Women-Led Equestrian Retreats Are Redefining How We Heal With Horses

For those still called to the saddle, Riding Wild is a nonprofit, trauma-informed collective founded by certified Equine Guided Empowerment facilitator, Aniela Gottwald. These accessible, women-led equine retreats around the globe provide a more mindful way to ride, with upcoming itineraries stretching from Iceland to South Africa. Each experience is designed as a dialogue between movement, nature, and the body’s innate intelligence, combining saddle time with breathwork, yoga, and somatic healing. “Horses speak directly to the nervous system,” says Gottwald. “They don’t respond to words—they respond to what’s real in your body. When your breath deepens, they relax. When you’re tense, they notice. For women conditioned to override intuition, that kind of feedback is transformative.”

In California’s Eastern Sierra, Taren Maroun, a somatic trauma and attachment therapist, guides riders through the ancestral lands of the wild mustang. Her integrative sessions weave ceremonial breathwork, shadow alchemy, and equine-guided somatic reprogramming into the experience. “Horses live fully in their bodies, fully in the present,” she explains. “When we allow ourselves to do the same, regulation and reconnection follow. These journeys become less about time away and more about a profound return to embodiment.”

This November, Candice Webster is set to co-host the collective’s first five-day Horse Healing Safari in South Africa’s Plettenberg Bay. “Horses carry a wisdom that transcends words,” she says, “connecting us to the earth’s energy, her rhythms, and the rhythms of our own hearts. They have been sacred companions in rituals, ceremonies, and transformative journeys—helping healers channel energy, restore balance, and awaken the soul.” Included within the itinerary, based at Belle Balance Bush Hideout, is a healing ceremony with Webster and her herd. Within this sacred space, the herd’s intuitive energy reflects each participant’s truth, helping to regulate the nervous system, dissolve barriers to the heart, and encourage deep release.