About Me and My Horses
About Me
Welcome to my website! Let me introduce myself. My name is Gail Thuner and I am the owner of Mystical Horsemanship. I'm the mother of one very energetic daughter who shares my passion for horses. Over almost 40 years of horse ownership, I've explored lots of different disciplines and educated myself on a ton of different horse-related topics.
But there came a time a few years ago when I realized that I had lost my childlike wonder for horses. And I know so many others who have experienced that loss too. We started out as little kids who looked in awe at these majestic beings. We wanted to gallop them bareback through the fields and the woods and feel their breath on our faces and touch their velvet noses. We wanted to connect with their spirits.
But somehow, we lost our ability to do those things. We were told horses must be obedient and horses must always listen to us and behave. They must stand still while we brush them and tack them up and deworm them and vaccinate them and rasp their teeth and take care of their hooves. They must live in isolation at least part of the day and with horses not of their own choosing for the rest of the day. We control their food and their water and their bedding and their turnout and what they wear and where, how, and for how long they can exercise. We confine them to spaces so much smaller than their bodies and minds yearn to be in. In short, we take away their choices.
And there is no room for wonder or awe or fascination or mystery in all of that. So I want to find ways to bring those values back into the lives of equestrians. I want them to recapture their joy in being with their horses, to learn more about what their horses' true needs are, and to help them and their horses heal from all of the conditioning surrounding horse ownership.
As time goes on, I'll share my stories of life as a horse owner, the lessons my special horses have taught me over the years, insights I've gained through the formal and informal education I've gotten through horses, and the ways that I can help you and your horse on your journey to feeling empowered and regaining a sense of wonder and connection with each other.
Freya
Freya is an 11-year-old registered Paint mare that belongs to my daughter. She came to us by way of an auction. She had some physical issues, and searching for solutions to help her be more comfortable led me down more rabbit holes than I can remember. To date, though, two of her most important teachings have been that sometimes less is more and progress takes time.
Donut
Donut is a 5-year-old Missouri Fox Trotter x Paint mare who found her way to me via a complex rescue situation. She has challenged every single thing I thought I knew about horse training and interacting with horses. She routinely forces me to question everything and to search for answers deep inside myself.