Eight weeks on the calendar. But what will you actually be doing?
It’s a fair thing to ask before signing up for Regulate & Restore™ at Nunley Family Farm. Especially if you’ve never been around horses, aren’t sure about a group, or have had quite enough of being told to relax. We can talk about all of that before you decide.
Regulate & Restore™ runs for eight weeks. It’s an adult program, in a small group, with animal-assisted experiences, nature-based regulation, and structured clinical support. You’ll find those elements in our program description, but you won’t find an activity assigned to every week. We haven’t reproduced a weekly calendar here for that reason. What follows is a look at the program’s themes. Pacing varies; call us to confirm session details and dates before booking.
First, A Few Ordinary Questions
What should you wear? And how much of the session will be spent walking? Ask us before you come. We have 40 acres of pasture and woods, and “outdoors” means actual outdoor conditions, bugs included.
An allergy to insect stings, a fear of horses, trouble managing uneven ground: these are things to bring up when you contact us, not after you arrive. We can talk about possible alternatives. We can’t promise every part of the property or every activity will be suitable, so the earlier we have that conversation, the better.
There’s also the group itself to think about. Regulate & Restore™ doesn’t require forced sharing. You can ask who’ll be in charge of your sessions and how privacy is handled. We’d want to know those things, too. Ask what “structured clinical support” means for your group, including the qualifications and role of the people providing it.
We come from a military and law enforcement family. Service matters to us, and part of that is being straightforward about what we offer. You need enough information to decide, not a sales pitch about how you’re supposed to feel afterward.
Getting Familiar With Stress
Nervous system education is part of the program. The word “regulation” can sound rather technical until you connect it with an ordinary moment. You’re answering one more request, for example, and only later realize how tightly you’ve been holding your jaw.
That isn’t a diagnosis. It’s an example of something you might notice about yourself. Maybe your signals are different. You might lose your train of thought halfway through a conversation. Or say “fine” because it’s the quickest answer. There can be room to explore those responses without deciding that every sensation means the same thing for everybody.
We aren’t promising a permanently calm version of you. Life will still make demands. The program’s focus includes awareness and practical regulation skills, with the hope that you’ll find things worth using beyond your time here.
And “restore”? For one person, rest may be the thing that’s missing. For another, it’s the ability to say no without spending the rest of the day worrying about it. No need to prepare a speech for us. “I’m exhausted, and I’d like to know what this involves” is enough to open the conversation.
Grounding Without Forcing It
Forest and grounding work belong to the program’s published structure. This is one reason the setting matters: there are things to notice outside the thoughts you brought with you. Trees, sounds, the ground under your feet. Nothing very elaborate is required to describe those surroundings.
Of course, being out in the woods isn’t everybody’s idea of a restful afternoon. And an instruction to notice your breathing can be unpleasant for some people. If that’s you, tell us. Looking around and thinking “Everybody else seems okay, so I’d better keep quiet” won’t help us understand what you need.
Grounding isn’t necessarily an eyes-closed exercise. Listening to a sound nearby is one example of another approach to ask about. It’s an example only, not an entry on your group’s schedule. Before signing up, you’re welcome to ask us to explain the planned practices and discuss alternatives.
The Animals Have Their Own Needs
Animal-assisted learning is another part of Regulate & Restore™. A relaxed-looking horse is still a horse. Listen to the handler, give the animal space, and don’t assume you can approach without guidance. The animals live here; their needs count throughout a session.
Please don’t read a horse moving away as a judgment of you. It might be responding to any number of things. Animals cannot tell us your emotional history, and their behavior isn’t a diagnostic tool. We won’t treat it as one.
You may have your own observations afterward. “I didn’t understand the instruction.” Or “I wanted to move farther away.” Those are perfectly useful things to tell the facilitator. Much more useful than trying to guess what an animal supposedly thinks of you.
You’ll see different animal experiences mentioned across our farm offerings. That doesn’t mean they’re all included in Regulate & Restore™. If you have a particular activity in mind, check with us. Riding and grooming, for example, are different experiences; neither should be taken for granted when you apply for this program.
Boundaries Can Be Quite Plain
Sometimes a boundary sounds like “No, not today.” Sometimes it’s “I need a minute.” It doesn’t always arrive as a big, confident speech.
Our program aims to include boundaries and self-trust. The questions that come with that can be quite small at first: can you ask to pause, and what happens if you’d rather listen than speak? Get the group expectations clear with us beforehand. You shouldn’t have to guess.
There can be a temptation to hear somebody else’s difficulty and immediately start working out how to solve it. Particularly if looking after other people occupies most of your day already. In a group, listening doesn’t make their problem your assignment.
Nor is there an assignment to have a breakthrough. You might finish an activity and have very little to say about it. Another experience might leave you with a question you want to revisit. We can make room for reflection without insisting every moment has a lesson attached.
Making Use Of The Experience At Home
Our published program includes reflection and integration. The second word sounds formal, but the question behind it is familiar enough: “What do I do with this when I get home?”
Home may be noisy. Work may be exhausting. The phone doesn’t stop ringing because you’ve spent time on the farm. We’d rather discuss those realities than build a plan around a quiet hour you never actually have.
For example, there might be a moment in your day when a short pause is possible. Or you may recognize that you need more help than you’ve been asking for. That’s the kind of everyday application worth considering. These are discussion examples, not tasks assigned to specific weeks.
We also need to be realistic about what a farm program can do. Grief, persistent sleep problems, and other concerns can require individual clinical assessment. Please don’t put that care aside in the hope that an activity here will take its place.
Looking Beyond The Program
Near the end, the questions may be less about what happens on the farm and more about what you’ll keep using. You may have liked one practice and disliked another. We’d rather hear that than a glowing report you don’t really mean.
Regulate & Restore™ includes skills intended for use beyond the farm. Continuing with a practice that suited you might be one next step. Talking with your existing provider about unresolved concerns might be another. Needing further support doesn’t mean you got the program wrong.
Eight weeks is not a recovery deadline. Outcomes vary, and we don’t guarantee an improvement or a particular result. The program is not a substitute for licensed mental health or medical care you need. Already in treatment? Keep working with your provider and discuss whether joining us fits your treatment plan. Ask us about the scope of the clinical support here as well.
Let’s Talk About Whether It Fits
Our eight-week program is for adults, including caregivers, clinicians, first responders, and people dealing with trauma exposure, burnout, or chronic stress. Other farm experiences have different purposes and formats. A family outing, for instance, isn’t the same offering.
Call Nunley Family Farm in Hohenwald, TN at (951) 202-7727 to ask about Regulate & Restore™. We can go over the current schedule and session details, along with practical concerns about access or participation. If your first question is simply “What happens when I get there?”, start there. We’d like you to know before you come.