Who is Cowgirl Caravan?

It all started with a horse named Smokey… Well, to be honest, he had no name when we met. He was “the baby in the corner”. He didn’t interact with anyone else. Just me the day we met. I walked into his stall with some friends, avoiding eye contact because I didn’t want to get attached, and hung out in a corner… he didn’t interact with anyone, just stood their while my friends loved on him. He stood there like Eeyore, but completely emotionally shut down. He didn’t care. He didn’t care if someone loved him. He didn’t care if he got more or less food… Till I walked into his stall, stood in the corner, and he took a few beats to search me. Then he walked over, lowered his forehead and placed it on my chest. A feeling of “I choose you” fell over me. I had never owned a horse in my life! I always dreamed about it. Long story short, it took me a month to finally choose him back after a panic attack thinking someone had bought him. The day I bought Smokey, I made him a promise: “I don’t know what I don’t know, but I promise I will try my best to learn as fast as I can and try to always do right by you”.  That was Oct 1, 2023.

​

Since then, it has been a wild roller coaster of health issues for me, training Smokey getting married, buying a small farm, finding out there is so many more ways I can manage my own heath using equine sports therapy on myself… to now, in present day, I want to share everything I am learning about holistic equine sports therapy, while also introducing HUMANS to the benefits it can have on their own bodies.

​

For example, inflammation! Lots of health conditions cause uncontrollable inflammation. What is conventional medicine’s approach? Western medicine, possibly medication, hormone therapy, eat better, alternate cold/heat therapy.

​

What if you have liver issues and NSAID aren’t the best options? What if you have chronic inflammation from auto-immune issues, gut issues, endometriosis (like me), etc. etc. etc… What if you have gastroparesis and your stomach has issues moving food through your intestines on a good day (like my husband) … PEMF or Pulsed Electromagnetic Frequency Therapy may not cure it, but it might be able to keep things managed and give you some what of a “normal” life again. Myself and many others are living proof!

Since I was a medical mystery for 20 years and doctors had no idea what was wrong with me until April 2026, and conventional medicine failed me for so long, throughout the decades, I searched every avenue I could and tried anything that MIGHT help. Not proven… More of a “don’t know until you try”. I was my own guinea pig!

​

Having tried PEMF therapy, cryo therapy, red light/near-infrared light, sound therapy, aromatherapy, healing touch, massage therapy, and so much more myself…then finding that this is NORMAL in the horse world to use such therapies, to think outside the box! Not only normal, but an actual career! I finally had found my calling, my passion in life.

So, this past spring, I started Cowgirl Caravan. We have already built out the barn to accommodate haul-ins. We are working on converting an old 2-stall horse trailer to be a mobile therapy unit to take on farm calls, as well as trade shows and horse shows, with the tack room space converted into a lounge area for clients to receive treatments as well.

 

We want to focus on not just the horse, but the whole horsey team! Everything is connected.

 

How a rider’s body feels directly affects communication with the horse. For example, if a rider’s left hip is bothering them, that side of the hip will be weaker. When they ride, the right side of their hip will be stronger, and the horse is going to slightly drift to the left while being ridden. Over time, it can cause the horse to build up knots, tension, possibly needing chiropractic work in their “shoulders” from compensating for the rider’s left hip.  

 

Our full-service boarding facility can be a “between” space for horses. A lot of horses, after they suffer an injury or illness, get sent home from the veterinarian’s clinic to either a home barn, or a boarding/ training facility.

 

If the horse arrives home, it can be a slow journey. Not because anyone did anything wrong, or didn’t do enough, just the horse’s needs are still a little higher, more hands-on, level of care, and many owners don’t have special equipment, or the time, to do additional daily treatments. Owners know a lot, but they also have daily life stuff to do too! Balancing family, work, and all the other daily life stuff… plus a healing horse! It can overwhelm and burnout even the best.

 

If the horse goes back to a boarding facility, sometimes the facilities are not set up for healing, like special dry pastures, or enough staff to cover all the additional needs. Again, they do the best they can, but it’s difficult.

 

If the horse arrives back at a training facility, typically the trainers are busy training horses all day. Yes, trainers provide peace of mind. Yes, if something comes up, it is nice having a more experienced person to ask questions. They are also busy training horses.

 

By using a dedicated facility designed to be an “in-between” place where we have a 1-1 ratio for horse to human, which is why we restrict this service to MAX of 2 horses at a time in our facility in Clinton, IL. Each horse’s care is specialized based on your equine care team’s recommendations/treatment plans, as well as a customized recovery plan using Cowgirl Caravan’s services/modalities. Boarding includes the price of all modalities and treatments.

It’s a place between the veterinarian and returning to normal, giving trainers the space in their barns for working horses, giving boarding facilities breathing room so they do not get overwhelmed by additional care needs, and giving owners peace and breathing space too.