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Crossroads Connection

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Wilton, WI
Crossroads Connection

At Crossroads Connection, horses are the teachers. Horses are therapeutic by nature, but this is not therapy — and Bree is not a therapist.

Certified Equine Assisted Learning Facilitator 🐎
Helping people build an armor of life skills — confidence, communication, leadership, inner strength, and more — through the wisdom of the horse. ♥️🐴 Through hands-on, objective-driven exercises, participants build real-world life skills such as confidence, communication, leadership, resilience, and more! As a Facilitator, her first job is to hold a safe space for the horses to do their job. A horse’s number one need is to feel safe. When the horse is safe, the humans will be safe. By keeping attention on the horse and working as a team, each hands on experience becomes a living lesson in trust, awareness, and partnership. Our programs are focused on skills development, giving individuals and groups an “armor of skills” they can carry into everyday life. Rooted in faith and guided by the wisdom of the herd, Crossroads Connection creates a supportive environment where people discover their strength, step into clarity, and learn how to move forward at their own crossroads.

10/26/2026

Terrible video quality, but such a good little moment with Anya.

Right before this, we had done just a couple rounds of backing four steps and walking forward six. It sounds almost ridiculously simple, but backing asks a horse to use their body very differently—more stabilization through the back and pelvis, different engagement through the hind end, and more coordination between everything happening front to back.

And apparently it did a whole lot of something for Anya, because then came the yawning. 😂

When horse people talk about a “release,” this is some of what we're talking about. The nervous system isn't static. A horse can move through increased effort, tension or arousal and then begin shifting out of it. You may see the breathing change, the muscles soften, the head lower, licking and chewing, blinking, sighing or yawning as their body changes gears.

A yawn by itself doesn't automatically mean relaxation—context always matters. But knowing Anya, knowing what we'd just done, and watching the rest of her body change with it, I knew she needed a minute.

So I gave her one.

I didn't interrupt it or immediately ask for the next thing. She stood there and processed, and she continued having big moments like this throughout our time together.

Honestly, this is also such a good picture of what we do at Crossroads. We create an experience, something happens internally, and we give people room to actually notice it instead of racing straight to the next task. Horses are incredibly good at bringing those little shifts to the surface.

Sometimes the work is in the exercise. Sometimes the work is in what happens after the exercise.

Want to experience what that looks like for yourself or your group? Send me a message and let's get you in the arena.

10/23/2026

Anya has taught me some lessons I wish I’d understood sooner.

I bred and raised this mare. When she was three, finances and boarding circumstances meant I had to sell her. When she eventually came back to me, she was rearing and struggling to pick up her feet without almost lying down.

At the time, I approached those things as behavior I needed to correct. Looking back, I wish I’d understood more about the physical discomfort that might have been involved. I know some of how I handled it didn’t help.

That’s hard to admit about a horse you love. Loving them also means being willing to reconsider what you thought you knew.

The top image is an older photo of Anya, the middle is from last fall, and the bottom was taken this week.

Look at how her coat lies across her neck and shoulder, but also at the contours around her jaw and through her neck. The uneven coat pattern is most obvious in the oldest photo and still visible last fall. In the newest picture, her coat lies more uniformly, and to my eye, her neck looks more evenly filled out.

Alongside those visible differences, I’ve noticed less swelling around her jaw and changes in the tension she carries as she moves and when we work together. There are still concerns around her poll and neck, and we’re continuing to work on her balance and how she uses her body. I’m encouraged by the changes while recognizing there’s more to understand.

Yesterday, our in-hand work included backing four steps and walking forward six. Small asks, taking our time, and paying attention to how she managed each movement. Working to create steady consistent movement in front and hind end- for them to work together.

Through all of this, I keep getting to know a sweet, willing mare who tries hard, even when things were difficult for her. Who carries more for everyone than she needs. She’s teaching me to pay closer attention to what her response is telling me, beyond whether she does what I ask.

I can’t change what I didn’t understand years ago. I can keep learning, listening, and doing better for her now. ❤️

10/22/2026

“Are you riding?”

I get asked that pretty regularly, usually about one of the horses people haven’t seen me riding lately. I can say in this season of life; not as much as I would have thought at the start of the year. There’s a whole lot happening with my herd right now, and I’m enjoying putting time into what each horse needs to feel and move better. A lot of that work is happening on the ground.

Breaking my back last year made me even more conscious of my own physical imbalances and how they affect the horses I ride. Each horse has their own needs, too—comfort, balance, strength, saddle fit. I’m okay taking the time to work through those.

A horse being willing to carry me doesn’t automatically mean I’m happy with how comfortable they are doing it.

So lately, we’re spending more time working in hand. Slowing down. Paying attention to how they move. Working on balance and coordination through small, thoughtful exercises, without adding my own physical imbalances to their backs.

And honestly? I’m really enjoying it.

Gloria and this book have given me more tools to work with, and the horses keep giving me reasons to look closer. Things I once would have called “behavior” now have me asking: What’s uncomfortable? What’s going on underneath? What am I missing?

The more I learn, the more I realize how much I used to overlook. You don’t know until you know. Then you have to do better.

That carries right into Crossroads. Our programs happen on the ground because there is so much we can practice there: communication, boundaries, patience, trust, and noticing what happens when we change our approach.

Part of caring for the horses who help people is listening to what they need, too.

I look forward to more riding. Right now, I’m enjoying getting to know my horses—and myself—more deeply. I believe God is using this season to build a foundation for what’s ahead.

We’re taking the time it takes. And I’m okay with that.

10/20/2026

As prey animals, horses kinda act as giant biofeedback machines.

Not because they can magically tell us what we’re thinking.

But because they are incredibly responsive to what is happening right now, their survival depends on it.

And that matters more than I think we realize.

The people in our lives know our history.

They know the version of us who always said yes.

The one who kept the peace.
The one who backed down.
The one who exploded.
The one who struggled.
The one who needed everyone’s approval.

And when we begin changing, sometimes the people around us have a hard time seeing anything other than the person they’ve always known.

Their lens doesn’t always change as quickly as we do.

A horse doesn’t have that same story about you.

You can walk into an activity unsure of yourself, hesitant, nervous, people-pleasing, afraid to take up space—

and then make a change.

You get clearer.

You recognize the frustration coming up instead of letting it run you.

You hold a boundary.

You become more assertive without becoming aggressive.

You stop trying to be “nice” enough to make everything work and begin actually leading yourself.

And the horse can respond to that change right then.

Not next week.
Not after you convince them that you’ve changed.

Right now.

That’s one of the things that makes equine-assisted experiential learning so powerful.

Emotional intelligence begins with awareness.

Can I recognize what I’m feeling?
Can I name it?
Can I understand what it might be communicating?

And then, can I decide what I want to do with that information instead of simply reacting from it?

The horse gives us a place to practice that in real time, because your conguancy -- what you feel on the inside but present on the outside, matters the most to them.

Maybe I notice I’m frustrated.

Okay.

Do I become harder and louder?
Do I give up?
Do I shrink because I’m afraid of doing something wrong?
Or can I recognize the frustration, regulate myself, change my approach and try again?

And then I get feedback.

The horse moves closer.
Creates distance.
Softens.
Stops.
Engages.
Disengages.

Responds differently when I show up differently.

There is no judgment attached to it.

Just information.

And when we start experiencing that—when we realize we can notice ourselves, make a different choice, and immediately experience something different—we begin building something much bigger than skill with a horse.

We begin building self-awareness.
Discernment.
Emotional regulation.
Boundaries.
Confidence.
Congruency.
Self-leadership.

Because before we can lead anyone else well, we have to learn how to lead ourselves.

10/19/2026

Let’s dig a little deeper into that congruency concept.

So much of today’s world trains our awareness outward.

Not always in a big-picture, connected way.

More in a survival way.

Who has the upper hand?
What does everyone else think?
Am I doing enough?
Am I falling behind?
How do I keep the peace?
How do I come out on top?
How do I make sure I don’t get crushed?

We learn to read people.
Read the room.
Read expectations.
Read what is safe to say and what isn’t.

And sometimes we get so good at paying attention to everything outside of us that we lose touch with what is actually happening inside of us.

Or our attention does turn inward—but only to criticize.

Why am I like this?
Why did I react that way?
Why can’t I handle this better?

Congruency asks something different.

It asks us to notice ourselves without immediately judging ourselves.

What am I feeling right now?
What is happening in my body?
What am I afraid of?
What do I actually want?

What am I noticing—and what am I assuming?

Because there is a difference.

Our feelings are real. Our body’s response is real.

But that doesn’t automatically mean the story we attach to that feeling is true.

Maybe something in another person is off.
Maybe an old wound just got touched.
Maybe a boundary is being crossed.
Maybe we’re afraid of disappointing someone.
Maybe fear is making the decision.
Maybe shame is.

That’s where discernment comes in.

And this is where equine-assisted experiential learning gets really interesting.

When we talk about leadership with horses, it can sound like the lesson is about learning how to lead the horse.

But the first lesson is usually learning how to lead yourself.

Can you notice frustration without letting frustration take over?

Can you hold a boundary without becoming harsh?

Can you be clear without becoming controlling?

Can you stay receptive while still knowing what you want?

Can you change your approach without deciding you’ve failed?

Can you recognize when fear, pressure, embarrassment, or the need to “get it right” has started making decisions for you?

A horse gives you immediate feedback on how you are showing up.

Not whether you are a good person.

Not whether your feelings are right or wrong.

Just: this is what is happening right now.

And that gives us a place to slow down, notice, adjust, and try again.

That is self-leadership.

Being direct and receptive.
Strong and soft.
Boundaried and compassionate.
Certain and curious.
Powerful and sensitive.

Strength doesn’t have to mean disconnecting from softness.

Leadership doesn’t begin with controlling what is outside of us.

It begins with becoming aware of what is happening inside of us and learning how to choose our response from there.

That’s part of what we practice in the arena.

And it usually has a lot less to do with the horse than people expect.

10/17/2026

So what do we actually do at Crossroads?

We bring people and horses together in hands-on experiences where things like communication, boundaries, trust, leadership, and problem-solving stop being ideas we only talk about—and become something we can actually practice in real time.

With beings that don’t judge us, don’t care about the story we tell, and simply respond to what is being presented to them in the moment.

No riding. No horse experience needed.

Sometimes the task looks simple.
Then the horse has an opinion. 😅
That’s usually where the learning starts.

We slow it down, notice what’s happening, try something different, and talk about how what happened in the arena might be showing up outside of it, too.

That’s equine-assisted experiential learning.

10/17/2026

Psalm 139:23 (NIV)
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.”

Horses have an incredible ability to read what is happening beneath the surface—our nervous system, our tension, our breathing, our movement, our intention, and the countless sensations moving through the body.

Yet our culture often teaches us to ignore those very things.

To swallow anger. Push through discomfort. Smile when we’re anything but okay. Say, “I’m fine,” when every part of us is saying otherwise.

That kind of incongruence can be unsettling to a species whose survival depends on being able to assess another being’s presence and intentions from a distance.

Horses pay attention to what we’ve often learned to ignore.

They notice the tension beneath the smile. The hesitation beneath the words. The difference between what we’re presenting on the outside and what our body is communicating underneath.

Horses don’t hide what their bodies are telling them. They move. Its how they are designed. And when our outside doesn’t match our inside, that mismatch is often one of the first things they notice.

Maybe the goal isn’t to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling. Maybe it’s to become honest enough to notice it, reconize it and name it.

There is safety in congruence.

10/14/2026

Muddy boots, wild imagination, and the freedom to just be. 🌿

Somewhere along the way, we trade curiosity for correctness and connection for performance.

The horses remind us we don't have to be perfect. We just have to be present.

May we never get so caught up in who we're supposed to be that we forget how to explore, connect, and grow. 🤎

Remember the simple fun and joy of life ♥️

10/14/2026

I’ve been listening to The Tao of Equus, and it keeps making me pause because it puts words to things I’ve felt around horses for years.

Lately, those moments have been bringing me closer to God.

I talk a lot about balance. Yin and yang. Light and dark. Masculine and feminine. Conscious and unconscious. The parts of us that protect and take action, and the parts that feel, listen, and connect. This book explores predator and prey, and the ways we carry pieces of both within us.

It has me wondering what happens when we give so much room to control, competition, and doing that we lose touch with feeling, listening, and being connected.

Even in the horse world, strength has so often been measured by whether we can make an animal do what we want.

But what happens when we give the horse a voice? When we listen to the individual in front of us and let it become a conversation?

Here is an animal with incredible strength, whose survival depends on awareness and connection. An animal that can protect its space and still choose to come close. That can be powerful, sensitive, and willing all at once.

I see something there that we need. Room for strength and feeling to exist together. For gentleness to have boundaries. For leadership to include listening.

It brought me back to Scripture’s picture of predator and prey living in peace; the wolf laying down by the lamb. I believe that image speaks to something within us, too: our strength and our softness learning to exist together.

Then there is Jesus, called the Lamb of God, returning on a white horse. And horses appearing throughout Scripture, more than 150 times in the bible.

Taken together, those things mean something to me.

I see the horse carrying that image forward: gentleness with power. Sensitivity with courage. Strength that leaves room for willingness, grace, and relationship.

For thousands of years, horses have helped us move, build our cities, fight our wars, and carry things we couldn’t carry alone. And here they are, still giving us opportunities to learn how to approach, listen, and earn trust.

I believe horses have a calling, just as we do. That God gave us these animals to help us reconnect with parts of ourselves we’ve learned to silence—and bring them into balance.

For me, that connects with what Jesus teaches about love, trust, and caring for one another. It connects with why God keeps drawing me into this work.

Those lessons follow me out of the arena. Into my relationships. Into my faith. Into noticing when I’m trying to force something instead of making room for connection.

I’ve always known horses were a gift in my life. I’m beginning to see how much God is teaching me through them—and how much that has to do with finding balance within ourselves, our connections, and the world around us. ❤️

10/12/2026

“Oh, I love that for you!”

I catch myself saying this a lot. And I mean it. But sometimes I hear myself respond and realize I haven’t really slowed down to take in what someone just shared.

It feels like we’ve gotten comfortable with quick, encouraging responses. We’re busy, tired, distracted. So much of our communication happens through comments and reactions. Sometimes we don’t know what to say, and sometimes staying on the surface feels safer than asking a question that might open up something real.

So we say something nice and keep moving.

I’ve been wondering what would happen if I stayed a little longer. Asked, “What did that mean to you?” or “How are you actually feeling about it?” And then gave the answer room.

That’s something I practice in the arena, too.

Horses don’t need a polished response. They respond to how we approach, how we move, the tension we carry, and whether we give them space. Working with them can invite us to notice what’s happening underneath the words.

Am I present? Am I uncomfortable? Am I trying to give the “right” response before I’ve even checked in with myself?

A horse isn’t asking those questions out loud. But the interaction can bring them right to the surface.

I still love that for you. I’m just practicing staying long enough to understand what “that” means to you. 🤎

Address

Wilton, WI
54670

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 2pm
Tuesday	10am - 2pm
Thursday	10am - 2pm

Website

http://crossroadsconnection.net/

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