The Wild Women Retreat is just around the corner... Are you ready to take a break and expand your life? We blend the EFLC work with ground work as well as riding during a full week retreat in the Sonoran Desert. This course helps you gain clarity about who you are and your passion in life. The week is filled with learning and riding horses, as well as lots of laughter and community. Take your confidence in life and riding to a new level at the famous White Stallion Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. The world-class ranch destination provides our group with memorable … [Read more...]
Moon Shadow Ranch
The Ranch has been named! A name has finally bubbled up for the ranch that feels perfect to me: Moon Shadow Ranch. The name embraces the light, the dark, and those moments of true presence when we become one with all. It is inspired by Flashy Doc Warrior, my first horse, who was nicknamed Moon after the creamy-colored moon that rises in New Mexico. See our ranch photos here. Wild Women Retreat is coming UP! The heat of the summer has gotten to me. I have been day dreaming about the fall programs and the Tucson desert! The Wild Women Retreat is one of my very … [Read more...]
When the Journey Began
When the journey began, the stillness of the sunny day quickly shifted. The wind came up, caressing the walls of the arena, creating sounds of soft creaks and folds. Sand blew through the big door and along the floor as the snow capped Long’s Peak watched over the land from a distance. I focused on my footsteps and the sounds of the rhythm beads I held to my hip. Birds, suddenly chirping louder, invading the inside of my being. Wind now blowing in gusts; butterflies twirled in my belly. My big buckskin, Moon, walked next to me. His head dropped as we both moved … [Read more...]
Next Door
Through the deep darkness and the stillest part of the night, the roar of the heavy metal wheels rolled along the tracks. The train’s whistle sent a jolt through my slumbering body. A pack of coyotes fired up and let loose their screams and yips, multiplying in numbers by their mere sounds. Everything came thundering into my consciousness and cracked the seal around my deep, dark sleep. Images of a dark colored horse breaking through a fence jarred me into a panic. Where am I? What is happening? Where are my horses? … [Read more...]
Coaching With Horses Has a New Home
... Longmont, Colorado! I have some very big news to share with you. This past week has opened a door to an amazing opportunity, and I have found a farm in Longmont, Colorado that I believe will be a perfect setting for the EFLC work and the Coaching With Horses herd. I am so excited I can barely stand it! The horses have arrived as well, and came in nicely. My soul is sad to leave the Carbondale area and all of the people and horses that I have grown to love there. I had not anticipated leaving my community, however I have dropped right into another community … [Read more...]
Woody Speaks About Spirit and Power
It was the sixth and last day of the Level Two Apprenticeship week. During the previous five days I had watched as each woman unraveled conclusions and preconceived notions of power so that she could step into a heart-based leadership that felt authentic and real. I repeatedly found myself saying to each apprentice, “You know. What is your truth?” Throughout the week the concept of “I know” flowed through the sessions and conversations. Sharon, my co-facilitator, and I coached each apprentice to trust their intuition, inner knowing and to follow their gut and guidance … [Read more...]
Love and Celebrate Yourself
When I was in second grade I wanted to write a book. I remember taking a stack of paper and folding it in half. I decorated the cover with a great title and hand drawn images. The inside pages I wrote my message. I remember holding it up with such excitement and pride. Now, as an adult I have written three books, and my latest book Hope . . .from the Heart of Horses is now available in Dutch! During the process of achieving my childhood desire, I have lost my youthful glee and joy of the creative process. I have not been looking at my books with pride and happiness. … [Read more...]
Interspecies Comfort
Interspecies Comfort Sunday I took this photo on my way home from driving the horses in the mountains. I glanced to my right just in time to see it and had to turn around to get the photo. The two stood together while I snapped away with my camera. The donkey slowly lower his head to eat his food, keeping the cat balanced and snug on his back. He even took a few steps around the paddock! My heart was so touched by this interspecies friendship. (The cat is curled up on the back of an elder mini donkey.) How sweet! Website Update We recently updated our website. I … [Read more...]
Make Each Day Brighter: Live in the Question
I have always viewed horses to be experts in teaching humans how to be present. Horses are naturally embodied in mind, energy and spirit. They live and digest what is happening in the moment. We humans routinely step out of the present moment and skip to the past or future with our thinking, thoughts and agendas. We routinely form opinions, points of view, judge others as right or wrong, decide what is best for others, and think we have the answers. The flow of possibility stops when we define events or categorize people, places and things. Pure consciousness does not … [Read more...]
A Change in Season
A change in season brings in a time for reflection and realignment. The Rocky Mountain days are filled with sun and changing leaves, one of my favorites times to be outdoors. So much is happening . . . 2010 EFLC Apprentices Graduate! Last week was a very busy week with the fourth Apprenticeship group finishing their yearlong program. I am trilled to know that these seven talented individuals will move out into the world to work with horses and humans in expanding consciousness. Congratulations to: Janis Charbeneau, Angie Deaver, Norma Hayhurst, Sandra J … [Read more...]
Are You Following Your Passion?
Last month I facilitated the first Passion, Purpose and Your Path with Horses program. Over the course of four days, each participant gained insights about her path with horses. One woman decided that creating a center to explore the connection between horse and human is her purpose, another feels passionate about helping riders with fear, and one is drawn to the Apprenticeship program. One woman who has struggled with cancer almost all of her life decided, after experiencing the round pen sessions with horses, that for the first time in her life she felt she truly … [Read more...]
Horse Wisdom Summer Programs in the Rocky Mountains
Summer Programs in the Rockies have begun! We had spectacular weather for the June program. Join us in celebrating connection, communication, and aliveness with the horses! EVENTS IN JULY: July 16-18, 2010, near Aspen, Colorado - Horse Wisdom: Finding Your Way through Life Transitions The majestic nature of horses is a transformational experience for humans. During this program you will interact with horses, develop relationships, become part of the herd, and learn about yourself along the way. Horses naturally bring you deeper into your self and … [Read more...]
News About the Coaching With Horses EFLC Teaching Herd
News About the Herd Spring finally sprung here in the Rockies and then moved right into summer. We had snow on Tuesday and a sunny 80 degrees the last two days. I am excited for the upcoming Horse Wisdom programs and the long days of summer. Here is an update on the Herd: Sylvie Sylvie, the newest addition to the herd arrived two weeks ago. The journey with her has already been interesting. I truly feel this horse picked me--twice. However I am not sure if either of us really understood what we were getting into. As a 3/4 Clydesdale-1/4 Quarter … [Read more...]
Coaching With Horses in Europe
Hello Everyone! I am home in Colorado after another great trip to the Netherlands. I lived in Kootwijk for three weeks offering Coaching With Horses programs. Reggie (program assistant) and I are on the left riding our bikes from the barn - we felt so Dutch! … [Read more...]
What is an Equine Facilitated Learning Experience?
I had the privilege of working with a wonderful Percheron by the name of Kairos during an Equine Faciliated Learning workshop in Tucson this last February. Karios is the largest horse I have ever seen. He is well over 17 and the weight of his physical body is grounding and calming. His gentle nature makes time stand still. His slow moving, solid black muscular mass calls you to him and pulls you back in time. Kairos offered the participants at this workshop an equine learning experience that was based on ‘being’ verses ‘doing.’ By simply being near Kairos … [Read more...]
What Horses Teach Humans About Heart Based Communications
Horses teach humans a lot about the pace of life. Life seems to be moving at the speed of light. I try to bring a grounded presence into every aspect of my daily life. However a fast paced world can often pull me out of my authentic self. Our culture is based on high-speed everything. Speed is becoming a value. The faster something can work or go the more desirable it is. The element of speed brings many good things, and it may also be taking away just as much. … [Read more...]
Heart of Gold
It was Friday and my week had been long and ridiculously busy. Even with my new assistant, I was struggling to "get it all done." Even though I am living in a beautiful house on 17 acres, it seemed that each day I was caught up in everything but spending time with my horses. I felt as if I was becoming a fake. Who was I to talk about the connection between horse and human? Mid-day I turned off the computer and closed the door to my office. I walked out to the pasture longing to see my four-legged boys and to breathe in the crisp winter air. There I found … [Read more...]
Exploring Boundaries With Horses
Boundary setting is an area of growth that I focus on in my Equine Experiential Learning and Coaching sessions. Boundary setting teaches us about our power and how we define our personal space. Horses provide perfect opportunities to strengthen boundary-setting skills. It is a natural tendency for most horses to test boundaries. A horse feels secure when she knows where she stands in the pecking order of the herd. She achieves this understanding by testing boundaries and outsmarting other herd members. When a new horse arrives into the herd she establishes … [Read more...]
The Horse’s Way
This last month I tested a theory that I teach. The horse's way is to be in a herd. It is only in a herd that they thrive. They watch over each other when sleeping, find food, protect the herd from predators, and bond through grooming and play. A solo horse cannot live like this. Instead it is constantly in survival mode. As a single, strong willed, female entrepreneur of many years I could relate more to the solo horse than being in a herd. This year my life expanded onto a 17-acre ranch with six horses, programs in Europe and producing the Horse as … [Read more...]
Cajun’s Recovery
Cajun the wildly spotted appaloosa featured in the chapter titled, Come Together, of my most recent book, Hope from the Heart of Horses tore his digital tendon in his rear right leg in July. His owner cared for him after the surgery but unfortunately he injury became infected. He came to my ranch September 4th. We became the “last chance ranch.” If he could not heal here he would be put down. Reticent to put any weight on his injured leg he stood on three legs. It had been two months of this posture. He was tired, had lost weight, and was showing … [Read more...]