I will never forget stepping onto the ranch in Paso Robles for my first onsite of Equus Coach training in 2023. The birdsong, warm sun, and earthy smells calmed my mind immediately. Being on the land with the horses and my cohort felt like a dawning and a return. For four days, I did not worry about checking on my family or missing a work email while on the ranch. This in itself was revolutionary. My whole focus was on the work at hand of learning to bring horses and humans together for healing. It changed everything for me.

At that point, I had already been a coach for many years and was even teaching other coaches how to coach. I had worked through many deep beliefs and patterns. On the ranch I discovered that some of them had only been resolved intellectually. I had learned to talk around them or avoid situations where they may come up. This illusion crumbled as I walked up to a horse to halter for the first time. I froze, cried, and wondered what right I had to disturb this horse so we could work together. I felt selfish for having wants and needs. I felt small and helpless. This moment of exploring how I approached relationships in real time eventually shifted all of my relationships toward more authenticity and deeper connections.

Working with horses and a skilled facilitator takes people to new levels of honesty, courage, and healing. I fell in love with this work as an Equus Coach, so much so that I am now pursuing my Master’s in Social Work to expand my business into equine-assisted therapy. I would not have had the courage and confidence to start graduate school at age 51 without the heart-opening experience of connecting with horses. It is a dream come true to work with clients of all ages as they step into the herd where they are embraced for their wounds and their brilliance. There is nowhere to hide and no need to hide the complexity of human life from horses. Their non-judgmental presence creates an ideal environment for healing.

My work with horses is evolving like the best kind of mystery; one chapter at a time full of interesting people, puzzles to crack, curiosity, challenges, and joy. What I know for sure is that my calling is to be shoulder to shoulder with horses offering healing work to humans. That is enough to find my way forward.

To find out more about my work, you are warmly welcome to visit my website https://www.kathehnke.com/. May your own path be filled with all that brings you joy, especially horses!