About Us
Meet Hertha Lund
Navigating through life’s challenges, I always felt that I wasn’t here just to exist and do well in my outer life. Deep inside I felt I was here for a purpose, and I was always searching to find what that purpose was.
Moving through the normal course of education and everyday life, I did my best to understand and learn how to do well and be successful. I have pursued a spiritual path and have studied the mystical paths of the world’s religions for many years. I married a good man and launched my own successful law practice. But I still felt I was missing something. I was neither very healthy nor very happy. In fact, I was very unhealthy at many levels. I knew I was harboring unresolved issues from trauma I suffered early in life, but I tried to ignore those issues, hoping they would just go away. But they didn’t, and I don’t think unresolved issues ever disappear on their own.
Hertha Lund, Esq. | Certified Equine Gestaltist
The Change
In 2015, I had a near-death experience. I had severe inflammation that was systemic throughout my body and centered around my heart and lungs. At one point, while lying in a hospital bed, I had the experience of leaving my body and moving up. Part of me wanted to leave, but I knew I still had important work to do. I talked to God and promised that if he let me live, I would do everything possible to become whole, embody my real self, and fulfill my reason for being. I returned to my body, and after some days, I left the hospital.
Since that time, I have wholeheartedly pursued healing and wholeness in my inner and outer self. At times, it has been a hard path, but by moving forward even when it was hard, uncomfortable, sometimes terrifying, I have found more inner peace, joy, and love. I am so grateful for the wake-up call.
During healing journey, I experienced the Equine Gestalt Coaching Method®. Even as a small child, I loved horses, and I found solace and felt deeply connected to something greater than me when I was with horses. With my horses, I felt hope and the sense that there were possibilities beyond the trauma I had experienced in my life. The horses helped me open my heart and gave me courage to pursue the healing of my past traumas. In my practice, I have seen many others also experience profound healing as they connect with the horses.
In this work, I strive to provide a safe space and deep support for my clients to enable them to find the courage to explore the places inside them that they have often avoided because it was too painful and scary to go there. To my surprise, when I finally ventured to those places within myself, I discovered that they were actually portals leading to healing and that they contained valuable gifts to assist me in my journey. I found that the path to wholeness, which requires courage and is often painful, is well worth the inconvenience and pain. Now I feel free at many levels to live life true to my inner self and calling.
Today I live on a ranch in Montana with my husband John Grande, horses, cows, our cow dogs Chewie and Rose, and the barn cats. And I am eager to share the inner gems I discovered on my way with you.
Meet the Team
Why Horses
Horses are kind, wise creatures who are keenly tuned in to what humans feel. They want us to be present and grounded, which means we feel comfortable and unfearful when we are with them.
If we are hurting and feeling pain, fear or confusion and are congruent with those feelings horses often stand by us, radiating their peace and nonjudgmental nature, which seems to be just what we need then.
Because they live in the present, which we often avoid doing when we struggle with our unresolved feelings and thoughts, their presence assists us to do the same. A horse’s unconditional love creates a bond, a kinship with us during the sessions, which we feel tangibly, even if we have had no previous experience with horses.
Horses are full partners in Equine Gestalt. They offer their energy and their keen insight to both their co-coach and the client.
Meet Mystic
Mystic is a young Gypsy and Shire crossbred mare. She found me at an Amish auction when she was three. Mystic would tell you, “Hertha thought she was going to the auction to buy another horse, but as soon as she saw me, she fell in love with me and I have had her heart ever since.” I would tell you that just being around Mystic makes my heart expand and puts a smile on my face.
I ride Mystic for dressage and trail riding. Mystic’s comforting presence helps people open their hearts and feel supported as they work through their obstacles to living fully. She is a happy, prankster horse that loves being around people.
Mystic symbolizes the physical body. Almost sixteen hands tall, she is a beautiful Gypsy draft horse with a large, strong body. Even though she is big, she moves with elegance and confidence.
Meet Merlin
Merlin is the latest horse to join the healing herd. He is a Gypsy/Standardbred cross that is extremely intelligent and kind. When Merlin joined the herd, he made everyone better. He is the first one to greet me at the gate, loves to learn and seems to have what it takes be a wonderful coaching partner. On the outer, along with the other young geldings, Sage and Night Hawk, Merlin symbolizes my mental body.
Meet Sage
As the only palomino of the herd, Sage is unique in color and also in his personality. He is the most extroverted of the horses and is extremely kind and inquisitive. Sage has a good sense of humor and loves to interact with people. He is Gypsy/Quarter Horse cross. On the outer, along with the other young geldings, Merlin and Night Hawk, Sage symbolizes my mental body.
Meet Night Hawk
Night Hawk is purebred Gypsy. He is fairly shy, very smart, and very independent. He is big hearted and also physically a big stout horse. Night Hawk is extremely sensitive and generous when he feels safe with people who are living authentically. On the outer, along with the other young geldings, Sage and Merlin, Night Hawk symbolizes my mental body.
Meet Ruby
Ruby is a Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse cross mare. My sister found her at the neighbors, and I rescued her from a life of being just a trail horse, which was the bane of her existence because Ruby likes to work. She loves chasing cows. She can turn back a cow, jump through the sage bush and miss the badger holes, all at the same time.
When Ruby first coached, she realized she had a special gift and was amazed that she could help people heal. She brings her lead mare personality of taking care of the herd into her coaching work.
In my inner being, Ruby symbolizes the emotional body. She is sensitive, a little hot blooded, sometimes throws short, intense tantrums, and loves to keep moving forward. Ruby can be extremely compassionate and is more than willing to be still and stay with someone who is courageously facing their inner pain.
Meet Monk
Monk is the Fabio of the horse world. He is gorgeous and cute at the same time. He is only around fourteen hands. He does not like short jokes and believes that he can do anything that any of the taller horses can do. He has a largess of spirit, heart and character that is rare.
He is Gypsy Vanner and Quarter Horse cross. Monk is just learning how to be a coaching partner and is very sensitive and sweet in all his interactions with people.
He symbolizes the spiritual body with his can-do spirit and big motor. There is nothing that Monk cannot do. He is fiery and extremely gentle at the same time.
Meet the Ranch Dogs, Chewie and Rose
Chewie is a bundle of joy, intent and purpose. She is a Blue Heeler/Jack Russel terrier mix. Her greatest love is to work moving cows and hunting gophers. She is a very kind, sensitive dog and one of the smartest dogs I have ever known.
Recently, we also acquired Rose, who is also a cow dog mix. Rose is spunky and keeps all of us on our toes.
About the Ranch
The Ranch’s History
The ranch has been in the Grande family since 1877 when two brothers, Martin T. and Anton Grande, responded to the “American Fever” and traveled from Norway to the United States. Anton decided to go to South Dakota to take part in the gold rush. M.T. traveled straight to the Montana Territory where Anton joined him after his time in the Black Hills.
Today, John A. Grande is the fourth generation to ranch on the property that the Grande brothers homesteaded and bought for ranching more than one hundred years ago. John is Hertha’s husband and they run Angus/Simmental/South Devon cross cows.
The ranch is still very much a working cattle ranch. During your time at Grande Ranch you may see ongoing ranch activities, such as livestock handling, haying, and other activities going on around you. We will be inside a large barn with a round corral when we are working with the horses and coaching.
The Bunk House
The historic bunkhouse was built in 1917 and was remodeled in 2018. It is situated in the middle of the Ranch and allows you to experience the hub of ranch life with immediate access to beautiful scenery and be close to the horses in their pasture.
It is a small, self-contained, comfortable space. The kitchen holds a full- size refrigerator, coffee pot, and stove with plenty of counter space. There is a comfortable living area with windows looking out on the Ranch and a dining table that seats four. The bunkhouse has one bedroom with a queen bed, one bathroom with a tub/shower, and heating can be supplemented by an antique wood stove.
In the Area
The Grande Ranch is situated near Lennep, Montana; a beautiful ghost town that contains an abandoned general store, post office, and a stunning Lutheran church. Lennep is at the bottom of the Castle Mountains and was once a station on the Old Milwaukee Railroad.
To the east of Lennep by about 10 miles is the small town of Martinsdale, which is another historic site, housing the Stockmen’s Bank which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Martinsdale is close to the South Fork of the Musselshell River; a wonderful river for fishing. It is also home to the Bair Family Museum.
