2020 is beginning to wind down and bring to an end this long challenging year. As Father Winter is upon us for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, we bundle up to get exercise by walking in the cold air, slug through three feet of snow to feed horses and fasten the outdoor Christmas lights to survive the winds from the north. In the Southern hemispheres, the lands may be bursting with summer colors and the days warming. A completely different picture. The cycles of nature and life are never-ending, ever-changing, and always renewing. This last year has not been … [Read more...]
An Interview with Kathy Pike, founder of The Academy for Coaching with Horses
You are invited to experience this interview of Kathy Pike, by Natalie Marie Collins, December 17, 2020. If you are considering providing Coaching with Horses sessions to your clients, or simply want to understand this work better this video is for you. Enjoy and please, leave your comments below! Click the image below to see the Video! … [Read more...]
Transformation through Coaching with Horses
You are invited to listen to this very engaging dialog between Kristin Goold and Kathy; especially if you are considering doing any type of equine learning with horses. Equine Facilitated Learning sessions create transformation. It is about moving from pain, being out of balance, or a life that is primarily serving others into a life based in your values, sense of self-worth and authentic self. Questions to ponder or journal with after you have watched the interview: What most inspired you about Kristin’s story? What can you relate about her journey and the … [Read more...]
Kathy Pike Interviewed by Natalie Marie Collins
Kathy Pike, found of The Academy for Coaching with Horses, is interviewed by Natalie Marie Collins and shares reflects on where she began on this journey, what she has overcome, and the beauty of what she has built and is able to provide today. … [Read more...]
Seeing the Magic!
Sweet magical occurrences are happening here at my ranch. Each time they do, it confirms the rightness of my path and the support I feel from all of the creatures around me (such as this hummingbird below) and spirits beyond. Like you, the last seven months have not been easy for me. It has been the opposite. I have worked harder than ever to figure out new ways to continue contributing to expanding human consciousness. It is my purpose to reconnect people to Mother Earth and her creatures, to raise social consciousness, and create more oneness in a chaotic world … [Read more...]
Four Ways Horses Move Energy
Four Ways Horses are Healers Horses are the most excellent teachers for humans regarding our healing and understanding of our energy field. In a natural setting, horses are fully grounded on Mother Earth. They are, for the most part, energetically open beings. They sense the energy of the environment and the intention within the animals and humans that are around them. The ability to read, engage, and move energy within themselves and others comes second nature to a horse. Many horses become masters at intentionally moving energy in their environment and during … [Read more...]
The Energy of Connection
The holiday season is here, and with that comes a time that many of us reflect on our relationships and the love we share for others. While one person may feel bountiful in this reflection, another may feel lack, regardless of how many people are around us. The fact is we all need connection. We need it to feel safe and have a sense of belonging. Horses are the same way. They must feel connected and part of a greater community of beings. Being part of a herd creates safety and also the ability to procreate and thrive in a herd. As human beings, we must learn to … [Read more...]
What does it mean for you?
The other day I was playing with my lovely half Friesian and half Arab gray, Esperanza. She is friendly, lively, sensitive, and can have enormous energy. Her intelligence often is a bit shocking to me. When I speak with her, I feel no barriers. Instead, I sense her understanding and digesting what I say and giving me immediate feedback at many levels. She has been with me for a year. She has had plenty of space and ample time to find her way within the herd. She is finding her grounding and understanding how to be a teaching horse for my Equine Facilitated Learning … [Read more...]
Broken Wing Healed –
Horse Wants to Connect with You
I apologize that I have not been in touch with you for some time. It is certainly not because nothing is happening in my life. It is just the opposite. For the last two years, I have been deepening, yet again, my spiritual path with horses and all of Mother Earth's creatures. The journey has not been comfortable, as spirit has chosen to speak to me through my body – and not in a very gentle way. A year ago, when I was super stressed out, I pushed my body to the tipping point. I had a massive amount of anger move through me as I attempted to manhandle a heavy log. The … [Read more...]
Heartfelt Appreciation with Viejo Creates Movement
Recently, I was honored to work with a very intelligent horse by the name of Viejo. For several of my students, the session we witnessed was profound and life altering. Ironically, the session was not grandiose. The horse did not behave as I have seen many other by lying down, protectively walking around the client, bowing, picking up the carrot stick and handing it to the client or pointing his nose at certain regions of the client's body (yes, these things happen quite often in sessions). He also didn’t stand … [Read more...]
Timing is Everything with Horses and Life
Many years ago, when I first got Moon, I boarded him at a public facility. This was a huge mistake. To my astonishment and dismay, he arrived at the ranch looking 30-years old. He was infested with ticks, underweight, and utterly depressed. It turns out that the owners had sent him to a holding facility a few months before he came to me. That transitional experience took a toll on his heart and health. It was heartbreaking. When I asked the barn manager how we would integrate my depressed and underweight horse into the herd, he said, "Simple, we just throw him in … [Read more...]
From Fear to Softness
Esperanza came to my ranch in early June of this year. As a half-Friesian and half-Polish Arab, her presence was dazzling; large, excitable, and engaging. Her energy felt big and powerful, but at the same time, nervous. She had lots of questions about her new home and her new herd mates. Esperanza stands 15.2 hands, so in reality, she is not a big horse. Moon, my elder, stands at 16.2. Yet, when the two of them were close by each other, Moon felt dwarfed next to her. Moving Esperanza around took a solid presence and a direct, confident, and focused handler. As a "big … [Read more...]
Escalating Emotions – Who is the Leader?
Herd dynamics provide excellent examples of interactions that can bring great insights and realizations for the herd keeper. In my herd, I have attracted powerful lead mares that are seeking a herd in which they can become the central governing member. Watching these dynamics have helped me to understand the concept of affect contagion and emerging energy that can escalate into unproductive states. Recently, a bright-red solid and energized hot quarter horse by the name of Scotch came to stay at the ranch. My horse Diva and I had ridden Colorado mountain trails many … [Read more...]
Reground with the Power of Horse
The wind is blowing today and the thick smoke that has been hanging like a wet cloth just above the land has cleared out. It is due to return by nightfall. Saturday night an electrical storm came through that brought fingers of lightning bolts like an octopus in the sky. Thin sharp zaps of electricity hitting numerous times, relentlessly and simultaneously - I felt as if I had returned to the 80's and I was in the disco with a strobe light. However, it did not feel as expansive and joyful as my dancing days of the 80's. Instead, it was rather frightening. I found … [Read more...]
Fall Programs are Starting to Fill
Finally the mornings are bringing cooler temperatures to the ranch and I have spotted my first yellow leaf on the ground. The horses have started to push out the summer hair and new thicker hairs are coming in for the fall months. Their slick, shiny coats of summer are becoming slightly more textured. Change is upon us again. During our last program the horses held space as the participants entered into a sacred space of honoring their being through painting. This quiet contemplative exercise can take individuals deeply into creativity and communion with horse. … [Read more...]
Applying for a TedX Talk with Corazon
As some of you may have heard, I have recently been selected to speak at a TedX Talk later this summer. My topic for the talk is Wild and Free, and in it I will be sharing Corazon’s story from being a wild Pryor Mountain Mustang, to the bleak and disturbing potential future I was able to rescue him from, and our very first days together to where we are now on our journey. It has been a very cathartic experience for me to write about Corazon's path and I'm so excited to be sharing his inspirational journey with the world. I want to share with all of you my application … [Read more...]
Hope is featured in Saddlebox
Saddlebox.net will be Including Hope from the Heart of Horses in their June Gift Box! This week I was approached by Phil Van Treuren, the CEO of https://www.saddlebox.net, a unique membership website that has a really fun idea for horse lovers, and those who love horse lovers! Every month, members of Saddlebox receive a box of horse gifts; each month different items are included in the package that is shipped. I’m excited and proud to say that they’ve asked if they can include my book, Hope from the Heart of Horses, in June’s Saddlebox! … [Read more...]
Preparing for the Spring Teaching Season
I am ready for the warm March winds to massage the muddy ground into dry, firm terracotta so I can begin the spring work with my herd. Without an indoor arena, I am often limited by when and how I can work with my herd. I could pine for what I do not have, or I can get creative with what I do have. The harsh winter months give my horses time off as they focus on eating and staying warm. As spring rolls in, the muddy days are spent grooming and doing the subtle groundwork in the dry spots of the over-sized paddocks. Sometimes I will work with two horses at a time. I … [Read more...]
Transitions in the Spring – The Horses are Frisky
A few crocuses have sprung forward this late February, and early spring is on her way. Another winter cycle coming to completion brings forward the opportunity for frozen land to turn to moist earth and support the blooming expressions of fertility. The paddocks are wet after our last storm, with mounds of manure frozen in ice and sludgy brown water flowing to the low side of the land. The fragrance is pungent and earthy, and the fumes penetrate into every pore of my clothing until I feel through scent alone that I am one with the herd. Moon, the shaman, continues to … [Read more...]
Integrating the Herd – Communications Lesson (Again)
Moon Shadow Ranch welcomes a new mare named Scotch. Scotch was with us for one month last fall and proved to be an excellent guide and teacher for humans. The facility she was living at closed, so she has come here to my ranch. I had hoped to have her integrated into my entire herd soon after her arrival. However, with my mustang Corazon (who was a wild and free stallion until he was five), this is a challenging prospect. I allowed everyone to be over the fence for several days and all of the squealing subsided. Diva and Scotch are already friends from years ago, so … [Read more...]
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