at the beer ranch

There are many reasons why horses are our go-to animal guide for human support.

First, horses have been an integral part of the human experience — and thus we have been an integral part of their experience as well — since before civilization. As a matter of fact, we owe our civilized society to the horse. They gave us the ability to travel, farm and even fight our enemies.  To me, more than any other animal, horses have chosen to create a symbiotic relationship with man. Today, we no longer need them for work or war, so they are now free to offer their gifts in a different way. They have honed their ability to read and understand their human friends and are masters at "knowing" us in ways we sometimes don't even know ourselves.

If you want to get scientific, horses are very large animals and have huge hearts with amazingly powerful electromagnetic influence over the human body. Just standing in the presence of a calm horse can help you regulate your heart rate and breathing. The size of the horse is also a tid bit intimidating — a fact that tends to force us to stay present in the moment and not drift back into our past or forward into the future. Present moment mindfulness has great value in growth and healing both.

Lastly, horses are just damn good at making people feel better. Ask any horse owner and they will report things like, "Going to the barn on a bad day makes it better" or "Just petting my horse makes me feel calmer and more grounded." As Winston Churchill so aptly pointed out, "The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man."

Horses and nature get you out of your head and can dramatically help you remove the blocks that are keeping you from succeeding.

From Kim: After over 25 years working with business owners to develop marketing programs, I can tell you that the thing that kills most small businesses is not bad ideas, lack of funding or effort on the entrepreneur's part — it's a block somewhere that the entrepreneur has in their past, one they may not even be aware of, that has impacted their ability to succeed.

Horses and nature help you discover and overcome those block you may not even be aware are the cause of an issue. In other words, they symptom may be something that feels totally unrelated to the result. You have to get into the present moment, feel into the situation and hunt around to find the right answer. This is where coaching is a tremendous benefit — an impartial third party that helps you puzzle it out. Horses and nature provide the supportive back drop — and experiential input — that facilitates the process at an accelerated pace and to a higher level for many people.

From Kim: Let me explain it with a fictional example. Let's say as a child, your parents struggled financially. They fought about money. They stressed over the things they couldn't afford or went without things they needed just to get by. You watched all of this, took it in. You may have begun to associate money with struggle and strife. As you proceeded through life, you naturally sought out or attached to those incidents that supported your inclination that money was a root cause of unhappiness. Now, as a service based business owner, you may have trouble setting your prices or invoicing people because you know what a struggle money can be. This results in you not getting paid. Which, in turn, results in the downfall of your business. If we can step in and root out this tendency to associate money with struggle BEFORE it becomes a big issue, you now can sidestep that landmine that would blow up your business' future.

We are a private ranch and only open to visitors by appointment. We reserve our trails and land for our clients who can benefit from coaching services, workshops or one of our events. You are welcome to attend any of these that fit you needs. We do offer ranch tours to those who are interested in attending or hosting an event here. Please make an appointment before coming to the ranch as we are not always available to assist visitors.