EFLC Certification Program

Our premier program is the Equine Facilitated Learning and Coaching (EFLC) Facilitator Certification Program.  Seasoned coaches, riding instructors, therapists, artists, equine specialists, body-workers, and counselors who attend this program wish to integrate horses as teachers and healers into their life purpose, vision, or business. This course creates empowerment and inspiration and develops coaching and facilitation skills (with horses) for all attendees.

The white horse is symbolic of purification. The white horse energy brings one back to their authentic nature and aligns one to their highest potential. White horse seeks illumination and is referred to as the sage that is willing to surrender what is familiar, ego-based, and brings short-term gratification, in favor of choices that lead to liberation, service, and the honoring of what is sacred.

The Academy for Coaching with Horses’ yearlong certification program teaches the horse’s way:  non-predatory, relational, non-linear, deep emotional intelligence, and circular flow of life and energy. The Horses’ Way offers humans a ‘how-to’ for living a more abundant and authentic life while maintaining a deep connection to self and others. Facilitators learn how to lead others through self-discovery and significant growth and change.

While working intimately with horses, our certification students enter a journey of somatic exploration, energetic awareness, emotional intelligence, presence, spiritual connection, and leadership for a new and renewed sense of clarity, purpose, and direction.

The yearlong EFLC Certification Program educates in the following areas of competency:

• Equine Facilitated Learning and Coaching Session Delivery
• Mind-Body Centered Coaching Skills and Energy Awareness
• Emotional and Social Intelligence
• Leadership Skills
• Natural and Intuitive methods for selecting, partnering with, and caring for program horses

One of the special features unique to Kathy Pike’s yearlong EFLC Certification Program is the Mind Body Method^TM Coach Training. Kathy Pike developed this method and has taught it for over nineteen years. The Mind Body Method^TM Coaching model provides the structure and process for you to coach your clients to deeper levels of self-awareness and inner wisdom while interacting with horses. Students explore aspects of equine shamanism or the seven primary energy centers (chakras) of both horses and humans to experience spiritual lessons and how to apply these discoveries to their sessions.

The EFLC Facilitator Certification Training Program is for you if you wish to learn:

• How to follow the horse’s lead and guide your client deeply into their heart, creating an opening to heal and find their true self, even if you have never done anything like this before.
• How to develop leadership skills and handle any situation that emerges between a horse and a human, even as a sensitive empath.
• How to massively boost your self-worth and strength as a coach, knowing how powerful and unstoppable you are when you step into your life purpose, even if you currently lack the confidence about growing your equine learning business.
• How to make a more significant impact in the world by guiding people, with horses, to set powerful boundaries, let go of old behaviors, and develop new beliefs so they can powerfully step forward and create the life they desire.
• How you can be respected and stand out in this rapidly growing field because integrity, respect, and honor of the horse are of the utmost importance to you.
• How to take your expertise with horses to new levels by guiding your clients to higher levels of body-centered and spiritual awareness and coaching them through life-changing insights.
• Experience true empowerment and transformation through living the way of the horse.

Who is Kathy Pike?
Kathy Pike is a pioneer and a leader in Equine Facilitated Learning and Coaching. She is an international teacher and author of several books:

• Oracle of the Sacred Horse, (Card Deck), Blue Angel Publishing
• Life Lessons from the Heart of Horses, How Horses Teach Us about Relationships and Healing.  SkyHorse Publishing
  
• Horse Spirits Speak: On Love, Presence, and Harmony in a Chaotic World, March 2020. Also available in Polish.
• Hope …from the Heart of Horses: How Horses Teach Us About Presence, Strength, and Awareness,2009. Skyhorse Publishing. Also available in Dutch.
• Pathways to a Radiant Self: A Journey of Growth and Discovery with the Chakras, 2001. PTR Publishing.
  
• She is also the visionary, co-founder, and contributing author of the two-book series Horse as Teacher: The Path to Authenticity and The Path to Relationships. 

Kathy has traveled worldwide teaching Equine Facilitated Learning and Coaching programs with a strong emphasis on mind, body, and spiritual integration and the Law of Attraction for the past 14 years. She offers a diverse background, including extreme outdoor adventure, massage and polarity therapy, PSYCH-K, yoga, corporate training, and 24 years of Professional and Life Coaching.

Kathy Pike is also the founder of the Mind Body Method^TM (MBM), which is central to her heart-centered approach and other key concepts of self-awareness. The Mind Body Method emerged from her work coaching others through the chakra system and her book Pathways to a Radiant Self. She also delivers equine leadership programs to executives and corporate teams and facilitates Conscious Riding Retreats for the serious equestrian.

Kathy is passionate about Mustangs. Her Mustang, Corazon, deemed un-trainable and un-rideable by the BLM, has proven to be an extraordinary program horse. When Kathy is not working, you can usually find her playing with Corazon, her dog, Moki, or the rest of her herd of horses in Colorado. For a more extensive bio visit: http://www.coachingwithhorses.com/about.

Why The Academy for Coaching With Horses?
The field of Equine Facilitated Learning and Coaching is growing exponentially. Kathy’s program is unique because it offers the Mind Body Method Coach Training to emphasize how Horses can teach, heal, and work with humans when we become more present and “horse-like.” During the last 14 years, Kathy has been a leader in the Equine Facilitated Learning and Coaching field; she has highly refined her programs and, during covid, created her online learning modules, which to her surprise, deliver an excellent model for the facilitator training program. Her work has reached over 18 countries internationally.

We are committed to providing the best training program to prepare you for your work with others. The certification program places a high emphasis on developing coaching and leadership skills. When partnering with Horse, you learn to trust the divine timing and the natural unfolding of learning sessions. Our processes teach you to access higher levels of consciousness and intuition with horses and provide the tools to impact your sessions immediately.

Are you ready to learn how to create transformational experiences with Horses?

Are you ready to take your next step of exploration?

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the program delivered?
Currently, the program is a hybrid of online and onsite instruction. For years students worldwide requested that Kathy put her program online. She resisted. After teaching online from the summer of 2020 to the present, Kathy has been astounded at the results of online teaching. She feels, in many ways, it is more effective than onsite. There are additional benefits that she did not see before having done it, such as:
1. Students prepare their property, horses, and sacred space for clients while they learn the processes.
2. Students develop a much deeper bond and communication with their horses when applying the processes.
3. All learning processes, client worksheets, session outlines, safety protocols, and references are online. Students may repeat and review videos and audio at any time.
4. A step-by-step process gives students more time to integrate and truly understand the way of the HORSE.
5. Students also explore and experience personal journeys and have more confidence while learning with their horses.

Who can apply for the EFLC Program?
The EFLC Certification Program is an in-depth program with the opportunity for high personal and professional growth levels. Individuals already in helping professions (coaches, consultants, therapists, healers, physical therapists, nurses, etc.) and those working with horses (horse trainers and riding instructors) apply to this program. Individuals going through life transitions from all walks of life and seeking a new way to serve horses and people also apply. Some individuals take the EFLC Level One Training as their first step on the journey.

What if I don’t own a horse yet?
If you do not own a horse, you must have one or more horses you can work with (through leasing or ownership) before entering the program.

What if I don’t have coaching skills?
During the program, you will learn several models of coaching that will change how you view coaching and facilitating others to their potential. Kathy brings 20 years of professional coaching and her Mind Body MethodTM Coach Training to this training. Throughout the year, you will learn how to ask critical questions that dramatically impact your client’s experience. Between the on-site training sessions, you will listen to Kathy coach others and receive her powerful coaching.

Why do I need training?
This fast-emerging field is unique and complex. Programs that honor the Horse as Teacher naturally have many fluctuating energy dynamics and unique considerations for horses and humans. To provide an experience that honors both beings (human and horse), one learns many facilitation components, which cannot be obtained in any other type of training. We genuinely feel an in-depth training program is needed to maintain the integrity of the work by understanding and honoring the horse as a mystical and sentient being. We strongly recommend you obtain extensive training before ever attempting to work with clients using horses.

What else might I need to know when considering this program?
The program is transformational. It will provide you the tools to work with others, and at the same time, you can anticipate changes in your life as you grow more fully into your heart-based potency and authentic expression. Be ready to be on an adventure of learning and self-discovery. Each certification student is held to their most significant potential, creating a space of possibility and encouraging them to step into their unique greatness as they partner with a horse. This program creates openings of all kinds. Anticipate more of “you” emerging in your life as you learn the way and wisdom of the horse!

When and how do I apply?
Enrollment for the EFLC Certification Program is currently open.  You may apply on this page by filling out the form in the blue box.

“Throughout the year-long apprenticeship program, I slowly emerged from my cocoon into the beautiful butterfly that was encased within. I always knew she was in there but was so buried under social conditioning that I thought it was completely normal to stay within. The field of life for me now is expansive and full of nectar. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to learn the tools and skills taught in the program. I am excited and honored to share the teachings of the horse with the world.” Carrie Mello

“The yearlong EFLC Certification Program was life-changing for me. I learned about myself and enhanced my awareness, emotional intelligence, and leadership skills. I learned new tools that I have integrated into my life and now offer to my clients, helping them to become more aware and congruent in their daily lives. What I learned changed my relationship with my horses, taking us to deeper levels of trust and mutual respect than I could have imagined. The program is structured in such a way as to deepen the students learning as the year progresses and gives many opportunities to practice, ask questions and learn new skills along the way while being supported by Kathy and her assistant. Knowing where I was at the beginning, I would never have imagined that I’d feel so confident and ready to offer the teachings to others in a year. I love how the program included all several styles of learning – hands-on, reading, lectures, webinars, and ongoing coaching and educational calls. And I made friends that are now my herd-mates for life! I highly recommend this program!” Jackie Hibbard, Lyons, Colorado

“The apprentice program with Kathy was profound for me on many levels. While it promised to be one filled with the learning and practicing of Equine Facilitated Learning and Coaching, it reached me at a much deeper, personal level. The work, the tools, the horses, and Kathy collectively contributed towards a new way of thinking and being for me along with a strong foundation from which to base my new business. I’m excited to be contributing towards positive change in others supported by the partnership with horses.” Janis Cooper, Waitsfield, Vermont

“Coaching With Horses program introduced me to an entirely new way of relating in the world. Kathy, with her wise and wonderful herd, taught me how to access my intuitive abilities, listen to my authentic voice, and step into my own creative power. I have come to appreciate her as a passionate and intuitive teacher, writer, and guide in learning the ways of the horse. On this amazing journey of discovery and transformation, I have found my life’s path.” Diana Woods, Colorado

“It’s been an amazing healing year with Kathy and her herd. Corazon blessed my heart with pictures and feelings of True Freedom showing me where I am at times imprisoning myself. Master Moon gifted depth of heart space knowledge and gave me confidence in my own knowing. Oreo blessed me with the gift of play–something I am putting back into my daily life. Sylvie–the gift of being a big yet gentle space, helping me release the false voice that tells me to be “quiet” and not make waves and Diva the gift of wondrous, nurturing support, something I have often ached for. Kathy gifted me with her spacious world of “what’s possible”, her big heart connection with the wisdom of horse, her wonderful human herd (staff) and a new herd of dear friends my fellow students! I am thrilled and blessed to be a graduate. Thank you from the depth of my heart and soul!” Cynthia Raman, Texas

“The EFLC Instructor program has been a powerful year of learning and accomplishment for me. Your program was the perfect mix of hands-on learning to integrate my horse background with my coaching practice. Your way of supporting each of us in the program as we were on our unique learning trajectories and varying backgrounds was masterful. I feel deeply impacted and grateful for the wisdom your horses shared with each of us – learning to feel our emotions, sense into the wisdom of our own bodies, learning to become more horse-like and trust our gut. The EFLC work is already infusing creativity and groundedness into my coaching practice at all levels. John (my husband and business partner) and I led a leadership program with horses and the results were profound and still rippling through our clients. Thank you for the impact you are having in the world. With deep gratitude and respect” Virginia Rhodes, Washington

“The EFLC Level III was helpful in helping me take a step forward in learning how to work with horses and humans in a safe and compassionate way. During the active sessions, I very clearly learned that it is time to engage my own hindquarters and get active in my life again – which is my most natural way of being. I am very thankful for the active exercises with the horses that reminded me to MOVE IT! Returning to an intentionally active lifestyle provides me with a feeling of good health and vitality.” Janice Charbeneau, Hartfield, VA

“I will never forget 2011. Far away from home, I found a new herd. First I thought they talked in another language, but soon I discovered we were talking the universal language of connection, empowerment, intuition, trust. I will never forget “little bit”, Moon, Corazón and all the horse I’ve met in this journey.” Marta Cirera Baqués, Spain

“Taking the apprenticeship with Kathy Pike is one of the best decisions I have made in my life. Late in my 50’s, I am creating a new life for myself, and training with Kathy opened my heart and mind to possibilities I could not have imagined. My consciousness as a human has been raised by the teachings of horses. As a trainer and teacher, Kathy is deeply committed to the personal growth and sense of the success of each student. It is the brilliant style of coaching that Kathy has developed, along with her wise and compassionate presence as a coach, that makes this training in equine learning so valuable.” Mary Barrett, Massachusetts

“Kathy has provided a beautiful setting and container for me to grow. I have found a sense of community and support that I am not sure I have ever felt before. Best of all, I feel continuous, personally supported even between on-site training. Kathy, or one of her trusted teachers, is always there when I need to realign my direction. I encourage anyone who can hear their soul calling to them through the voice of the horse to take this program. Kathy can help you translate it and lead yourself back to your heart.” Angie Deaver, Kansas

“The horses in the Apprenticeship program helped me to open up to my body wisdom and intuition. The horse also revealed my authentic and creative self. I once again take pleasure in painting and photography of people and horses. With Kathy and Reggie’s professional support, I developed coaching skills and practiced tools and methods that compliment my existing NLP coaching work. Each level was a profound and exciting learning experience. The excellent structure of the course and practical approach has been crucial as I directly put into practice the tools and methods at home with my horses. To take this course, was one of the best decisions in my life, and Kathy’s approach is perfect for helping me push further the walls of my comfort zone. It’s an awesome experience, and I met exceptional teachers, great participants, and magnificent horses. A magical journey.” Cornelia Roulet, Switzerland