Workshops
Gaining Awareness
To Over-Coming
Life’s Obstacles 
May 22, 2010
June 19, 2010
July 17, 2010
August 21, 2010
September 18, 2010
October 16, 2010

Welcome to CoachHorse Counseling Services

Provider of Equine-Assisted Counseling and Learning services that empowers individuals to become confident, competent, and caring individuals through the way of the horse. Individuals change when they step-out of their comfort zone, their security; through finding their own answers, they create desired change.

What is Equine-Assisted Counseling (EAC)?

EAC incorporates horses experientially for emotional growth and learning. Through ground activities, horses increase the participant’s awareness of his or her thoughts, words, and actions.

While interacting with the horse through non-verbal communication, assertiveness, creative thinking, and problem solving skills, the horse acts as a metaphor which provides the participant opportunities in viewing what is working or not working in his or her life. During active participation, that involves processing and discussing, the participant is asked to expound on their reactions, perceptions, feelings, behaviors, and patterns.  This one-on-one interaction creates a new healing or learning environment and opportunity for personal development which are then bridged into building healthy relationships.

EAC offers opportunities to face the unknown, our fears, our styles of coping, and authenticity
EAC challenges participants in a non-threatening manner
EAC rapidly breaks down defense barriers
EAC provides immediate cause and effect situations
EAC captivates and holds attention

The Benefits of Equine-Assisted Counseling

Participants learn how to recognize dysfunctional patterns of behavior and find personal answers through exploratory interactions with horses in a safe setting. Through exploring, questioning, challenging, validating, changing, and learning more about themselves, their relationships, and the world around them, results in gaining a fresh perspective on life.

CoachHorse can help you:

Improve self-confidence and self-esteem	Develop appropriate assertiveness skills
Build healthier relationships through self-awareness	Promote change from dysfunctional patterns to successful ones
Diminish fear and self-doubt	Uncover your inner child/fun
Enhance social skills	Enhance leadership skills
Develop the awareness of patience	Promote teamwork

Why Horses?

Horses are very sensitive, mindful creatures with highly developed abilities to sense and respond to their surroundings. Because they are prey animals, they are wired to immediately read and respond to a person's emotions or behavior. Horses teach us how to be present, live authentically, and become aware of how we achieve our place in the world.  When working with a horse, the horse uncovers hidden and sensitive feelings that are buried deep inside. They teach us how to work with control and release those unwanted feelings while also learning how to relate well with others. Horses give us this opportunity whether we are aware of it or not.

Be Present
Horses live everyday in the here and now and do not worry about the past or the future. They have a contentment and peace that we desire in our lives; learning to be fully present with horses teaches us to experience this contentment and peace. Learning to be present de-emphasizes our negative thoughts about what has happened in the past and increases our awareness that the past is history. Being present also diminishes our self-limiting thoughts about future events that could be asked such as - What if my future plans do not work for me?  What if I make a mistake?  And, will I live a content and happy life?

Learning from horses will expand our awareness without predetermined expectations. As our awareness grows, we are receptive to new possibilities, new ideas, new experiences, and new ways of viewing the world. Learning to live in the present alongside a horse also allows empathy to grow and changes our way of thinking.

Being more horse-like and living in the present moment brings us a sense of peace, serenity, and connection to humanity.

Live Authentically
Horses are genuine mindful creatures that live authentically by nature. Horses are social herd animals that display no hidden agendas and live truthfully, whereas humans often feel as if they have to hide their true-selves in order to feel accepted by others. Living in such an unauthentic sense of self can create an unhappy life. Horses teach us how to authenticate our personal hidden feelings rather than hide them. They teach us how to open-up and be true to ourselves.

Awareness
Horses, which are prey animals, are very sensitive to their surroundings as this is part of their survival. Because they are prey animals and if their surrounding is threatened, they are ready for fight or flight. If they are not ready they may risk critical consequences such as an attack by a predator animal.

If we too are not alert, aware of our choices, aware of our thoughts and feelings, we may risk critical consequences and miss opportunities in life for love, connection, gratitude, empathy, and laughter. If we are so caught up in our dysfunctional personal issues, we may miss the opportunity for personal growth and living a balanced life.

Horses teach us to pay attention, to become aware of ourselves and our surroundings. They teach us to become aware of our body language, our non-verbal communication.

Horses communicate with each other mainly by body language; therefore they pay much attention and can read the body language of a participant.Psychologists have said that 90% of human communication happens at a non-verbal level. With the help of horses, much of the learning process happens when horses read our body language and reflect back the unconscious awareness of our thoughts and feelings. It is our body language that tells the truth of what is hidden or diminished inside; the body does not lie. For example, a participant could be extremely upset about an issue that occurred earlier at home but when she is working with the horse and hides the upset feelings, the horse will usually not trust what the participant is silently projecting and does not do what she asks. The participant is incongruent with her feelings, not truthful. However, if the participant is congruent and admits she had an upset earlier at home, the horse will feel much more relaxed and respond in kind.