Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Heather Kraus. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Heather, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I’ve been around horses since I was a little girl. Long before I had language for nervous system regulation or emotional processing, I knew there was something different about being around them. They had a way of settling me, reflecting my emotions without judgment, and creating a sense of safety that felt almost unexplainable at the time.
Years later, during my own healing journey, I began studying nervous system work and energy awareness. That is when everything clicked. What I felt as a child was not magic. It was regulation, presence, and attunement. Horses are incredibly intuitive animals. They respond to our internal state with honesty and clarity.
I realized there was an opportunity to bring that lifelong connection together with structured, intentional support for women navigating life transitions. Mystic Hooves Healing was born from that integration. It was never about creating something trendy. It was about giving language and structure to something I had known in my bones my entire life.

Heather, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am the founder of Mystic Hooves Healing, a space where nervous system awareness, emotional healing, and the intuitive presence of horses come together. I have been around horses since I was a little girl, and even then I understood there was something deeply regulating about being in their presence. I just did not yet have the language for it.
My work centers around helping women reconnect to themselves during seasons of transition. Through guided equine experiences, nervous system education, and grounded energy work, I create a safe environment where women can slow down, process, and rebuild from the inside out. Horses are honest mirrors. They respond to what is authentic, not what is performed, which allows clients to experience clarity in a way that feels immediate and embodied.
What sets my work apart is that it bridges lived experience with practical application. I am not offering fantasy or escape. I am offering regulation, reflection, and responsibility. I also support children in respite care, which reflects the heart of my work: creating safe, steady spaces for healing across generations.
What I am most proud of is that this business was born from my own transformation. Mystic Hooves Healing is not just a brand. It is an extension of the life I am actively living and the integrity I continue to build.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

One of the greatest tests of my resilience came during a season when my life looked fine from the outside, but internally I was unraveling. I had been a stay at home mom for years, financially dependent, disconnected from myself, and quietly questioning everything. My marriage, my purpose, and my worth all felt uncertain.
There were nights I would lie awake wondering how I would ever stand on my own two feet again. I had not worked in years. I doubted whether I could support myself or my children. At the same time, I felt an undeniable pull toward healing. Toward Reiki. Toward horses. Toward something bigger than the life I was living.
Instead of ignoring that pull, I followed it.
I became Reiki certified. I rented a small, beautiful space. I cleaned horse stalls to pay for that room. I showed up scared. I showed up uncertain. I showed up anyway.
There were moments when I questioned everything, especially financially, but each time I wanted to shrink back into what was comfortable, I chose growth instead. I chose faith. I chose to believe that if I was brave enough to heal myself, I could help other women do the same.
That season taught me that resilience is not loud and it is not glamorous. Sometimes it is quietly deciding, over and over again, that you will not abandon yourself.
Today I run Mystic Hooves Healing, blending Reiki with the intuitive and grounding power of horses. More than that, I stand as proof that you can rebuild your life from the inside out, even when you are terrified.
Resilience for me was choosing myself when it would have been easier not to.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

For most of my life I believed being a good woman meant being selfless to the point of depletion. I believed strength meant staying quiet, holding everything together, and sacrificing my own needs to keep the peace. I learned to overgive, overfunction, and overcompensate. On the outside it looked like loyalty and devotion. On the inside it felt like exhaustion and disconnection from myself.
The backstory is simple but painful. I had slowly abandoned myself in order to maintain a life that looked stable. I convinced myself that staying small was noble. I told myself that my desires were selfish. I believed that if I just loved harder, tried harder, and endured longer, things would eventually feel aligned.
They did not.
Through my own healing journey, through therapy, prayer, Reiki, and the grounding wisdom of horses, I began to see that self abandonment is not love. It is fear. I had to unlearn the belief that suffering equals loyalty and that silence equals strength.
What I replaced it with is this truth. My worth is inherent. It is not earned through sacrifice. Healthy love does not require me to disappear. Strength is choosing alignment even when it disrupts comfort.
Unlearning that lesson changed everything. It is why I now help other women remember who they are before the world told them who they needed to be.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heatherkraussss?igsh=aTZ1Z3BoeXVmb2Q5
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/171RY5SbaC/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-kraus-8835a9259?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app

Image Credits

Wandering Dragonfly Photography