson.com💻 Equine-Assisted Programs: https://newtrailslearning.comFollow Us:Long Ride Home📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/longridehome.lrh📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/longridehome_lrh🎥 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@longridehomeNew Trails Learning Systems🌐 Website: https://ntls.co📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/horseboyworld📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/horseboyworld🎥 YouTube: https://youtube.com/newtrailslearningsystems
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    2 hrs and 21 mins
  • Healing Hidden Wounds and Trauma in Northern Ireland through Equine Assisted Services with Dr. Helen Sharp | EP 26 Equine Assisted World

    Healing Hidden Wounds and Trauma in Northern Ireland through Equine Assisted Services with Dr. Helen Sharp | EP 26 Equine Assisted World
    Apr 17 2025
    In this episode of Equine Assisted World, Rupert Isaacson sits down with Dr. Helen Sharp, an equine journalist, academic, and co-founder of Groundwork EAS—an equine-assisted charity on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. A leading voice in both equine media and trauma-informed equine work, Dr. Sharp brings a unique blend of artistry, horsemanship, and therapeutic insight to everything she does.She writes for The Irish Field and Farmers Journal, and her career spans journalism, community arts, equine bodywork, and academic research. She holds a PhD and has a background in sculpture and performance art, with her creative and research work shown around the world. As co-director of Groundwork, she serves veterans, trauma survivors, and neurodivergent individuals through programs that fuse nature, horses, and compassionate partnership.This powerful conversation traces her extraordinary journey from the Hebrides to heroin recovery, from performance art to equine-assisted leadership, and why horses continue to be the greatest teachers of all.📘 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:The Origins of Groundwork EAS (Starts at 03:00)How Helen and co-founder Fiona Butchart launched the charity on a Northern Irish estate.The unique collaboration with Brooke House, a veterans' mental health charity.Why equine-assisted services are critical in a region with some of the UK’s highest mental health rates.Inside the Program: Grounding, Grooming, and Gentle Touch (Starts at 06:44)How Groundwork uses nonclinical space, tea rituals, and horsemanship to support healing.What a 10-week program looks like—from grooming to obstacle courses.The power of soft, tactile interaction and its effect on hypervigilance and aggression.Memorable Story: A Veteran’s Breakthrough with Breathing (Starts at 13:00)A former RUC officer transforms his relationship with anger through breathwork and horse partnership.How working with horses improved his family life.Breaking the Silence: Domestic Violence and Equine Healing (Starts at 19:35)A stroke survivor finds calm and confidence through grooming a yearling.How horse-human connection opens doors that talk therapy alone can’t.Childhood on the Edge: From the Hebrides to Horses (Starts at 23:03)Helen’s wild childhood on a remote Scottish island with no horses.How early life near the sea shaped her sensitivity and resilience.Art, Heroin, and Healing (Starts at 35:00)Helen shares openly about her past heroin addiction, recovery, and a near-death experience.How a vivid overdose changed her life trajectory—and deepened her compassion.Why this history helps her serve people in trauma without judgment.The Role of Routine, Ritual, and Horses in Recovery (Starts at 57:31)Why even intravenous drug use can mimic the grounding people seek in horses.The link between tactile connection and nervous system regulation.From Performance Art to Journalism (Starts at 01:00:00)Helen’s unexpected path from swinging off anchors in Belarus to writing for Horse & Hound and The Irish Field.Why writing was always at the center of her self-expression.Creating Change: Groundwork’s Model and the Power of the Broodmare (Starts at 01:16:00)How Helen uses young stock and broodmares to reflect complex family dynamics.Why one teenage girl found her voice by learning to speak clearly to a horse.The Future of Equine-Assisted Services in Ireland (Starts at 01:29:00)Helen’s vision for integrating equine-assisted work into the national healthcare system.Why collaboration—not competition—is key to the future of the sector.Lessons learned from the global Seen Through Horses campaign: https://horsesformentalhealth.org/seen-through-horses/✨ Memorable Moments from the Episode:“The hands can heal what the mind can’t.” (10:17)A veteran realizing that slowing down with his horse prevents family arguments (18:00)How grooming a yearling helped a stroke survivor regain stability (21:00)Helen’s overdose experience and the voice that saved her life: “You have a great brain” (38:00)“Frivolity is not the opposite of seriousness—it’s a form of joy.” (1:03:14)How observing a colt helped a mother process her teenage son’s behavior (1:26:00)🤝 Connect with Dr. Helen Sharp & Groundwork:Groundwork Equine-Assisted Services: https://groundworkeas.orgThe Irish Field (Helen’s journalism): https://www.theirishfield.ieSee All of Rupert’s Programs and Shows:🌐 Rupert Isaacson: https://rupertisaacson.com🎧 Podcast Archive: https://lfrf.transistor.fm💻 Equine-Assisted Programs: https://newtrailslearning.comFollow Us:Long Ride Home📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/longridehome.lrh📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/longridehome_lrh🎥 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@longridehomeNew Trails Learning Systems🌐 Website: https://ntls.co📘 Facebook: https://facebook.com/horseboyworld📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/horseboyworld🎥 YouTube: https://youtube.com/...
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    1 hr and 44 mins

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