Kate is a third-generation equestrian and is a certified Equine Assisted Learning Coach. Kate received a BS in Psychology from Washington State University. Kate has spent her life studying horses and has spent the last twenty years professionally building conscious relationships between horses and humans. 

Participants in our programs are taught new, more compassionate ways to connect with themselves and others. This attunement is most commonly experienced as a sense of empowerment and efficacy with the horses, as well as with the others in the group. We also provide tools for taking those skills out into the world. We have found that the experience resonates with most clients long after they finish the program and that they are able to use the tools in everyday life. Horses bring an embodied experience of self-empowerment to populations that are seeking greater health, and self-awareness and may be healing or recovering from Trauma, Anxiety, Depression, PTSD, and Substance abuse among many other things. 

Often people think they are saying one thing but in fact, are conveying another thing both energetically and physically. Horses will show clients exactly what they are communicating, exactly how strong their boundaries are, what kind of energy they are holding, and if they are trustworthy leaders at the moment. They communicate all of these things with NO judgment at all. 

Learning about relationships and leadership through working with horses is a powerful experience with great potential for revealing parts of the self that clients hadn’t noticed or understood. Horses can help to acknowledge, strengthen and integrate those parts, which can transform the way they connect with themselves and with others. The resulting changes can lead to an embodied experience of presence and efficacy as well as GREAT JOY. 

Horses, like humans, thrive on social engagement and connection to their herd mates. If clients can connect, hold clear boundaries and lead from the heart, a horse will gladly join up with them in nearly any task! Leadership is not about dominating; it is about finding the “want to” in another through understanding and connection. That is what we call engagement. 

Equine Assisted Learning provides opportunities to learn a variety of life skills and to develop self-confidence and self-esteem. Social and emotional skills are developed through participation in hands-on (from the ground only, no riding) activities.