HEIDELBERG TOWNSHIP — Horses have always been a part of Meagan Good’s life. Growing up in Lititz, Lancaster County, she was constantly trying to find ways to get “horse time.”
“I was the horseless kid in a horse 4-H club,” Good said. She took lessons and when she was 14 had the opportunity to help train a horse. She bonded with that horse, named Charley, and a year later Good bought him.
Being around horses, Good said — changed her life. Working with them gave her confidence, taught her some important life lessons, and has led her to her professional life.
Good wanted to combine her passion with the ability to help others. She has made that happen.
Good is the co-founder of Take Heart Counseling and Equine Assisted Therapy, located on a 52-acre ranch, 699 Wooltown Road in Heidelberg Township, Berks County. She founded the practice in 2014 with her husband, Grant Good, to provide mental health counseling and wellness services using horses and the ranch environment.
Its mission is to empower individuals and families to find hope, healing, and wholeness through therapeutic work with horses, according to its website.
What started with “one horse and a dream” has grown over the past 10 years into a practice with 16 therapy horses along with other farm animals and a staff of six counselors, two administrative staff members, seven barn staff, two instructors and a large volunteer team.
Take Heart’s four licensed therapists are trained in trauma-focused equine assisted therapy. The practice has two interns who are in master’s programs.
Take Heart’s equine assisted therapy is available for individuals, couples and families dealing with a variety of issues. It also offers group sessions and workshops.
Good earned her master’s degree in professional counseling from Lancaster Bible College. She is state licensed as a professional counselor and certified in equine assisted psychotherapy. In addition, she has completed certifications in trauma-focused equine assisted neuropsychotherapy.
Take Heart’s slogan is Hope — Healing and Horses — a slogan based on Good’s passion for “combining faith, professionalism and the amazing power of the horse-human bond,” according to the website.
The name Take Heart, she said, is based on a Bible verse that encourages people to hold onto their courage and endure through challenges — and that faith is the foundation of success.
“If nothing else — hope and healing are possible. No matter how impossible or helpless it is, it’s not the end,” she said.
Clients at their first appointment meet their therapist and get a tour of the farm, Good said.
“Some people are ready to jump in … others not as quickly. The process is tailored based on their needs,” she said. Following a session or two of getting to know the client, the process moves forward to working with a horse on building a connection.
One of the first steps is for the client to meet the horse and ask it to come to them, Good said.
“Just making that request, we find therapeutic benefit,” she said. “Some people feel like their voices don’t matter. The horse has a choice, too. For a horse to choose to connect with you is powerfully healing.”
Session activities may include feeding, grooming, leading the horse, groundwork exercises or horseback riding. Along with discussion and experiential — with clients practicing skills that translate into other situations.
Good said working with horses is a natural in therapy work. Because they are herd animals, she said, horses are relationship-oriented. And, they respond to what those around them may be feeling.
Finding Her Purpose
Good’s professional journey began when she was a newly married 19 year old. She read a book about a ministry in Oregon that used equine assisted therapy to help children.
“I felt I needed to do this,” she said about equine assisted therapy.
Shortly after, she received a mailing from Lancaster Bible College with information about a program in mental health counseling.
She was on her path.
Once she graduated in 2014, the doors to her career began to open. Her pastor had a dairy farm in Ephrata and allowed her to use the property and his two horses to start her practice.
Then in 2015 the couple bought a small farm in Mohnton.
“Within a year, we knew we need a bigger spot. It took a few years, to find a place,” she said. As the process moved forward, Good said the doors just kept opening for them. After numerous rejections from banks for a loan, the couple eventually got a “yes.”
“In 2020, just three days before the COVID shutdown, we moved to the property,” she added.
Good said there were so many points along the way when it would have been easy to stop, but “every hurdle was removed.”
“We felt God was saying ‘keep going.’ And here we are,” she said.
Making a Difference
Good said response to the work Take Heart does is always positive.
“I’m grateful to be able to say that. It is the power of this work,” she said, adding that people’s lives are being changed by the horses.
One hurdle, she said is letting the community know Take Heart is there and available to work with clients, and informing people about what equine assisted therapy is.
To help with that awareness, Take Heart does community events.
Good said an open barn event in June — Take Heart’s biggest event — typically attracts more than 300 people.
Upcoming events include:
• Sunset Yoga at the Ranch — Friday Sept. 27, 6 to 7 p.m.
• Fall Fest — Saturday, Oct. 5, 3:30 to 5 p.m.
• Worship on the Ranch — Saturday, Oct. 5, 5:30 to 7 p.m.
• Kick off Your Boots — Wednesday Oct. 9 and 23, 6 to 7 p.m.
• Paint Night on the Ranch — Tuesday, Oct. 15, 5 to 7:30 p.m.
• Deck the Stalls — TBD
Some additional events that are more clinical in nature include:
• NeuroHarmony — monthly workshops for children/teens ages 5-17 learning emotional regulation and social skills
• Cowgirl Up! Retreat — a one-day retreat for women rediscovering purpose and calling
• Couples’ Communication Workshop — experiential learning workshop to equip couples with tools to argue less and advocate better
For information about upcoming events visit https://www.takeheartcounseling.com/events/
To volunteer at the ranch https://www.takeheartcounseling.com/events/
Take Heart Counseling has a partnership program that allows it to partner with individuals and organizations that might want to donate to the program. All money donated is used to provide financial assistance for client counseling. According to the website, each recipient of funding from the program receives eight sessions. For more information visit https://www.takeheartcounseling.com/partnership-program/
Take Heart Counseling and Equine Assisted Therapy works with clients from Berks, Lancaster, Chester and Lebanon counties, and has served clients from across the U.S.
