Equine Guidance® FAQ:

The horses in this herd are sentient, intuitive beings; nonjudgmental witnesses that consent to participation in the Equine Guidance® somatic experience for every client. The horses are not tools, metaphors, nor objects. They will be respectful of you as you open to the guidance they provide.

As prey animals, horses are constantly working to move into the ventral vagal, social engagement systems. This means that horses are always focused on moving through fright, flight, or freeze. Mimi, Penny, and Salsa are insistent on your safety and their safety is asked for from you. 

Spiritual seekers, personal and leadership development enthusiasts, adults engaged in creating personal excellence, deeper relationships to themselves and others, and those who seek greater ease and freedom will find great benefit from a session of Equine Guidance®. It is especially for those who want to start or deepen their healing journey.

As you interact with the horses, Belle provides a trauma-informed care approach. If you desire to expand your spirit’s potential, Equine Guidance® is for you.

Equine Guidance® has been described as the best spiritual equine experience because the horses’ heartfelt presence transforms you into a heightened state of coherence with self and environment. Each session is an extraordinary step to reclaim connection, to define your subsequent actions, and to provide a powerful tune-up for anyone who feels their self-exploration and healing work may have reached a plateau.

People have come in from all over the world to experience Belle’s expertise, the herd, her education, and the highest quality equine facilitated learning and healing available.

Equine Guidance® is not designed for crisis intervention, crisis counseling, or for people who’ve been diagnosed as Seriously Mentally Ill (SMI). 

Humans and horses have shared therapeutic relationships for centuries. In the early 1900s, it was observed in England that horses brought healing to veterans of World War I. A century later, equine assisted therapy is a respected healing modality for people who’ve experienced trauma. If you’ve heard about how swimming with dolphins has been therapeutic, being with experienced horses attuned to human need is similar.

To offer a high-quality equine therapy experience, Belle obtained over 20 years of expertise, training, and certifications in leadership development, trauma-informed care, personal development, and developmental trauma. As a facilitator, she is able to tap into her intuitive ability to enhance your overall experience of an Equine Guidance® session.

Equine Guidance® is not about horsemanship, nor is it a game-playing experience. There are no obstacle courses to work through. You’ll experience an emotion-shifting, neurobiological change that brings your heart and mind into greater coherence.

Equine Guidance® has been described as the best spiritual equine experience because the horses’ heartfelt presence transforms you into a heightened state of coherence. Equine Guidance® is an extraordinary next step to reclaim connection, to define your subsequent actions, and provide a powerful tune-up for the progression of healing. Equine Guidance® is a body-centered holistic healing that is spiritually uplifting. 

If you are afraid of horses, a session of Equine Guidance® is certainly for you. There may be a transference of anxiety, but Belle and the horses are here to end this fear in your life. If you’ve had an accident with a horse, you can work through the trauma of that experience. Equine Guidance® includes a respectful approach to everyone’s nervous system, so the horse and the client can work through a fear of horses or accidents experienced with another horse. 

Everyone experiences environmental conditions in their own way. Belle and the horses have conducted sessions during snowstorms, and in the summer, sessions can be scheduled for mornings when the heat is less an issue. Inclement weather—such as a monsoon storm with driving rain, high winds, lightning, and thunder will necessitate rescheduling the session. Appropriate arrangements will be made on a case-by-case basis.

No, because this type of equine experience is not covered by standard medical insurance policies and is not considered standard counseling or psychotherapy

Even if you’ve never before been in the presence of a horse, you will be in a safe environment where the horses and you interact from the ground up. No riding occurs during the session, and you need not have any ‘horse experience’ in your life to benefit from equine interaction. 

Equine Guidance® utilizes Somatic Experiencing® and Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D.’s Polyvagal Theory to support your autonomic nervous system as it comes into coherence in the presence of the herd.  

Yes. Belle has conducted sessions for couples and business partners and has seen them experience renewed vision and confidence in each other’s positive qualities. A partnership creates its own legacy, and having experienced healing, leaves each partner better than they were before.  

An Equine Guidance® session will add to your established good fortune! Come build even more happiness into your life with the herd. 

Unlike talk therapy, the experiential nature of being with horses who are facilitating your session creates shifts out of your right brain’s unconscious neurobiology—the place where trauma awaits resolution or integration. Equine Guidance® is a body-centered approach that focuses on regulating your nervous system through the horse’s right brain, and the client’s right brain. In an Equine Guidance® session, no words are necessary. In fact, words have the potential to re-traumatize. Horses communicate beyond words. Shame does not survive in the arena. 

In over 20 years, Belle has met clients and therapists who experienced unsafe interactions with abusive, untrained facilitators. Your past experiences will be discussed with care and compassion. Your healing goals are possible to achieve at Equine Guidance®.