Standing Up for Your Health: The Heart Behind Wild Horse Wellness Spa

Sometimes the most meaningful businesses begin with a person searching for answers in their own life.

For Andrea Stimson, owner of Wild Horse Wellness Spa in Sheridan, that search began after years of helping other people pursue better health while quietly struggling with her own.

Andrea had been interested in alternative health for much of her life. As a health and wellness coach for 12 years, she enjoyed encouraging people and helping them make healthier choices. But over time, she began longing to do something deeper, something that could offer people another level of support when they felt tired, discouraged or unsure where to turn.

That desire became personal when Andrea’s own health began to decline.

When “Fine” Does Not Feel Fine

Andrea had always been active. She enjoyed running, participated in CrossFit and pushed herself physically. But around 2019 and 2020, something changed.

She became overwhelmingly tired. After exercising, she would sometimes need to return home and sleep for two hours. Eventually, the exhaustion became so severe that she stopped running and doing CrossFit altogether.

“I couldn’t figure out what was going on,” Andrea recalled.

In 2022, a holistic practitioner helped Andrea identify what she described as severe adrenal fatigue. She began to understand how intense exercise, inadequate nutrition and prolonged stress had affected her body. Later, she also learned that mold toxicity may have been contributing to symptoms she had initially attributed to food sensitivities.

The experience was frustrating, particularly when conventional testing did not provide the answers she was seeking.

Andrea knew how she felt, even when she was being told that everything appeared normal. That disconnect pushed her to keep asking questions, conduct her own research and explore functional and alternative approaches to wellness.

Her experience also gave her a deeper understanding of the people who now walk through her doors.

Many are not necessarily facing a medical emergency. They simply know they do not feel like themselves. They may be living with exhaustion, brain fog, poor sleep, chronic discomfort or the lingering feeling that something is not right.

Andrea understands what it is like to search for answers while wondering whether anyone truly understands you.

A Calling Waiting for the Right Moment

For years, Andrea felt drawn toward opening a wellness center in Sheridan.

As she researched frequency-based therapies, grounding, mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy and other alternative wellness technologies, the idea became increasingly difficult to ignore.

Then Andrea discovered the Tesla Medbed system.

She traveled to Florida to experience the technology and receive training. After undergoing a biofeedback scan and a session in the chamber, Andrea believed she had found the centerpiece of the wellness center she had imagined.

The final encouragement came during an anniversary conversation with her husband.

“I want to open a wellness center,” she told him.

His response was immediate: “It’s about time. Let’s do this.”

From there, the pieces began coming together. Andrea found a location, secured financing and moved forward with the training and equipment she needed. She describes the process as a “complete God thing,” a season in which each necessary step seemed to become clear as she moved forward in faith.

Wild Horse Wellness Spa officially opened on March 1, 2024.

“It was a complete learning curve,” Andrea said. “But it has just been incredible.”

More Than a Wyoming Name

Andrea and her family have lived in Sheridan since 1996. They are horse people, rodeo people and deeply connected to Wyoming life. When it came time to name the business, Andrea and her husband considered several possibilities, but none seemed quite right.

Her husband eventually suggested Wild Horse Wellness.

The name immediately fit.

For Andrea, the image of a wild horse represents more than their Western heritage. It represents the courage to stand up, ask questions and become an advocate for your own well-being.

“A wild horse represents standing up and being your own advocate for your own health,” she explained. “It’s Wyoming, and it’s just true to our roots and who we are.”

That spirit is at the center of Andrea’s work. She wants people to feel empowered rather than dismissed, listened to rather than hurried and supported rather than overwhelmed.

Helping People Understand Their Options

One of Andrea’s greatest challenges has been explaining services that may be unfamiliar to many people.

Wild Horse Wellness Spa offers holistic therapies that include the Tesla Medbed mild hyperbaric chamber, frequency therapy, biofeedback scanning, infrared light sauna, and skin and hair therapies. The center also brings together several independent wellness and healthcare providers, giving clients access to a more comprehensive range of services. 

Andrea often begins by giving first-time visitors a tour and explaining how each option works. Depending on the individual, she may recommend beginning with a biofeedback scan to help identify areas where additional wellness support may be beneficial.

She is careful to explain that the spa does not diagnose illnesses, prescribe treatment or replace a person’s physician.

“We’re just here to help people live a better quality of life,” she said.

When something appears to require additional medical evaluation, Andrea encourages clients to consult their healthcare provider. She also believes alternative wellness and Western medicine can work alongside one another when practitioners are open to communication and collaboration.

For Andrea, this is not about forcing people to choose one side or the other. It is about providing options, encouraging questions and helping people participate more actively in their own wellness journey.

Creating Space for the Body to Rest

Although the technology inside Wild Horse Wellness Spa may sound advanced, Andrea’s underlying philosophy is simple: the human body was created with an incredible capacity to recover, regulate and restore itself when it receives the support it needs.

Many people, however, rarely give their bodies that opportunity.

Stress accumulates. Sleep suffers. The nervous system remains on constant alert. People continue pushing forward because work, family and daily responsibilities do not stop simply because they are tired.

Andrea knows that pattern personally. She believes years of stress and physical strain contributed to her own health struggles.

Today, she hopes Wild Horse Wellness Spa can become a place where people slow down long enough to listen to what their bodies have been trying to tell them.

She has watched clients report improvements in their sleep, energy, mental clarity and overall sense of well-being. She has also heard deeply personal stories from individuals and families who believe their experiences at the spa have made a meaningful difference.

Andrea does not present those stories as guaranteed outcomes. Every person and every body is different. But witnessing people leave feeling encouraged is what continues to motivate her.

“To be able to make this big of an impact in people’s everyday life and see them feeling better and having a better quality of life, is just awesome,” she said.

Consistency Over Quick Fixes

Andrea believes one of the most overlooked aspects of wellness is consistency.

People understandably want immediate relief, especially when they have lived with discomfort or exhaustion for a long time. But rebuilding health is rarely about one dramatic moment. It often involves making intentional choices repeatedly and allowing the body time to respond.

“If people will consistently give their body a chance and give the systems a chance to work, they’re going to see progress in their health,” Andrea said.

That does not mean Andrea wants clients to become permanently dependent upon the spa. In fact, she describes her goal in almost the opposite way.

“Our goal is to work ourselves out of a job with people,” she said.

She wants individuals to receive the support they need, become stronger and eventually reach a point where they no longer need to come as frequently. There will always be someone else searching for encouragement, support or a different approach.

A Place to Be Heard

Wild Horse Wellness Spa is ultimately an extension of Andrea’s own journey.

It grew out of exhaustion, unanswered questions and the determination to keep searching. It was built through years of research, the support of her husband and Andrea’s conviction that Sheridan and the surrounding communities could benefit from additional wellness options.

Most importantly, it was created for people who know what it feels like to be told they are fine when they do not feel fine.

Andrea cannot promise that every person will have the same experience. What she can offer is a willingness to listen, explain the available options and help each visitor as an individual rather than a collection of symptoms.

For someone who once struggled to find answers herself, helping another person feel heard may be one of the most meaningful services she provides.

Wild Horse Wellness Spa is located at 1458 West Fifth Street in Sheridan. To learn more about Andrea’s story, explore the available therapies or schedule a wellness consultation, visit the Wild Horse Wellness Spa website.

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