I’m Terry Cullen
I’m a Development Coach, Addiction Recovery Coach and Equine Behaviourist based in the Glen of the Downs, Co. Wicklow.
I’ve been around horses for over 20years — training them, fixing problems, rebuilding trust and learning from every mistake along the way.
I’m also over 17 years sober.
A lot of my own growth came from horses: learning patience, honesty, leadership, emotional regulation and how to show up without anger.
Stable Minds grew from that connection — the idea that people and horses both need clarity, softness and consistency to thrive.
My story
Horses have been part of my life since I was a child.
My family worked in racing and polo, breaking and training young horses. All I ever wanted back then was to be a jockey. I’d take my chestnut pony, Bobby, and race around the neighbouring fields pretending I was Pat Eddery or Frank Berry. My parents would often find me in the fields at sunrise because I’d climbed out the window just to be with the horses.
Life took me a different direction. A career with horses didn’t happen at the time.
I left home at 17, completed a Music and Performance Cert., and spent several years as a professional musician before stepping away from it in 2007.
My own challenges with mental health and addiction eventually brought me back to horses — the one place I always felt grounded. I started out as a work rider and then moved into training and dealing with difficult horses. That’s where everything began to change.
I became fascinated by horsemanship and immersed myself in western approaches and natural horsemanship — first Monty Roberts, then Buck Brannaman. I didn’t fully know what I was doing at the time, but I knew I felt better around horses. I noticed how my behaviour affected theirs, and how theirs affected mine — sometimes for the better, sometimes not. It forced me to look at myself in a way nothing else ever had.
And the truth is, a horse saved my life.
Sam — now 28, full of wisdom, stubbornness and kindness — taught me more about patience, leadership, emotional regulation and honesty than any book or course ever could. Without him, I genuinely don’t think I’d be here today.
That experience is what led me into coaching, personal development, addiction recovery work and Equine Assisted Learning. I wanted to help people feel the same clarity, connection and self-understanding I found through horses.
Now I combine coaching, behaviour work and grounded horsemanship to support adults, teens and children who are struggling to express themselves, regulate emotions or move forward in their lives — as well as helping horses who need clearer foundations, confidence or calm.
Stable Minds grew from that simple idea:
when we work honestly with a horse, we learn how to work honestly with ourselves.
