OUR STORY…
Welcome to Misty Acres of Bath...
A sanctuary for hope and healing.
My name is Karen Priemer, owner and caretaker of Misty Acres. My husband, Gordon, and I have been blessed with this beautiful piece of property and a beautiful life together that has undoubtedly come with its fair share of obstacles. We have learned through this property and through our time together, that it is those obstacles that have shaped who we are today and who we want to become.
I think many times we get lost in our lives and the busyness of it all. We so quickly forget to embrace who we are and where we are at in the life journey. We forget to acknowledge where we came from and give ourselves credit for what we have endured. We forget to stop and be silent and to just breathe.
At least that’s where I was at a few years ago when I realized I didn’t want to live that way anymore. I wanted more out of my life. I wanted to find my purpose…
When I lost both of my parents as a teenager, I relied on the lessons I learned as a young girl growing up on my grandparent’s dairy farm to help me deal with the trauma that life handed me. l quickly learned how to be independent, selfless, honest and the importance of a strong work ethic.
Determined to carry these traits on to my children, I hoped horses would keep them humble and grounded. My daughter became quite the equestrian. I became a horse mama, and we purchased our first horse, an Arabian named Misty. After being involved in the hunter/jumper circuit for many years, we stumbled upon this amazing property in Bath, Ohio. The 12. 5 acres of land included two fenced in paddocks with beautiful pastures for grazing and connected to the 404-acre Bath Nature Preserve accessing the nature and equestrian trails. I didn’t quite realize it at the time, but grew to understand the land energetically had a sense of healing about it.
My personal journey at this time was one of self reflection and introspection. Like many families, ours was affected by addiction and depression. Although difficult, I remained steadfast in my conviction to turn these hardships into opportunities for growth, not only for myself and our family, but for our community as well. Sense of community was one of my Dad’s many gifts to me and I wanted honor that. I wanted to heal myself and the people I love. This continual evolution of self is what drives me today.
In 2016, we stepped out in faith and built a 20x40m indoor arena, stables and loft. When we finally brought Misty home with her companion Pocket, we knew it was only the beginning. Shortly after, Daisy and Ivy joined the herd and our new barn become a happy equine home.
The horses were all settled in and I found myself still searching. One afternoon, while away at a retreat meditating, I had a vision. The vision was a picture of the finished loft (which was not yet even started) and an overwhelming sense of peace and healing came over me. I felt a sense of urgency to begin creating this space of healing. As always, my husband and best friend agreed. Although he couldn’t “see” where I was going with yet one more of my many projects, he believed in me and supported this new journey.
I felt a profound spiritual push that I could not explain, nor did I try. I followed my intuition and carefully considered every decision when building the loft, wondering “will this bring comfort and peace to those who enter?”
The loft came together beautifully thanks to our carpenters, Jim and Andy, and other dedicated contractors who worked seamlessly to finish in a timely manner to complete my vision.
We now have 6 horses that participate in our equine therapy program and have added a little miniature horse named Fire to the program. The horses continue to be the undeniable force of heart energy that allows healing to occur.
We continue to see the healing take place in unexplainable ways - for ourselves and others! From that journey we have come to see the bigger need of healing in the community and the need for all people to return to their whole selves again - to serve the greater need, Misty Acres now offers holistic programming every Sunday, specializing in addiction/ recovery, depression/anxiety, nutrition, grief/loss and chronic pain.
We have continued to walk this path of faith and trust that something bigger than us has blessed us with this unique space for hope and healing. Not just for ourselves… but for all those who step foot on this natural sanctuary.
Take one step…
And trust that it will lead you where you need to go.
Faith led us here and faith will lead us forward.