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

Steffi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.

My work serves horses and through that ultimately also their owners.

The equine industry can be a harsh place to be in, with competition and compliance being ingrained from a very early age. This can create immense pressure, which is not only felt by the owners, but ultimately also has a huge effect on the horses.

We’re given less time to achieve certain milestones, which in itself is asking for harsher methods. The worst thing: it appears as if a huge fraction of the industry lost sight of what is really important. When we look at a horse-human pair, we want to see and feel their connection. We want to experience their perfect unison. We want to see balance and harmony.

Instead, we often see animal welfare relevant behaviour.

I help horse owners who ask themselves whether there is another way. I help them understand their horses better and by that, I ultimately help them on their individual journey of horse-human connection and personal growth.

By embarking on this journey away from what the industry is asking and towards this idea of connection between two sentient beings, we can drop deeper within ourselves. We learn to connect not just with our horses, but also with ourselves. We open doors to a connection that goes beyond mere commands.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Since I can remember I have been a horse enthusiast. I was lucky enough to be able to learn how to ride in a relatively carefree and relaxed setting, by sharing horses with incredibly knowledgeable owners. Each of them emphasised the horse, so I learned early on, that listening to the horses and working with them rather than against them is key. I learned how to read equine behaviour and how to tune into my intuition whilst interacting with them.

After school I moved to the UK and studied Equine Science (BSc & MSc), which was my attempt to learn a lot more about these magnificent creatures. I wanted to understand everything about horses in order to be better for them. It became clear to me that my passion was helping horses live better lives, from within and without, so I also certified as an Equine Sports and Rehabilitation Massage Therapist.

During my undergraduate degree I was joined by my very first own horse, Sun, a beautiful chestnut Tennessee Walking Horse mare.

Sun arrived in the UK and I could feel that she was unhappy. She became lethargic and lost condition. At some point I became so worried that I initiated moving her to my own paddock paradise and finding her a friend for life. This is how my Exmoor Pony Bee joined us.

Bee had a tough run of things before she joined the family and whilst Sun was very forgiving of mistakes and open towards humans, Bee was the complete opposite. Anything I did or asked was met with fight or flight, often accompanied by legs or teeth flying into my direction.

I knew Bee wasn’t a “bad” horse, she was just constantly misunderstood and misjudged. Her needs were constantly overlooked and simply put, not met. She did not feel safe around humans – and why would she. Her nervous system constantly went into a survival mode and it was on me to figure out how to help her.

It was crushing to realise that all the scientific background in the world wouldn’t help us and is only one aspect. So I did what I used to do when I was younger: I listened to the horse. Sun and Bee became my guides on this new journey of uncovering what connection truly means and how it can be achieved.

On this journey together, Bee blossomed into a beautiful character. Her personality started to shine through more and more every day and her nervous system was able to relax, knowing that I really was a safe person who wouldn’t force her to go over threshold in each interaction. She opened up, engaged more and eventually she even enjoyed being a ridden pony on hacks, all of which brought tears to my eyes. Bee was a gift.

In 2019 I moved into an old mill in Northern Germany, where I was able to create my very own paddock paradise and co-create with my animals, offering them a natural and engaging environment to thrive in. Living with them in such close proximity has been a source of constant inspiration, because I realised that there are so many moments people miss out on if their sole focus is riding or training their horse.

Science for Soundness was first born in 2014, with the main focus on equine therapy. I soon became frustrated treating the same horses over and over again for issues that were clearly caused by the same human actions. So I went a little deeper and created an environment for those horse owners to become experts for their own horses. This, I believe, will ultimately be the best way to ensure animal welfare as well as happy horse owners.

I now offer online courses and a membership called the Inner Circle, which I created for horse owners who are asking themselves the bigger, deeper and more difficult questions. I am proud of this inclusive safe space in which I am able to co-create with my members, who are horse owners and enthusiasts from all corners of the world. As the Inner Circle grows, so will its contents.

Training is an aspect we touch on, but as this is not a one size fits all situation, I teach horse owners to become their horse’s trainer by better understanding them and the context of their interaction. I help horse owners connect with their horses, by realising that our nervous systems play a huge role in every interaction and by being able to read their facial and body expressions accordingly.

Ultimately, working on all of this, horse owners become more attuned to their own needs, feel safer within their horse-human interactions and therefore more connected with themselves as well.

I believe that this knowledge has the power to change the way we look at horses (and hopefully all sentient beings) in the long run. I see a future in which connection is placed above compliance.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I created Science for Soundness in 2014, when the focus was a very different one to what it is today. I started this business whilst I was working full-time, kept both my horses in a DIY livery, raised a puppy and did my postgraduate degree. All of this came to a head during the writing process of my master’s thesis.

Whilst every fibre in my body was telling me to drop it, I kept holding on to this idea that I can be a voice for horses and help humans understand them better. Even when everyone around me kept saying this endeavour is way too idealistic, I believed in it wholeheartedly.

At first, this was a side hustle. Over the years it turned into a full-time position, whilst also shifting the focus from working as an equine therapist to becoming a speaker and coach for horse owners. I challenged myself to be more visible December 22, which changed the trajectory of everything.

I now receive very lovely and personal messages from horse owners on a regular basis. Those people reach out to let me know me how much my work has positively impacted their horse human connection, the way they see themselves and their horses better and how they feel supported and inspired by what I do.

These are people who are viewing my free content, predominantly on Instagram. It gives me so much hope for the future of the equine world, animal welfare and humanity in general. It keeps me going, even when the going gets tough.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

In this whole process I had to unlearn the idea that knowledge is everything. Coming from a scientific background, it is very frustrating to realise this is not the whole picture. And why would it be?

We still see adults hurting each other as well as animals, despite knowing they should do differently. Knowledge alone is not enough to keep people accountable for their actions. There has to be something else that informs actions. For me, that piece of the puzzle is connection.

From an early age we learn to conform, raise our hands when we want to speak or have basic needs. We learn that we have to suppress and bury them because they won’t be heard anyway. How could we expect humans to treat animals any different, when they cannot even treat themselves better?

Being able to feel ourselves, speak our needs, set boundaries and being grounded all whilst being 100% safe within our bodies and our environment. All of this is also fed by our intuition and adds to the knowledge we gather.

Connection within ourselves, will ultimately create space for a connection with others. The knowledge we attain, coupled with this connection, will allow us to shift our perception and reality.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.scienceforsoundness.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scienceforsoundness/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScienceforSoundness
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scienceforsoundness/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scienceforsoundness
• Other: Online Learning and Membership Platform: https://scienceforsoundness.thinkific.com

Image Credits
Hooves and Paws Photography Kimiigrafie Kaike Tappe Fotografie