About Us

Ara Equus was initiated by Bentley, a buffwing macaw that transformed the lives of its founders.  Despite a life expectancy of 80+ years, Bentley left this world prematurely at age 13. The devastation of his passing was profound and still touches the essence of day-to-day activity on the ranch. In his way, he communicated unconditional positive regard, respect and connection, the foundational principles of Ara Equus Horse Guided Wellness & Psychotherapy.

                    Ara means macaw, and Equus means horse. Together they pave the way to understanding the world through the lens of wisdom that can only be experienced in nature. Both, parrots and horse are prey animals. Their very survival relies on their ability to read situations to preserve their safety. Unlike dogs, cats and other pets with underlying predatory instincts, among horses the wisdom of cooperation is imperative to their survival and that of their herd. The moment you step into their presence, you become one with them. They mirror the authenticity that you bring and gently guide you to feel the very essence of yourself. 

          Safety, grounding, boundaries, and mindfulness are the first lessons they teach and the priority we always keep. 

Ara Equus is a pioneering mental health and wellness centre located in Tweed, Ontario. We offer conventional psychotherapy specializing in trauma and incorporate equine-assisted and personal development programs to facilitate healing and growth. Our mission is to offer sanctuary for individuals to explore their inner selves and embrace their authenticity through the transformative power of horses. Our team of certified professionals provide a compassionate, supportive, and empowering experience for all clients.

Ara Equus' mission includes an unyielding commitment to mental health including partnering with other healthcare professionals (as needed) to promote collaborative and holistic care.

          We, as practitioners are academically credentialed, trauma-informed and culturally competent. We bring a diverse set of skills acquired through unique professional backgrounds (postgraduate education, teaching, business and mental health). We prioritize a safe supportive space where clients feel understood and respected. We are sensitive to the potential impacts of trauma in all interactions, and emphasize choice for both the clients and the horses.  We are committed to avoiding re-traumatizing and to rebuilding trust and safety through human-horse connections. We are educated on how trauma affects the brain and body and hold space for clients to heal. We adhere to strict ethical guidelines and standards including confidentiality, informed consent, client-centeredness and professional boundaries.

          Polly the gregarious amazon parrot lived to be over 50 years old. Here we see Gus and Thunder giving Polly their blessing shortly before she passed away. Ara Equus embodies the shared wisdom of Humans, Parrots and Horses. 

I can still hear the echo of her laughter.

Our Journey

Tina Pennacchio

B.A.S, MACP (in progress), EAL 

          Growing up in Montreal, in a tight-knit Italian community, family, food and friends were at the core of my being. I was the sensitive little girl who enjoyed the simple things in life like baking cookies with my mom, knitting with my nonna and swimming or skating in the park across the street. Then at age 8, my world was shattered by oppressive sexual power, and fear was ever-present. For the first time in my young life, I was alone with deep dark secrets. Breaking free meant stepping away from a patriarchal, collectivist culture, and a religious upbringing that ascribes to submission. My family lacked the willingness or tools to face the hard truths that I experienced. While others withdrew in the comfort of denying, pretending, suppressing, and placating, these responses did not serve me. I needed to find a way to reconcile the brokenness within me as I put the pieces back together.

          Survival instincts kicked in as I walked away from everything that felt familiar to carve out my own path and claim my strength. In doing so, I came to honor my truth, affirming my core values of authenticity, connection, compassion, and resilience. Growth became moving beyond the pain, the confusion, the isolation and the shame. I haven’t always known where I was headed but I trusted the journey, which initially began in the corporate world where I learned to over-perform and persevere through the chaos. While I was busy earning sales awards and recognitions, the unspoken truths bubbled up inside me as I was wounded, disconnected, isolated and felt utterly hopeless. I knew I was destined to channel my past into a meaningful future, one that involved helping others, but it took years to discover what that really looked like. It was at the age of 35, and 20 years after the abuse, that this “big T” trauma sent me on a downward spiral, manifesting in Complex PTSD. Everything in my life unraveled, my marriage, my ability to focus and be productive and even my ability to think clearly. I shut down. The day of reckoning came. I had to look at trauma and figure out how to heal.

Then along came Susan

          The veil of trauma caused me to reorganize my life. Following my divorce, my relationship with Susan deepened. I owe her a debt of gratitude for seeing my essence amid confusion and anguish. Our shared woundedness and understanding of trauma has strengthened who we became, and Ara Equus was birthed from our combined determination as we grew and healed together.

Then along came Bentley

          At the height of brokenness, I met Bentley a baby buff-wing macaw who taught me about commitment, love, loss and sacrifice. It felt like I was meant to become his mom. I spent the first 9 months hand feeding him before he came home and became hopeful imagining the joy of us growing old together. I was utterly devastated when at 13, Bentley passed away from an auto-immune condition. His spirit and everlasting presence in my heart significantly influenced the direction in my life.

Then along came George

          My affinity to horses was birthed after an encounter with a horse named George. In his presence, I immediately felt safe in my body in ways that no amount of talk therapy or cognitive processing could have accomplished. I knew there was something far more powerful beneath the surface so a year later I completed EAL certification training where I explored deeper the true nature of horses in human growth and learning. It set me on a path of higher learning to explore the art and science of how to integrate horses into healing trauma. My life had entered a new dimension.

Then along came Gus

          Bentley was the gentle giant of birds; Gus is the gentle giant of horses. When I looked into his eyes, Gus gave me the same look Bentley did all those years ago and I knew we had great things to do together. He is the keeper of the herd and carries the legacy Bentley started. Today, Susan and I have a herd of 5 (4 horses and a donkey) who command me to be mindful.

Coming home to myself

          It wasn’t enough to speak if not grounded in integrity. Telling my story means nothing if the fruits of wisdom are not present. At age 50, I went back to school to pursue a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology. What has always felt predestined is now my reality. Becoming a Registered Psychotherapist in 2025 and specializing in trauma alongside my herd is what I was put on this earth to do. I learned that emotions are fluid, their messages are gifts that help us understand what our body are telling us when words cannot, to reprocess how we experience them. Today, my heart is soft, my shoulders broad, and my resilience grounded in hard life lessons. I know how to stand amid turmoil and emerge on the other side.

Susan Marie

BPE, BEd, MHK, FEEL®, EAL 

 

          As much as I love my rural Newfoundland roots, my life began with harrowing challenges no child should have to endure. In the quest to find safety in the world and inner peace, I’ve had to confront illness, oppression, trauma and near-death experiences. In doing so, I steadfastly uphold my values of truth, authenticity, courage, compassion and hope. Channeling my energy into helping others honour their truth and find their way is the purpose for which I believe I was destined.

          What I bring to Ara Equus is a diverse mix of academic, athletic and life experiences. My professional career began as a Phys. Ed teacher but was interrupted by illness after a few short years. After moving to Ontario for treatment, I was determined to find answers that would help me heal. My journey led me to complete a master’s degree in kinesiology with postgraduate research focusing on sport psychology, eating disorders, self-injury, trauma and abuse. I’ve always believed that education empowers freedom, validating the wrongness of the past trauma and helping me find my voice. 

          After years of being silenced by those whose secrets were shrouded in lies, I engaged in active and meaningful roles in community advocacy. It took tremendous but unwavering courage to stand up for what is right, engaging in round table discussions with the Toronto Police Services on sexual abuse, speaking out on behalf of the Canadian Center for Abuse Awareness and the Martin Kruz Foundation, peer-facilitating psychoeducational groups at CAMH, and exposing the truth through several documentary films. While no accolade was necessary, I was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for bravely risking it all to raise awareness of mental health, eating disorders, abuse and violence against women and children.

          Years of conventional therapy had little long-term effect on the complexity of trauma I carried.  I’ve always been passionate about non-conventional approaches to mental health and wellness, first finding a path of expression through nature photography and nature itself. Animals have been a part of my life since childhood so not surprisingly, mindfulness and connecting with the spirit of nature were my lifeline. I credit a turning point in my own healing to my first parrot, who like horses, is a prey animal. The role of prey animals in healing is unlike any other species. I was introduced to horses later in life while visiting a horse rescue on a photo shoot and feeling a deep connection to this majestic mare who was able to reach inside my soul. Fast forward a few years, I attended an equine healing retreat where I became mesmerized by the enlightenment of the horses and was drawn towards their power, spirit and wisdom. It was these experiences that inspired my mission to learn more about the science of horse human partnerships as a means to foster healing.

          Soon afterwards, I purchased a farm with Tina and we set out to find our horse partners. It was important to find the right horses, the ones that spoke to us with their eyes and their hearts, that understood trauma from their own life experiences and that had the calm and gentleness essential to help people feel safe. What mattered most was who they were and how they touched our souls. Gus and Thunder captured this perfectly. They were later joined by Joey, a sweet and spunky donkey and two Gypsy Vanners, Raffy and Chunk.

          Having completed certification in the intensive evidence-based, internationally recognized FEEL® (Facilitated Equine Experiential Learning) and Dreamwinds/Cartier Farms EAL (Equine Assisted Learning) training programs, I honour who we are as people, connected in a healing space defined by inclusivity, choice, mindfulness, and safety, for horse and human.  Horses have helped me take back my life so now it is my turn to help others take back theirs. Horses don’t lie. They don’t keep secrets. They don't betray. They honour our truth. They hold a space of safety and reconnection with ourselves so that we can reclaim our lives and our dignity. Partnering with horses to help others find meaning in their suffering and to heal from the trauma that has isolated and entrapped them for so long is the most beautiful way to reconcile what has been lost.

"Those who teach us more about humanity aren't always humans."

Donald L. Hicks