Julie Hanly – Equine Bodywork Practitioner
Some journeys with horses do not follow a straight path. They unfold slowly, shaped by experience, persistence and a willingness to keep learning. Julie, alongside her husband Terry, was nominated for their deep understanding of horses, often becoming the last port of call for those others have struggled to help. Her story began simply, with riding at a local stables as a child. An elderly owner, a handful of horses, and quiet rides along country lanes. It did not last long, but the thread was already there. A few years later, an unexpected opportunity appeared when a local girl asked for help riding a pony. Before long, Julie found herself taking over, riding a pony called Coffee and becoming part of life on the farm. Mornings were spent rounding up cattle, learning through doing rather than instruction. It was not until much later she realised just how much she had absorbed, riding instinctively and building a partnership without ever having formal lessons.
Over time, that learning deepened. Each horse brought something new, shaping her understanding in ways that could not be taught. But it was one particular horse that changed everything. A horse she believed to be well schooled, but who came with challenges she had not anticipated. Falls became frequent, frustration grew, and the answers did not come easily. She searched for solutions, training methods, lessons, different saddles, but nothing seemed to help. Instead, things became more difficult.
It was this experience that led her in a new direction, a shift towards understanding the horse from a different perspective, looking beyond behaviour and into the body itself. From there, a new path opened, one of ongoing learning, curiosity and a deeper awareness of what horses are really telling us.
Spending time with Julie, what becomes clear is that her work is rooted in connection, not expectation. A belief that horses do not think as we do, that each day is different, and that what worked yesterday may not be right today. They do not hold grudges, and more often than not, when something is not working, it is not the horse, it is the question being asked. She speaks about learning to listen, to speak their language, and to let go of rigid expectations, because in that space something shifts. A different kind of understanding begins to form, one that allows both horse and human to meet somewhere in the middle.
And perhaps that is why the horses with other struggles often find their way to her, not to be fixed, but to be understood.
If you’d like to follow Julie's journey and the work she does, you can find her here:
Website: www.equinealchemy.co.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/equinealchemy.co.uk
