We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Bonny Mealand. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Bonny below.

Bonny, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

A day in my life – I’m resting on a bed of soft moss, the earthy smell surrounding me made all the more intense by the warmth of the sun. The soft dense plant conforms around the shape of my body and I feel completely supported in a green embrace. Above me seabirds soar and wheel in a pristine blue sky and I hear and feel the vibrations of the Atlantic rollers as they break against the rocky shoreline far below me. I lick my lips and taste salt as a fine mist from the breakers drifts upwards. The storms from a few days ago have increased the ocean swell and these waves have surged across vast distances to reach the shore of this beautiful island, Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland.

The extraordinary clarity of light that I have only ever experienced in the Hebrides sparkles in its intensity. Everything seems magnified and vibrant. At the edge of my vision I catch sight of white movement and a small pony walks into view. Wide awake now I sit up and nestle comfortably back into the sun warmed rock beside me. My binoculars are to hand and my notebook ready. Does pony watching, (or ethological study) get any better than this? I don’t think so.

I can say with huge confidence that I have the best job in the world!

In her wildest dreams the horse mad young girl that I was could never have imagined the life I lead now, traveling the world to study and work with wild and free-living horses of all kinds. Do I ever wish I had a regular job? Definitely not!

Bonny, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi, my name is Bonny Mealand and my specialised niece is trimming the hooves of wild horses in a gentle and effective way. My business Touching Wild is built around promoting and implementing equine well-being and connecting people passionate about horses in unique and profound ways. I run in person workshops, 1:1 online behaviour consultations and have developed an online course which is built around a vibrant, kind and supportive community of equine advocates.

Enchanted by horses since my earliest days even growing up on a boat didn’t lessen my pull towards them. The feelings of freedom, connection and joy that I experienced on my adventures with the pony Frosty as a child have been my true north. Rediscovering these elements, learning from horses themselves and atoning for the mistakes I make along the way have guided my path. My ultimate goal is to be a person horses choose to spend time with and to share as much about my passion as I can with those who are interested.

I am committed to helping people better understand equines so they can work with and care for them in a species appropriate and compassionate way.

The Heart of My Work is Trusting Relationships

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

On a remote island at the edge of the Atlantic in the midst of a gale swept sea, where vibrant greens contrast with stoic grey in a dramatic clash of grass and rock, my career took an unexpected turn. The journey by boat introduced an element of unpredictably right from the start. The rolling waves and strong winds made landing far from certain. I didn’t realise it at the time but the voyage itself played a part in preparing me for the work I was there to do. Embracing flexibility and acceptance in the face of the unknown helped lay the groundwork for what became a life-changing experience. The inhabitants of the island would inspire a quest that would reshape not only my approach to horses and but to every aspect of my life.

The task I faced on the far shore was daunting: to attend and trim the overgrown hooves of over 40 free-living ponies. Skittish and wary, many of the ponies were either unhandled or previously mistreated. Meeting these ponies where they lived marked the beginning of a significant unlearning process, shattering an overconfident belief in my abilities to handle and train horses. It was because of this humbling experience that I discovered the beautiful complexity of horses.

I had always imagined life-changing horses would be like film stars – beautiful, dramatic, and commanding attention. In reality, the most profound lessons often come from those who fly under the radar. In my case, a mob of little grey ponies – small, scruffy, and wary of humans – turned out to be my greatest teachers; they led me to question everything I thought I knew and to seek a totally different way of seeing and understanding horses. The ponies became my touchstone.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

“Touching The Wild” by Joe Hutto

I was very fortunate when I first started researching natural animal behaviour to come across the book ʻTouching the Wildʼ written by the remarkable Ethologist Joe Hutto, in whose honour my work is named. This book is about his experiences over the nine years he spent living with Mule Deer. Every day he would pack a lunch and go out with the herd, experiencing as well as observing their lives. This is what Joe has to say about his ethological work,

“The observations Iʼve made are not complex. If I have a gift, itʼs for recognising the obvious. But unless you become a part of the lives of these animals and put in the days and months and years, these observations will elude you. Iʼm like a cultural anthropologist, studying the animalsʼ social lives”.

His words had a profound effect on me, they spoke to me of deeper, hidden truths that only spending agenda free time in the company of animals can teach us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.touchingwild.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/touching_wild
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/TouchingWild/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonny-mealand
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@touchingwild
• Other: Newsletter sign up – https://linktr.ee/TouchingWild Touching the wild heart of horses community – https://equine-blueprint.mn.co/settings/landing-page

Image Credits
Jean Sinclair