'Horses Saved My Life' - Alumna Pursues Calling of Working with Horses, People

July 19, 2023

By Christi Mays

Growing up, Megan Kenney ‘14 did not have a very safe childhood. “There was a lot of abuse. I know I probably wouldn’t be standing here today if it wasn’t for horses in my life.” Because of her deep love for the creatures that provided her comfort and love as a child, she has always wanted to advocate for them. She also has a heart for healing people like herself who have suffered trauma and abuse. “So what better thing in this world than to combine the two? For me, it just made sense,” said Megan, who officially opened Aisling Ranch in South Belton in 2015, where she raises and trains horses and their riders from all over the country. But this isn’t just any horse-training ranch. Megan, who earned her master’s degree in counseling in 2014, weaves together the clinical skills she learned as a graduate student at UMHB with a lifetime of equestrian experience to bring out the best in both horse and rider. “The skill set I learned at UMHB as a clinician magnified and heightened the fundamental work I do with the horses and the people. It allowed me to tap into that empowerment potential,” she explained.

PATH OF HEALING

Her approach is holistic— helping the horse be a better horse, helping the human be a better version of themselves, and teaching both to help each other as a team.

To do this, she trains the horses to be flexible in mind and body with the ability to emotionally regulate their limbic systems and avoid a “flight or fight” reaction when their humans make mistakes, which, she explained, are often the reason horses buck off riders, bolt, bite or kick. In turn, she teaches the riders the signs to recognize when they aren’t communicating well with their horses. These queues make it less likely for the rider to get thrown off or hurt.

“The partnership is more than just a mutual respect. It’s a partnership of empowerment. It’s a partnership that can allow healing and joy and finding ways to be content in life, even when things aren’t OK,” she said.

Through the years, she has helped many horses, often serving as a last-stop resort for horse owners.

“I’ve dealt with some incredibly dangerous horses, and the turnaround is amazing,” she said.

She’s also seen people find healing through the horses—some have had traumatic experiences with horses and are terrified of getting back in the saddle, while others have emotional damage from their past, just like Megan.

“I never underestimate how influential and impactful a horse can have over somebody being able to heal that part of themselves,” she said.

HOW IT ALL STARTED

Megan has been around horses her entire life. At 16, she began training them and dreamed of one day owning her own business working with them.

“But I was petrified about making this a business,” she said.

Instead, she decided to become a licensed professional counselor to concentrate on helping people.

After finishing her bachelor ’s degree in psychology at Norwich University in Vermont in 2005, she met Andrew in 2006. They married, and in 2009 had their first child, Daelyn, who was born with special needs. Navigating and advocating for her daughter’s special needs helped magnify Megan’s love for helping others and intensified her desire to work in a “helping profession.”

While living in Arizona, where Andrew was stationed with the U.S. Army, Megan started taking classes to get her master’s degree in counseling. About halfway through the program, though, her husband got orders to Fort Hood.

“I remember feeling like the rug was taken out from under me,” she said, explaining that many of the credits she’d gotten didn’t transfer to UMHB, where she decided to finish her degree. Looking back now, she sees it as a blessing in disguise.

“Going through the (counseling) program at UMHB, which is accredited, was a game-changer,” she said. “Having a wonderful Christian learning environment didn’t just teach me how to just survive; I learned to thrive. That kind of growth developed me into the person I am today.”

FINDING HER CALLING

While getting the 3,000 clinic hours she needed to finish her training, Megan gained a variety of experience, from working in a women’s maximum-security penitentiary to setting up counseling services at a free clinic to creating a free play-therapy service for underprivileged families. But soon after she finished the hours, Megan felt God pulling her in a different direction—to do the very thing that petrified her in high school—creating a business with her horses.

Everyone told her she was a “little crazy” not going into private practice, but she felt proud to be strong enough to let God lead her into what she was meant to do.

“This is what God called me to do. And if anything, this is the biggest blessing!”

FINDING GOD—AGAIN

Going through grad school not only provided the skills and confidence Megan needed to start her horse-training business, it also led her to God.

“There was a lot of spiritual and emotional growth that happened for me,” she said.

Even though she had grown up in a Catholic home, she had fallen away from God because of the abuse.

“At one point in my life, I would have told people I was agnostic… I was petrified to believe in God because of where I came from.”

Before making the financial and time commitment to finish her degree at UMHB, Megan made an internal contract with herself—to heal.

“I had to just lay it all out and be honest with who I am and how I became who I am.”

With the help of all her professors, Megan excelled in school and ended up graduating with a 4.0. But more importantly, she found her way back to God and accepted Jesus as her Savior.

“All the professors provided a safe place to ask questions about God and Christianity,” she said. “If I hadn’t gone to UMHB, I don’t know where I’d be now, but I definitely know it wouldn’t be this.”

Megan says she believes God gives people, who don’t work specifically in ministry, special gifts and talents to share God’s love with others.

“I feel like that’s what I get to do here at my ranch,” she said. “My ministry is how I live every day and model that to other people. There’s no way I could do that without UMHB.”

Megan looks back at the roundabout way she came into her profession and now sees that every step was interconnected and purposeful in preparing her to help horses and people.

“I get to look back at it with gratitude and as a blessing. I am doing exactly what I’ve always wanted to do and what I’m good at,” she said. “It’s my calling. I’m so at peace with it.”

Photos courtesy Samantha Dawn Equine Photography.