Natalee Fryer

I’ve loved horses for as long as I can remember. As a kid I asked my family about them constantly — when I could ride, when I could have one of my own — until it became clear I wasn’t going to let the idea go. I started lessons at nine with an instructor who stayed with me for eleven years. She taught me to ride and show hunters, but she also taught me groundwork, daily care, and how to recognize and treat an injury. That’s where I learned that horsemanship is much bigger than riding.

At eleven I joined our local 4-H equine club and stayed nine years, until I aged out. That’s where my education really deepened — equine first aid, anatomy, nutrition, and the many career paths that exist with horses. I competed in hippology, the study of the horse, judging horses across classes and working through real-world case scenarios. In my final year, my team traveled to Ohio and Kentucky to compete at nationals.

I didn’t have a horse of my own until I was sixteen. For six years I showed up at the barn for horses that belonged to other people – mucking, feeding, learning, and loving them anyway. When I finally adopted my mare, Roxy, she was still quite green. Training her has been the best education I’ve had. She taught me patience, consistency, and how much of good horsemanship happens on the ground long before anyone gets on. We made it to 4-H States competition in 2023 and 2024 together.

I knew I wanted to build a career around horses, and in 2024 I completed my certification as a certified equine massage therapist through Delaware Valley University. That training sharpened how I see a horse every single day — how they move, where they’re carrying tension, when a change in behavior is actually a change in comfort. It’s part of why I notice small things early. I’m currently continuing my massage coursework and completing an equine emergency response course, because the more I know, the better I can advocate for the horses in my care.

I came to Take Heart in November 2022 as barn staff, after volunteering and working at other barns and caring for friends’ horses, and I’ve since grown into the role of barn manager. What kept me here is simple: the horses get to live like horses. They have turnout, they have a herd, and they aren’t standing in a stall for hours on end – which is better for their bodies, their digestion, and their minds. That’s not a small thing to me. It’s the standard I want for every horse I’m responsible for.

My goal is always to put the horses first. I treat every horse at Take Heart as if they were my own, and I want to help them — and their owners — in the best way I possibly can.