Premier Guest Speaker Lisa Bruno: Choose Connection During Life’s Pauses, and Growth Becomes the Gift
- Valerie Naegele
- Aug 22, 2025
- 6 min read
Hello and welcome back to Wild Awake, a podcast where training and business meet personal and spiritual awakening—led by the wisdom of our canine and equine companions. I’m your host, Valerie Naegele, and today is a special episode because I’m joined by my very first guest: my lifelong friend and fellow animal lover, Lisa Bruno.
Lisa and I have known each other since we were kids, but we reconnected as adults through her dog, Maui. When Maui needed help with reactivity, we worked together on her training, and from there we rediscovered our shared obsession with horses. Lisa has spent over twenty years with her Standardbred mare, Lexie, and has deepened her path through yoga, mindfulness, and self-discovery practices. Her approach to animals is rooted in presence, compassion, and intuition.
Today we’re talking about something I think many of us struggle with: what happens when life requires us to take a break from our usual training routines with our animals?
Reconnecting Through Animals
Valerie: Lisa, I feel like Maui brought us back together. She needed some training support, and then suddenly we were back in each other’s lives again.
Lisa: Exactly. I reached out when Maui was reactive with other dogs, especially around the house and out on walks. With your help, she made so much progress, and in the process we ended up reconnecting as friends. Then I realized—oh, you’re just as obsessed with horses as I am!
Valerie: How did we not know that before? It was full-circle—dogs brought us back together, and then horses sealed the deal.
Life Transitions and Taking a Step Back
Valerie: So, big life changes for both of us recently. You just welcomed baby Stella into the world, and my mare Zara had spine surgery earlier this year. Suddenly our training routines look very different.
Lisa: Yes, it’s been a huge shift. I’ve only been to the barn a handful of times since Stella was born, and at first I felt guilty. But Lexie is in great care, and I know she’s fine. Now I’m thinking about what easing back in will look like. At 24, with some arthritis, she needs slow movement and thoughtful rides. Probably a lot of walking, gentle work, and just listening to her body.
Valerie: That’s the same lesson I’ve been learning with Zara. Surgery forced me to reassess everything. I went from setting ambitious riding goals to focusing on rehab and building our foundation. At first it felt like a setback, but honestly, it’s been a gift in disguise—teaching me patience and deepening our connection in ways I might have overlooked before.
When Animals Know More Than We Do
Lisa: It’s amazing how intuitive animals are during these transitions. When I was pregnant, Lexie would sniff my belly, and I could tell she knew something had changed. And when I introduced her to Stella, she was so calm and gentle, as if she understood this was the baby she had sensed before.
Valerie: Horses notice everything. I’ve seen the same with other pregnant women at barns—horses just know. It always blows my mind how tuned in they are.
Connection Without Goals
Valerie: One of the questions I love to explore is: what does it mean to be in relationship with an animal when there’s no goal attached?
Lisa: That’s been my experience with Lexie for years. At her age, the goal is simply health and happiness. When we’re together, there’s no pressure. Sometimes we’ll just walk or play in the ring, and she chooses how much she wants to do. It’s a totally different kind of partnership—more playful, more present.
Valerie: I see the same thing with liberty work in horses and off-leash work with dogs. Without the pressure of goals, both sides relax. It becomes about relationship rather than performance, and that shift often makes the bond even stronger.
Why Breaks Feel So Hard
Valerie: Let’s be honest—taking a break is really hard. Why do you think that is?
Lisa: I think society conditions us to always be achieving, always doing more. If we’re not being “productive,” we feel guilty. But breaks are necessary. Sometimes you ride better after time off because you let go of old habits. And animals need pauses too—they need time to process, just like we do.
Valerie: Exactly. I’ve seen that in both horse and dog training. A five-minute session followed by rest can stick better than drilling for an hour. Pauses aren’t wasted time; they’re when the real integration happens.
Final Takeaways
Before we wrapped up, I asked Lisa two questions I’ll be bringing to all my podcast guests:
Valerie: What’s one piece of advice you’d give to anyone with their horse?
Lisa: Pause and breathe. When you soften your body, your horse will soften too. A few deep breaths can transform your ride, your groundwork, and your connection.
Valerie: Love that. And what’s one or two books you’d recommend?
Lisa: The Principles of Training by Warwick Schiller, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Actually, I read The Alchemist to Lexie when she was on stall rest—so she recommends it too.
Closing Thoughts
Our conversation was such a beautiful reminder that sometimes the most important growth happens in the pauses. Life will inevitably bring seasons when you can’t train, ride, or work with your animals in the same way. Those breaks don’t mean failure. They can be opportunities to deepen trust, shift your perspective, and strengthen your bond in new ways.
Thank you so much to my dear friend Lisa Bruno for joining me on Wild Awake. You can find her links in the show notes if you’d like to connect more. And as always, I hope this conversation inspires you to honor the seasons in your own journey with your animals.
Would you like me to add section headers throughout the transcript conversation style (almost like dialogue snippets) or keep it flowing more like a written story with occasional quotes sprinkled in?
About Valerie Naegele | Founder of Venture Doggie LLC
Valerie Naegele is a professional dog trainer, behavior specialist, and founder of Venture Doggie LLC. She helps dog owners who feel overwhelmed, unsure, or stuck finally find clarity, confidence, and connection with their dogs. you're tired of second-guessing your training, avoiding walks, or feeling like your dog just isn’t “getting it.” You’re not alone. Val understands what it’s like to love a dog deeply and still feel frustrated, embarrassed, or unsure of what to do next. Her work is designed to give you the tools, insight, and support you need to turn things around, not just on the surface, but in a way that feels good and lasts.
Val’s approach is relationship-based, emotionally intelligent, and rooted in practical science. Whether your dog is overly friendly, reactive, anxious, or just doesn’t listen, she helps you shift the dynamic—not by forcing obedience, but by building communication, structure, and trust. Her journey started with a deeply sensitive and reactive dog, and that experience opened the door to a lifetime of study in behavior, psychology, and the human-animal bond. With a background in vet clinics, shelters, ranches, and intensive mentorships with leading trainers, Val brings a rare mix of expertise, heart, and down-to-earth support to her work.
She’s not here to judge or pressure. She’s here to walk alongside you—to help you feel more capable, more connected, and prouder of the relationship you’re building with your dog.
Ready to train with Val so you feel confident facing any challenge with your pup?
✨ Online Programs & Resources:
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About Lisa Bruno
A devoted animal lover and spiritual seeker on a journey of personal awakening. Rooted in the practices of yoga, mindfulness, and self-discovery, Lisa has spent the last 20 years walking alongside her beloved Standardbred mare. Through their bond, she’s learned that true connection with our equine partners begins with presence, compassion, and intuition. Her path has taught her that when we put the horse first, we not only honor their spirit—we awaken our own.
Connect with Lisa
Instagram @Lis_gee
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