Episode 1 · Show Notes
Why Horses for Grief
July 23, 2026 · 37 min · with Rose Mary Riggs
Grief lives in the body
Grief is not just an emotion you move through in five stages. It lives in the body, and when you lose someone during the years you are still forming, it becomes an attachment wound.
In this first episode, I sit down with Rose Mary Riggs, owner of Shakti Ranch and the equine teacher who trained me. We talk about what horses notice that we do not, and why a 1200 pound animal can feel safer than a person to someone who has lost their trust in people.
Rose Mary shares the session where a horse would not stop nipping at her, and the question a facilitator asked that made her see her marriage clearly for the first time. I tell you about Destiny, the horse who used to lie down in the pasture so I could rest on his neck at sixteen.
We get into why talk therapy builds awareness, why awareness by itself does not rewire anything, and what becomes possible once someone finally feels safe in their own body.
Mentioned in this episode:
- Equine sessions and retreats at Shakti Ranch: Equine Therapy
- More about me and my work: About Angela
- My free guide, Why Grief Keeps Coming Back
- The free Grief, Trauma & Your Mama community
Three things to carry with you:
Horses read what your body is saying, not what your words are managing. That honest mirror is often the first time the grief gets seen.
Awareness alone does not rewire anything. Talk therapy helps you understand your story. The body has to feel safe before the story can change.
Safety can be borrowed before it is built. Sometimes it starts with a paddock, a horse, and a nervous system that finally gets to rest.
More from me
Follow along on Instagram @angelaschellenberg, or come sit with us in the free community.
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Free for listeners: Why Grief Keeps Coming Back
A free guide that gives language to what’s been running quietly in the background, and why grief resurfaces when you least expect it.
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