Amethyst Equine

Please welcome Dauntless Equine inc the newest Herd 2 Human program provider.

Super excited to participate this Saturday!

Our Horse Expo is this Saturday! FREE ADMISSION.
Come support our local vendors. Vendors will have booths, we will have a couple demos and people will be able to meet some of our lesson horses.

"A beautiful and rich opportunity to heal. I finished the course with a revived sense of value of hope."
-Former Herd 2 Human Student
Amethyst Equine

Join us tomorrow for an Instagram live interview with For The Blank! Talking about Amethyst Equine and Herd 2 Human ! 2/24 at noon mountain time! ?

"It has shown me that trusting an animal or human is very easy, but at the same time, trusting someone or an animal can be very challenging. This program has shown me that I can truly be myself and that I don't have to wear a mask around these people. It has shown me that horses can really help you, and truly this program has taught me that it's okay to have emotions and let them out, and that really not everybody in the world is judgmental, and that it's okay not to be okay, that it's okay to have feelings."

-L.C.
Former Amethyst Equine Student

Scott Miller is a fellow Herd 2 Human certified instructor who assists Mariah with her program at Amethyst Equine. Scott is a Sergeant Major - US Army Retired, rancher and County Commissioner of Carbon County, MT. While Scott’s focus in on veterans, he connects with our local youth in an amazing way.

Jeff Patterson has been a horseman his entire life. Jeff is the founder and master instructor of Herd 2 Human. Jeff began developing Herd 2 Human over thirteen years ago at his farm east of Missoula. The program originally focused on Veterans who suffered from PTSD or thoughts of su***de. However, Jeff soon realized that Herd 2 Human benefits anyone who has suffered some kind of trauma in their lives. In 2017, the VA approved the Herd 2 Human instructor certification school for SAA (GI Bill Funding) for Veterans qualified to attend instructor school. Now, Jeff teaches and certifies others like Mariah to share Herd 2 Human around the country, providing independent Herd 2 Human programs, like Amethyst Equine, in different communities.

Mariah went through the Herd 2 Human program as a student in 2016. She has spent most of her professional career working with “troubled” youth, and knew right away that she needed to share this program with the young adults who are suffering in her community. In the fall of 2021, this dream became a reality when Mariah went through the Herd 2 Human certified instructor school. After completing school, Mariah created Amethyst Equine: A Herd 2 Human Program.

Amethyst Equine is a certified Herd 2 Human program that focuses on serving at-risk youth (ages 13-18) in Yellowstone County. Amethyst Equine is a groundwork interspecies communication course that uses Herd 2 Human philosophies, and is created to help youth cope with stress and trauma. Amethyst Equine teaches young people confidence, leadership, and clear communication. We are for the youth in our community who may be struggling.

So excited to be featured on For The Blank 💜

Time to meet this month's second spotlight! Amethyst Equine! Amethyst Equine is a Herd 2 Human program meant specifically for teens in Yellowstone County. Herd 2 Human is an equine interspecies communication groundwork course designed to help individuals mitigate the anticipation, stress, and aftermath of trauma. The course goal is to provide tools that help individuals formulate new or renewed approaches and methods of understanding past, present or future psychological stressors or trauma that can be practiced long after completing the course. The methods used in the Herd 2 Human course promote a balance between the intuitive and cognitive thought processing of traumatic events. Herd 2 Human promotes the thought: While trauma is stressful and can be disabling, there are lessons to be learned through building appropriate and meaningful relationships with horses that are transferable and sustainable in everyday life. These lessons involve methods of perceiving and accepting that stressors or trauma and the stress of trauma can be reduced or mitigated by Herd 2 Human techniques.

H2H programs are promoted and supported projects of a non-profit, Horsepower, Inc. (https://www.horsepowermt.com)

Our Mission is to help build healthier and more resilient communities through interspecies communication with horses by providing behavioral health tools as an alternative to those who may not be responding well to traditional mental health modalities.

DM for more info, or email Mariah at: [email protected]

We can't wait to be at the McCord Training Horse Expo on May 6th at McCord Training LLC! We will be there along with some other local equine programs. We hope to see you there!

We are accepting 4-6 applications for our November class! This will be a FREE three week class on Sunday 11/6, Sunday 11/13, and Sunday 11/27 all from 12-4. For more info please message us or visit us at:

amethystequine.net

This an interspecies communication course designed to help youth who have experienced some sort of trauma build confidence and communication skills using the power of horses. Please note: this class is all ground work, meaning, there is no riding horses!

Welcome to the herd Giovanni! Thanks for hanging out with Lark and I 💜

Happy pride month! Amethyst Equine is a safe zone. Mariah and the horses are allies. We are understanding. We are non-judgmental. We are here to listen. This is a safe zone.
🤍🖤🤎💜💙💚💛🧡❤

Want to help local youth and be a part of something bigger? Amethyst Equine is currently taking donations and sponsorships to help fund future classes this summer for at risk teens in the Yellowstone County area. With your help, young adults in our community can participate in our program free of charge. Our program, with the help of the horses, teaches teens confidence, clear communication, and how to build positive relationships. For more information feel free to DM us or email Mariah at: [email protected]

Thank you for your support and welcome to the herd 💜

We are super excited to be in magazine for June! Thank you for featuring us, and thank you for capturing these photos of our first class back in March 💜

Our children deserve better 😔💔

Now offering one on one sessions for at risk youth in Yellowstone County. If you know any young adults who would benefit from working with horses please email Mariah at:

[email protected]

Or visit us at our website: amethystequine.net for more information.

A HUGE thank you to Katherine Stickroth (author of A Wallowa Gal) for donating to Amethyst Equine. Your donation means a lot, and will help fund our next class!

Spent a fun weekend helping a fellow H2H instructor with her class in Missoula. Got to spend time with my pal Yahtzee. Yahtz is the reason I became a H2H instructor and created Amethyst Equine. He was the horse I worked with when I was a H2H student seven years ago. I learned how to ride on Yahtzee. He is the horse in my logo. I owe him so much. And I love him so much. It was so special watching him help and teach a young girl this weekend, and seeing the pure joy he brought her 💜

Amethyst Equine is so honored to be a part of the Herd 2 Human family 💜 For more information on H2H programs follow the links below!

Hello! My name is Mariah, and I just wanted to introduce myself. I currently work for as their school program coordinator, but have spent six years of my professional career working with juveniles in corrections.
Amethyst Equine is a branch of Herd 2 Human (H2H) and teaches the same philosophies. I went through the H2H program seven years ago. Soon after I began riding lessons, and spent five years as a board member for Horse Power Inc. (Which helps find funding for Montana therapeutic equine programs).
I immediately knew I needed to bring H2H to our local youth, and this dream became a reality September of 2021 when I was given the opportunity to go through Herd 2 Human's certified instructor school. Then Amethyst Equine was born!
I feel so blessed to be able to start this programs for young adults in Yellowstone County (and beyond!?). Thank you for taking the time to visit my Instagram, and please don't hesitate to DM me if you have questions.
Photo Credit:

Amethyst Equine had its first class last weekend. It was not possible without the support of our community, and some shout outs are in order.
Amethyst Equine does provide lunch, dinner, and snacks for the teenagers in the program.
Thank you to Sam & Louie's, Nathan Southwick , Harvey Singh with Perch, Great Harvest Bakery, Beverley Bishop, and Debbie Welch Nette with Sam's Club for donating so much yummy food to my class last weekend!

Todd, the manager of Sam & Louie's, donated two large pizzas and two sides of breadsticks for Friday night dinner.

Nathan Southwick donated homemade chili and biscuits for lunch on Saturday.

Harvey Singh and his team at Perch came in on their day off on Sunday to make fresh lunch AND dinner for us on Sunday. All donated.

Debbie Welch Nette from Sam's Club gave us yummy muffins to snack on for breakfast.

Great Harvest Bakery gave us fresh bread to snack on for breakfast.

And Beverley Bishop donated water, juice, veggies, and fruit to snack on all weekend.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for donating to Amethyst Equine! It means a lot to me and to the kids who attended the class. We are so lucky to live in such a supportive community who cares!

Welcome to the herd. Amethyst Equine is a groundwork equine communication course for troubled and at risk youth in the Yellowstone County community. Amethyst Equine teaches philosophies to help young adults build confidence, learn clear communication skills, and helps them remove the "masks" that society bestows upon us. Amethyst Equine believes that horses see us for who we really are, and being seen is incredibly healing.