Wisdom of the Brumby

06/09/2026

🌿 Seeking a Volunteer Participant for Student Gestalt Therapy Sessions – North Brisbane (4017 area)

As I continue through my 3rd year of Master’s studies in Gestalt Therapy, I am now looking for one volunteer participant to support the next stage of my clinical learning and assessment.

I am seeking one adult participant who is local to North Brisbane, ideally around the 4017 area, and would be available to attend approximately 4–6 face-to-face sessions before November 2026.

Sessions will be approximately 50 minutes, held in a private room-based setting, and are offered at no cost as part of my student assessment requirements.

As part of the university assessment process, sessions will need to be video recorded, with selected material viewed by my facilitator/supervisor for supervision and assessment purposes. This will be fully discussed with you beforehand so that you understand the process and can provide informed consent.

🌿 What is Gestalt Therapy?

Gestalt therapy is a relational and present-centred approach to therapy. Rather than focusing only on past experiences or trying to immediately “fix” a problem, Gestalt therapy invites us to become curious about what is happening in the present moment — our thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, patterns and ways of relating to ourselves and others.

It can be a gentle but meaningful process of developing greater awareness and understanding of yourself and how you move through the world.

To participate, you would need to:

• Be 18 years or older
• Be able to attend face-to-face sessions in the North Brisbane / 4017 area
• Ideally be someone I do not already know personally or have previously worked with therapeutically
• Be available for approximately 4–6 sessions before November 2026
• Be comfortable with the sessions being recorded for my university assessment requirements
• Be open to an initial screening conversation so that we can make sure the process is appropriate, safe and clearly understood

As this forms part of my supervised student learning, clear boundaries, confidentiality, informed consent and suitability are really important.

There is no cost to participate.

If this speaks to you, or you know someone who may be interested, please feel welcome to send me a private message and I can provide further information. 🌿

06/09/2026

🐴 What if therapy wasn’t always about going back into the past?

Gestalt therapy invites us into the here and now, noticing what is happening within us, between us, and around us in this very moment.

And this is where horses can be extraordinary mentors.

As prey animals, horses live deeply in the present. They notice subtle shifts in energy, body language, boundaries and connection, often reflecting back what is showing up for us before we’ve even found the words for it.

There’s no judgement. No need to have the “right” thing to say. Just an opportunity to slow down, become curious, and notice.

Sometimes, what emerges in that space can be incredibly powerful and profound. 🌿

Meet the beautiful rescued brumbies of Wisdom of the Brumby and discover a different way of experiencing therapy. 🤎

04/09/2026

Sometimes the gate isn’t really the thing standing in our way.

We can spend so much time waiting for something to change… for someone to open the way, for the fear to disappear, or for ourselves to finally feel “ready”.

And sometimes, just like our Brumbies, we need a little time to stand at the threshold.

To notice.

To feel.

To decide.

There is wisdom in not rushing through every gate that appears before us. 🌿🐴

Sometimes the most important part of moving forward is learning to trust ourselves enough to know when we’re ready.

Wisdom of the Brumby 🤎

28/08/2026

🌿 Mindfulness doesn’t have to be complicated.

Sometimes it looks like this.

Standing quietly beside a horse.
Feeling the warmth of the sun.
Hearing the rhythm of grazing.
Noticing your breath.
And, for a few moments, not needing to be anywhere else.

We spend so much of our lives thinking about what has happened, anticipating what might happen next, or moving from one task to another.

The horses invite something different.

They bring us back to right here, right now.

Mindfulness isn’t about emptying the mind or trying to feel calm. It’s simply noticing what is here, our breath, our body, our surroundings, and the experience unfolding in this moment.

And sometimes, when we slow down enough to notice, our nervous system begins to slow with us.

This is part of the quiet wisdom our brumbies offer. 🤎🐴

Less doing. More noticing. More being.

Wisdom of the Brumby 🌿

27/08/2026

🌿 A Place in the Paddock 🐴

I've been sitting with an idea for a little while.

Once a month, I would like to offer one equine-assisted session completely free of charge to someone in our community who might really need it.

No catch. No expectation. No exchange.

Just an offering. 🤍

There are people in our communities who are lonely, isolated, overwhelmed or simply going through a difficult season of life, and sometimes the people who could benefit from support the most are the very people who aren't in a position to access it.

So I'd like to create 'A Place in the Paddock'.

Each month, I will invite nominations from friends, family members or others who know someone they feel could benefit from some quiet time alongside our rescued brumbies.

It might be someone who has been caring for everybody else and has forgotten themselves.

Someone grieving.

Someone feeling lonely or disconnected.

Someone navigating a difficult chapter.

Or simply someone who could really use a place to be, without having to explain or fix anything.

There is no riding involved and no previous horse experience is needed. The session will simply offer an opportunity to slow down, reconnect and spend time in the presence of the horses and the natural environment.

If someone comes to mind, please send me a private message, rather than sharing their personal circumstances in the comments. Tell me a little about them and why you would like to nominate them.

The person selected will, of course, be under absolutely no obligation to accept the invitation.

This isn't about charity.

It's about community, connection and making sure that sometimes the gate is open to someone who might not otherwise be able to walk through it.

One person.
One session.
Once a month.

A Place in the Paddock.🌿🐴

Location: North Brisbane, West of Caboolture.

With love,
Danni
Wisdom of the Brumby

20/08/2026

Sometimes we don’t need to be fixed, guided or given answers.

Sometimes we simply need to be seen. 🌿

Horses have a beautiful way of meeting us in the moment, without judgement, without expectation, without needing us to be anything other than who we are.

And sometimes, being truly seen is enough. 🐴🤎

19/08/2026

19/08/2026

When our connection with horses is part of our wellbeing, what happens when we witness them suffering?

Last Friday I joined Mike from The Country Telegraph, alongside Dr Julianne Gardiner and Nurse Amanda Martin, for an important discussion about the mental health impacts being experienced by people affected by the ongoing culling of Australia’s wild brumbies.

At Wisdom of the Brumby, I witness the other side of this relationship every day, horses supporting people to slow down, regulate their nervous systems, reconnect with themselves and find moments of safety and presence.

For people who have spent their lives loving, caring for or advocating for horses, witnessing their suffering can bring profound grief, helplessness and moral distress. These responses deserve to be acknowledged rather than dismissed.

This conversation was an opportunity to bring the human, animal bond and mental health into the wider discussion about how we manage our wild horses.

I’m incredibly grateful that space was given for this perspective to be heard.

🐴 Wisdom of the Brumby

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1109050791627656

13/08/2026

There is another part of Wisdom of the Brumby that I feel increasingly called to share.

Yesterday I joined Mike from The Country Telegraph for a live conversation about Australia’s wild brumbies, their management and the continuing use of aerial culling.

My work with horses is usually centred around relationship, awareness, nervous-system regulation and the extraordinary things that can unfold when humans slow down enough to really observe and listen.

But my relationship with the brumbies also carries a responsibility to advocate for them.

These horses are not simply numbers on a population estimate or animals to be discussed only in terms of environmental impact. They are sentient, highly social animals with complex relationships, family structures and an extraordinary capacity to adapt and survive.

That does not mean we should ignore ecological concerns. It means we should be capable of having a more nuanced conversation about them.

We need robust science.
We need accurate population data.
We need transparency.
We need ethical and humane management.
And we need to be willing to question decisions when the evidence or methods used to justify them deserve further scrutiny.

The Australian brumby also carries a remarkable history — one intertwined with settlement, agriculture, exploration and war. Whatever position we hold on their management, I believe their welfare and heritage deserve serious consideration.

Wisdom of the Brumby was built upon what these horses have taught me: presence, resilience, relationship and the wisdom that emerges when we become curious rather than controlling.

That philosophy doesn’t stop at the paddock gate.

Thank you to Mike and The Country Telegraph for allowing space for this important conversation.

🎥 You can watch our live discussion below.

For the brumbies — may we continue to ask better questions, seek better evidence and find a more compassionate way forward. 🐴🌿