E 242: The Power of Horses: Stress Management and Self-Awareness w Guest Sue Willoughby
Sue Willoughby is an Equus Coach®, intuitive guide, and reinvention expert who helps women over 40 reconnect with their inner wisdom, release what no longer serves them, and step into a more authentic, aligned life—through the powerful presence of horses.
In this episode, Sue walks us through what actually happens in an Equus Coaching session and explains why working with horses is such a profound tool for stress relief, self-awareness, and emotional regulation. She shares insights on how high-performing women, who are often used to “powering through,” can finally slow down, tune in to their intuition, and honor their own needs.
Sue also opens up about her own journey of reinvention—from DJ to comic to pilot, and now coach—and offers practical advice for women over 40 who feel stuck but are hesitant to leap into change. Listeners will hear about the surprising things her clients discover about themselves during horse work, especially those who are used to being in control, and how horses guide them toward living boldly and purposefully.
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Well, good morning everybody, and welcome back to another episode of Adult Child of Dysfunction.
Speaker AToday we have with us Susan Willoughby.
Speaker AAnd this is going to be such a fun one.
Speaker ASusan is an equus coach, a truth teller and reinvention expert, helping women over 40 ditch the burnout, trust their gut, and live boldly with horses as their guides.
Speaker AI love this sentence too.
Speaker AShe turns midlife meh into powerful, purposeful change.
Speaker AWelcome, Susan.
Speaker AHow are you today?
Speaker BI'm well, thank you so much, Tammy, for having me on.
Speaker AYou are very welcome.
Speaker ASo I'm just going to jump right into it because I love my dog.
Speaker AFirst of all, my daughter loves horses.
Speaker AI actually got thrown from an Arabian.
Speaker AI was thought I was gonna ride this hardly ever been ridden horse when I was about 12 years old and got thrown.
Speaker AWell, didn't even get thrown.
Speaker ADied throat tossed, foot caught in the stirrup, kicked about 18 times.
Speaker ADidn't get back on a horse until, oh gosh, when I went horseback riding like 35, 40 years later.
Speaker ASo.
Speaker ABut my daughter absolutely loves horses and I watched her and what she wanted to do was worth work with autistic children through horses and I thought, how crazy.
Speaker ALike how, how, what's good therapy?
Speaker AYou know, I, and I watch on TikTok all these videos of people like little kids hugging their horses and children with down syndrome just like feeding the, like feeling the energy.
Speaker AAnd so I'm, I'm enthralled, but I know absolutely nothing about the topic.
Speaker ASo I'm excited to have you here.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker ASo what, what exactly is equus coaching?
Speaker ALet's start there.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BSo equus coaching is a partnership with my equine counterparts to work in, in tandem to help clients realize their own potential, their own answers and everything that lies within them.
Speaker BSo horses act as a sort of a feedback loop, you might say, because I'm watching the horse's behavior as they're interacting with the clients and that gives me some really valuable information on how to ask really good open ended coaching questions and get to sort of the crux of the issue or what somebody is really struggling with rather than what they're telling me they're struggling with through their connection with the horse.
Speaker BSo that's, that's it in a nutshell.
Speaker ARight, Right.
Speaker AAnd I'm sure it's way more complicated than that.
Speaker AAnd is it give.
Speaker ATell me, I mean, why our horse?
Speaker ADo horses have a spiritual kind of instinctual vibe, kind of like dogs do different?
Speaker BYes.
Speaker BAnd it's one of those yes and answers horses, because they are prey animals, right?
Speaker BHorse, our dogs, are predators, right?
Speaker BTheir eyes are in the front of their head.
Speaker BHorses are prey animals.
Speaker BSo everything about their being is about survival.
Speaker BAll of the information that they take in through all of their senses, including every cell of their skin.
Speaker BYou know, they can sense a little tiny fly in their butt and just twitch that little area of skin to get it off.
Speaker BBut they're taking in information constantly and they're processing it because they want to know, am I safe?
Speaker BIs this thing or this person or this other horse going to be a threat to me or is there some predator that's stalking me?
Speaker BSo they're taking in information all the time.
Speaker BAnd, and when they do that, and when they communicate with their herd members, because they're also herd animals, they have this beautiful non verbal communication with the other members of their herd.
Speaker BAnd when we are in their, you know, their, their bubble, their space, we're one of the herd members.
Speaker BAnd so they're assessing, you know, from a point of, you know, heart connection, biorhythms, they're, they're sensing what is coming from inside of us, not the face that we present to the world.
Speaker BThey don't even see that, you know, they, they connect with us on a much deeper level.
Speaker BSo when you were talking about, you know, autistic children or children with, you know, special needs, I mean, that's how I kind of got started connecting horses with humans back when I was a teenager working at a summer camp for individuals with special needs.
Speaker BHorses connect on a way that individuals that may not be able to communicate through autism or whatever that are nonverbal can connect with the horse in a beautiful way because the horse does not understand.
Speaker BWe can talk to the horse all day long, but a nonverbal person communicates with the horse on a different level.
Speaker BSo when horses are communicating with us or taking in information from us, it's all at a, at a deep, you know, physical level so they can get us out of our heads and into our bodies.
Speaker BSo many amazing things.
Speaker BSo that's kind of a broad brush.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker ANo, I mean, I think all of this is going to be a big, you know, the big picture kind of just generalization, because I didn't.
Speaker AI don't know.
Speaker AYeah, I do.
Speaker AYou know, it's kind of.
Speaker ABut I feel like it's almost like, I mean, a horse to me.
Speaker AI feel like it's almost like, like I said, my dog, like my dog knows when I'm sick.
Speaker AI don't have to say I don't feel Good.
Speaker AShe senses it and she.
Speaker AAnd the end, she reacts to that.
Speaker ASo what are some, like, what would give me an example of.
Speaker ALet's say you're working with a client and that client is really torn up, like just really, really distraught.
Speaker AWhat are some things you would look for in the horse to where those aware that would make you aware.
Speaker AAs you said, you kind of use the horse's cues to see what's really going on.
Speaker BYes.
Speaker BSo I would have had a conversation with the client and they may, there may be something that they are, they're working on.
Speaker BI don't know if it's grief or if it's something else.
Speaker BNow I'm not a licensed therapist, so I don't work with deep trauma.
Speaker BHowever, if someone has been in a trauma situation and is working through that with a therapist, they may come to have a little bit more of a deeper connection or get over a plateau or something.
Speaker BSo if someone comes in there, they're having some emotional things that they're dealing with, whatever that is in their life, maybe divorce, maybe something else, who knows, right.
Speaker BWhatever it is, it depends on what, how they're presenting and what they're actually feeling.
Speaker BSo by working with the horse, they may be, they may have been pushing all of these feelings or this emotional whatever it is that they're dealing with, they may have been pushing it down the horse can through the pure essence of being a horse.
Speaker BAnd that's the thing.
Speaker BThey don't need any special training.
Speaker BThey, they're just sensing, processing and reacting in accordance to what the other herd mate.
Speaker BIn this sense, it would be the client is feeling and how, it's how what's going on inside their body.
Speaker BSo people may not quite understand.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BBecause we spend a lot of time in our heads, let's face it.
Speaker BRight?
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BThey're walking around and we're just like a head bobbing around.
Speaker BThe horses, because they're present in every moment of their existence, force us to be as well.
Speaker BSo they, they help us get grounded, they help us get back in our bodies.
Speaker BAnd so if I see a client that is expressing some emotion or something, I will ask them how they're feeling and if they come back with a word, I'll ask them again, what are you feeling?
Speaker BWhere is this thing coming from in your body and what does it feel like?
Speaker BAnd that is it.
Speaker BThat takes a minute.
Speaker BIf, if you've not been processing your emotions and your, you know, all of the things that, that have happened to you on that level, it's going to Take a minute.
Speaker BAnd it could also just open a floodgate, literally and figuratively.
Speaker BAnd the horse, if they don't care what you're going through, they don't care if you're scared, they don't care if you're mad, they don't care if you're whatever.
Speaker BWhat they care about is if you're being honest and if you're being congruent and if you're putting up one facade I like, you know, because that's basically what it is.
Speaker BIf you're putting up this facade or this wall, the horse may keep its distance because it doesn't feel safe.
Speaker BIt.
Speaker BIt's sensing that there's incongruency in how you are presenting and what is really.
Speaker BSo by, you know, observing where the horse is and how they're reacting with the human, I can say, okay, what are you feeling?
Speaker BWhat is this thing that, you know, what, where in your body do you feel this?
Speaker BAnd once they can sort of let go, relax, get grounded and let some of that guard fall away, the horse will be more willing to interact and then they can, you know, the horse may come over and just stand by them.
Speaker BThe horse may, you know, come up and, you know, put their head on their shoulder.
Speaker BIt.
Speaker BIt just depends.
Speaker ASo it's a big, huge form of muscle testing a little bit.
Speaker AYeah, you're using the horse's muscles, so I mean, that makes sense.
Speaker ASo I guess because like you said, they are prey, so they are in survive, not in survival mode.
Speaker ABut they are geared to be intuitive.
Speaker AI mean, that's how they're wired.
Speaker AThat's how they're born.
Speaker ACompletely intuitive.
Speaker AAnd that's interesting.
Speaker ASo.
Speaker ASo if you.
Speaker BInformation very quickly, you know, they take it in, they let it go.
Speaker BThey take it in, they let it go.
Speaker BAs long as that, you know, they're like, safe, not safe, safe, not safe.
Speaker BYou know, threat, not threat.
Speaker AInteresting.
Speaker ASo if somebody comes up to them and they go to like, hug them and they've got a big old smile and they're like, angry inside, that horse might.
Speaker ACould back up or stiffen or.
Speaker AYeah, so those are kind of the signals you're looking for.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BAnd I also teach people how to, like, approach the horse in a way that.
Speaker BBecause you're.
Speaker BIt's how you're showing up in relationship.
Speaker BBecause this is what it is.
Speaker BIt's a relationship with this animal, with this creature, with this being.
Speaker BAnd how you show up with the horse is probably going to be how you show up in relationship anywhere.
Speaker AInteresting.
Speaker AVery interesting.
Speaker AI always Wondered like that's.
Speaker ALike I said, I know why, but now that, that clears up so.
Speaker ASo many hundreds of questions I've had throughout the years about why people happy to do that, you know.
Speaker AWell, thank you for that.
Speaker ASo, so what, what does a, a session look like with you?
Speaker AWhat is that?
Speaker AHow do you walk through?
Speaker ALike, just the basics, obviously, not the whole thing.
Speaker BYeah, I want, on a one on one session would be the client, myself and the horse.
Speaker BAnd the client and the horse are in a round pen usually if, if one is available, or a smaller enclosed arena so that the horse is.
Speaker BThe horse doesn't have a bridle or a saddle or anything.
Speaker BThere's no riding involved.
Speaker BThe horse is at liberty, free to move about at, at will.
Speaker BAnd then, you know, I obviously go through a safety demo because I want people to feel safe and show them a couple of ways that they can interact with the horse.
Speaker BIf they want to try and move the horse, it just gives them something else to think about.
Speaker BSo it's not about the task, it's not about the activity.
Speaker BIt just gives them some ways to interact.
Speaker BAnd then as they're interacting with the horse, I'm watching the horse's behavior.
Speaker BI'm watching the person's behavior.
Speaker BWhat.
Speaker BMaybe they're, what they're saying because, you know, let's face it, we like to talk because we have mouths and.
Speaker ARight, right.
Speaker BThey may be talking a blue streak to the horse.
Speaker BThe horse is like, whatever.
Speaker BAnd then that gives me the opportunity to, you know, that someone may have set an intention for the, for, for the session.
Speaker BOr sometimes I like it to just be organic and see maybe, you know, just a broad topic that they want to explore.
Speaker BAnd then I let them explore and I let them interact with the horse and see what comes up and see how the horse is reacting to their interaction and how they're showing up and how the horse is showing up.
Speaker BAnd I'm outside of the conversation, so I'm just observing.
Speaker BAnd I may at some point interact and say, you know, what, what's coming up for you?
Speaker BBecause I'm watching the horse and I want to know if the person understands or can sense and especially can feel what is happening to them in a specific moment.
Speaker BLike if the horse all of a sudden breaks contact and walks away, I may say, what just happened there?
Speaker ARight.
Speaker BYou know, what, just how, how did that relationship break away?
Speaker BYou know, you didn't send the horse away.
Speaker BThe horse just decided to disconnect.
Speaker BAnd they're like, oh, well, I, you know, whatever.
Speaker BThey may come up with like, I started thinking about something or I started feeling a certain way or, or, you know, so it's, it's very simple, it's very organic and it's also very powerful.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker ASo how would you, how, like, how does it work for like stress relief?
Speaker ADo people come.
Speaker AIs it just because a horse is calming or is it because there's like this reciprocating back and forth energy?
Speaker BYes.
Speaker BAnd all of the above.
Speaker AI know I'm asking a lot of questions in one thing because I'm, I'm learning a lot.
Speaker AThis is really intriguing me.
Speaker AI love that.
Speaker BSo for stress relief, I mean, where does stress come from?
Speaker BWhere does it originate?
Speaker BIs it, you know, where in our body is it showing up?
Speaker BAnd the horses can be really helpful with that.
Speaker BReleasing, allowing people to build an awareness of what's going on inside them rather than just spiraling off in some, you know, story thought, you know, spin out.
Speaker BOh, you know, once you get, you know, because it's, it's like a domino effect, right.
Speaker BOnce you start thinking about something, then you start thinking about that and that and that and that and that.
Speaker BAnd then before you know it, you're like off to the races with some crazy thought that you had.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker BSo the horses can help to break that thought pattern and get you back in your body and start thinking about, how do I feel?
Speaker BYou know, let me take a beat and think about how I feel before I react, before I spin out, before I have an anxiety attack, you know, before I get all balled up and stressed out.
Speaker BYou know, because sometimes you can just be so wound so tightly that if you knock your coffee over in the morning, well, that's it.
Speaker BMy day is ruined.
Speaker BYou know, my, the rest of the day is just going to be crap.
Speaker BAnd, you know, all of that, this kind of, you know, like, oh, I spilled my coffee, I guess I gotta make another cup.
Speaker BLet me clean this up.
Speaker BAnd right, so it can calm your, help calm your nervous system and give you some tools to start to build that awareness.
Speaker BLike the horse, right?
Speaker BI would say be the horse.
Speaker BWhen, when something causes the horse to startle out in the pasture, they're going to look around, they're going to listen, they're going to, you know, they're going to take a moment to be like, okay, what's going on?
Speaker BAnd if their heart starts racing, if, you know, whatever, what does that feel like?
Speaker BHow can I, how can I take that physical information and process it in a way that will inform my next move?
Speaker BThat Will inform my reaction.
Speaker BSo it.
Speaker BIt really does.
Speaker BIf you're interesting thinking, if you're acting, you know, processing things physically, it gives you that moment to, you know, because if somebody makes you mad, if somebody, you know, upsets you, you feel it.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker BAnd most of us don't take the time to.
Speaker BThey just react.
Speaker BYou just react.
Speaker BYou're like, you hurt my feelings or, you know, whatever, and Right.
Speaker BLunge at them.
Speaker BThis gives us a moment to, you know, build those awareness skills and start to feel before we react.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AAnd I can see, too, it kind of works like the.
Speaker AThe other way around too, because I'm with.
Speaker AIf I'm with a horse and I'm hugging his head and I'm talking to him, or I'm just thinking, whatever.
Speaker AAnd then all of a sudden he tenses.
Speaker AThen you.
Speaker ALike, you're right.
Speaker ALike, it's like I have to think about, why did he do that?
Speaker ALike, what?
Speaker ASo that is part.
Speaker AI guess that's.
Speaker AIs that the basic gist of part of how it works too?
Speaker ABecause I'm picturing me being with the horse.
Speaker ALike, if the horse all of a sudden backs away, I'll be like, okay, what's going on with me here that I have to.
Speaker AThat I'm scaring this horse?
Speaker BRight.
Speaker ALike what?
Speaker AYou know what?
Speaker ABecause now by this point inside me.
Speaker ARight, right, right.
Speaker AAnd I'm sure.
Speaker AI'm sure you.
Speaker AOh, sorry, go ahead.
Speaker BNo, because you.
Speaker BYou're right, May something physically changed inside you that, you know, you weren't aware of, because in that moment when you were close to the horse, it may have triggered something inside you that you're kind of unaware of.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BBut you're like, oh, oh, Now I feel like this kind of icky feeling in my gut or.
Speaker BOr.
Speaker BOr my heart's.
Speaker BYou know, my chest feels pressure.
Speaker BWhy am I feeling that?
Speaker BSo it makes you curious, like, if the horse is gonna move away from you, it must have been pretty intense because otherwise, you know, that they may feel it before you feel it.
Speaker AIt's.
Speaker AYeah, well, exactly.
Speaker AAnd, you know, you understand it.
Speaker AYeah, Right.
Speaker AAnd I'm just kind of now, like, really getting into the whole energetic thing.
Speaker ASo, I mean, it makes sense.
Speaker ALike, it's.
Speaker AIt makes total sense.
Speaker AAnd being.
Speaker AIt's like the horse is this huge 300.
Speaker AI don't know how much a horse weighs, but three or 400 pound.
Speaker AEmpath.
Speaker BTwelve hundred pounds.
Speaker ATwelve hundred pounds.
Speaker BTwelve hundred.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker ANo.
Speaker AOkay.
Speaker ASo I have no idea how much.
Speaker AI guess that makes sense, but yeah, so that oh my gosh, that makes so much sense.
Speaker ASo you work with mostly people over 40.
Speaker AIs, is it just because that's kind of when you had reinvented yourself or is it just of the age where you realize how many people are in this stuckness?
Speaker BYeah, yeah, I've reinvented myself so many times over the years.
Speaker BBut I think that women, especially in that midlife and that can be anywhere from 35 to 70, you know, whatever, have this period where they start questioning their current identity and they, they may have spent so much time as, you know, a mom, a caregiver, you know, take whatever being in corporate America and they're like, is this all there is?
Speaker BAnd you know, what am I going to do with the next phase of my life?
Speaker BThey may be looking at retirement.
Speaker BThey maybe, you know, so I feel that it is that time of questioning, right?
Speaker BWhat, what's next?
Speaker BAnd that is a difficult time because I also think that sometimes women feel when they reach a certain age that they become invisible and that they don't, they're not seen the same way or not seen at all and they don't feel like they have much worth or well, I'll just sort of fade into the, fade into the abyss and it doesn't really matter.
Speaker BBut it's reinvention.
Speaker BIt's, you know, it's like it's a time to, to reassess things and be, what else?
Speaker BWhat can I do?
Speaker BLet's get curious, let's get, you know, build that awareness, build that curiosity and think about what you could, you know, feel into what you could do next.
Speaker ARight?
Speaker ASo what do you tell those people that are absolutely just terrified to make changes to.
Speaker ABecause I feel like a lot of people, I mean, 40s is a good example because a lot of people, their kids just went off to college or, you know, they're empty nesters, they're not a mom, quote, unquote, not a mom anymore.
Speaker AThat's not their job, that's not their identity.
Speaker ASo they kind of lose that.
Speaker AWhat do you, what do you say and how do you help people through the I'm afraid to make changes kind of stage?
Speaker BI think everybody's afraid to make a change no matter what it is.
Speaker BAnd that's just fear of the unknown.
Speaker BAnd I think the other big thing about it is that if you have been so focused and so wrapped up in your identity as whatever mom, corporate executive, whatever it is, that you don't know what is on the other side of that.
Speaker BSo it's scary.
Speaker BAnd the biggest Biggest fear, the biggest thing that's scary is, like I said, the unknown.
Speaker BThe other thing is, if you're going to try something new, nobody likes to look like a beginner.
Speaker BNobody likes to.
Speaker BYou know, it's like, I don't want to.
Speaker BI'm gonna look stupid.
Speaker BMy friends are gonna think I'm crazy.
Speaker BIt's all about other people's perceptions, which is a beautiful thing about the horses, because they don't judge.
Speaker AThey don't care.
Speaker BThey don't care.
Speaker BSo if you want to, you know, experiment, you know, think about, like, I'm gonna skip around the arena, or I'm gonna, you know, just sort of let my hair down and.
Speaker BAnd enjoy myself and explore what might be.
Speaker BWhat might bring passion to me.
Speaker BThe horses be like, yeah, let's.
Speaker BI'm.
Speaker BI'm in.
Speaker BLet's do it.
Speaker BYou know, let's.
Speaker BLet's be.
Speaker BLet's be true to yourself.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker AThey're feeling the positivity and the joy in that, not the weirdness.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BThey're not going to judge you.
Speaker AThey're not judging you.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BSo I think I'd say, you know, back to your question.
Speaker BWhat.
Speaker BWhat would I.
Speaker BWhat do I tell people?
Speaker BLike, you know, take off your identity glasses, put on your.
Speaker BI'm looking at things through beginner eyes, and remember how much fun it is to actually learn something new or to try something new.
Speaker BIt can be very exciting and very invigorating and put the fear aside if you try something, you know.
Speaker BAnd the other thing is, I think people think, oh, if I do this thing, I'm gonna have to put in the 10,000 hours.
Speaker BI'm gonna have to be, you know, expert at that.
Speaker BAnd you're not.
Speaker BI mean, I've done a lot of things, you know, learning to fly a plane, you know, learning to play polo at 63.
Speaker BI mean, these are all things that, you know, if you do it, great.
Speaker BIf you just try it and enjoy the experience that is in itself beautiful.
Speaker BIf you can just let go and enjoy the experience, it doesn't matter how silly you look or whatever, nobody's going to judge you.
Speaker BAnd if they do, that's on them.
Speaker BThat's not your thing, Right, Right.
Speaker AAbsolutely.
Speaker AI.
Speaker AAnd I love, though, that you said that the horses, they don't judge, they don't care, and they're.
Speaker AThey're feeling the energy, which is making them feel safe and making you feel safe, so.
Speaker AOr them.
Speaker AThe women feel safe.
Speaker AWhat do you talk to about your clients or what are some things with your Clients that are, like, breakthroughs that they've had while dealing with the horses are there.
Speaker AGive me a couple examples, because I'm.
Speaker AI'm very intrigued with this.
Speaker ALike, some things that they found out about themselves or discovered about themselves just because they were with this gigantic, joyful animal.
Speaker BA lot of times, some of the things maybe, you know, women especially tend to be people pleasers.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BAnd making sure everybody else is taking care of and not taking care of themselves.
Speaker BSo that, in and of itself, is an issue with boundaries and saying no.
Speaker BAnd horses are very good at testing and pushing your boundaries and helping you be aware that you have a boundary issue.
Speaker BFor example, someone may be interacting with the horse, and the horse is very close to them and keeps getting closer.
Speaker BAnd at first.
Speaker BAnd I may say, so how.
Speaker BHow does that feel?
Speaker BOh, that's.
Speaker BYou know, the client may say, oh, that's great.
Speaker BYou know, they're just being snuggly.
Speaker BAnd I'm like, okay, we'll see.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker BAnd the horse may, you know, get to the point where they're nudging them with their head or they're nibbling at their jacket or.
Speaker BOr something else.
Speaker BAnd they may just get to the point where they're just being a little pushy.
Speaker BAnd I'll ask again, how does that feel now?
Speaker BOr how does that feel?
Speaker BAnd then they're like, not so good.
Speaker BIt feels a little invasive.
Speaker BOh, okay.
Speaker BWhat can you do?
Speaker ARight.
Speaker BAnd what can you do to.
Speaker BTo change that scenario?
Speaker BWell, I don't want to hurt the horse's feelings.
Speaker BOkay.
Speaker BThat's an interesting response.
Speaker ARed flag.
Speaker AYeah, that's right.
Speaker AThat's a very.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker AAnd that's exactly what I would expect as a response.
Speaker BYeah, I don't want to hurt the horse's feelings.
Speaker BI don't want to send the horse away.
Speaker BI don't want to push the horse away because they think maybe the horse won't come back and snuggle when they actually want it to.
Speaker BAnd so we'll go through some exercises about, you know, creating safe and healthy boundaries.
Speaker BSo that's a really good one.
Speaker BAnd that comes up a lot, I'm sure.
Speaker BYeah.
Speaker BI'm gonna test your boundaries for sure.
Speaker BAnother one, you know, might be something like, you know, people are transferring their stuff onto the horse.
Speaker BThe horse may be.
Speaker BFor no other reason.
Speaker BNot that they don't feel safe or anything else, but.
Speaker ASorry, my dog is barking.
Speaker AHold on one second.
Speaker AMolly, stop.
Speaker ASorry about that.
Speaker AMy dog.
Speaker AYeah, lover.
Speaker ASo I'll go ahead.
Speaker AI'm sorry.
Speaker BSo the Other.
Speaker BAnother one is that, you know, transferring of what you're feeling and things that are bothering you onto the horse.
Speaker BLike it's.
Speaker BThe horse is doing this.
Speaker BSo, for example, if the horse is just being horse over in the corner of the arena, the person may immediately start talking about the horse.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker BHorse doesn't like me, is bored.
Speaker BThe horse is ignoring me.
Speaker BThe horse is this.
Speaker BThe horse.
Speaker BIs that the.
Speaker ASo it's everybody else's fault, but theirs.
Speaker BTell me more about that.
Speaker BRight?
Speaker BWhy.
Speaker BWhy do you feel.
Speaker BWhy do you feel that?
Speaker BWell, the horse is standing over there in the corner and they're not coming right up to me and they're not, you know, and they're not interacting with me and they're not.
Speaker BOh, okay, tell me more.
Speaker BRight?
Speaker BWhy do you feel that?
Speaker BWhy do you feel like the horse is ignoring you?
Speaker BWell, he's just standing over there, you know, and so it begins.
Speaker BDoes that have, you know, how does that translate to you on a regular basis?
Speaker BAnd then they're like, oh, oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker BSo it's like.
Speaker BThen they realize that this is how they feel in real life.
Speaker BAnd this is.
Speaker BThey feel that people don't like them.
Speaker BThey feel that.
Speaker BSo of course that you're going to internalize all those things and put up walls so that you're going to push people away because you already assume that they're not going to like you or that you're boring or that you're.
Speaker BWhatever.
Speaker BSo not about this.
Speaker AYeah, I mean, it's just like a great big.
Speaker AI mean, it's.
Speaker BMirror, mirror, mirror.
Speaker AExactly, I was gonna say.
Speaker AAnd not only that, but like, it's like, okay, so then when you explain, hey, this is how horses work.
Speaker AThey're feeding off your energy.
Speaker AThey're like, maybe the horse is, you know, and.
Speaker AAnd then you.
Speaker AYou open yourself to a whole can of worms of.
Speaker AYou have to be self aware.
Speaker AYou have no choice at this point because I came here to play with this horse and the horse doesn't even like me.
Speaker ASo what, you know, it's.
Speaker AOh, my goodness.
Speaker BIt's just complicated.
Speaker BWe're complicated.
Speaker AVery complicated, but yet.
Speaker AIt's very complicated, but yet the big picture of it is kind of simple in a way.
Speaker BIt's really simple.
Speaker AYeah, I mean, it is really simple.
Speaker BI mean, the horses, to take responsibility for yourself, they teach you to be more aware of what's actually going on with you.
Speaker BThe thing is, like I said, horses are just information processors, right?
Speaker BIf, you know, they take things in and they process them and then they Let them go.
Speaker BAnd that's the other big takeaway that we can get from horses is they don't typically hang on to things.
Speaker BNow, have horses hold.
Speaker BCan horses hold on to trauma?
Speaker BAbsolutely, if they've been abused or neglected or whatever.
Speaker BSo it may take a long time to reconnect with that horse and bring that horse back into themselves where they feel safe and they feel comfortable, just like humans.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker BBut they're really good at getting a message from another individual in their herd and getting like, okay, I got you.
Speaker BI will not eat your hay anymore because you just kicked me in the butt.
Speaker BSo they're not gonna then, you know, go back to their other herd mates and be like, you know, Sally over there kicked me in the butt, and now she's just ignoring me and blah, blah, blah, and making up this whole story about the.
Speaker BThat incident.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker BAnd then relating it and building on it and just living in that loop.
Speaker BThey're just like, okay, I know Sally gonna.
Speaker BSally's gonna push me off the hay pile.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker BI gotta go find my own hay pile.
Speaker BMessage received.
Speaker ARight, Right.
Speaker ASo if people are listening to this and people are like, wow, this sounds amazing.
Speaker BAre.
Speaker AI've never heard of an Equus coach.
Speaker AAre there a lot of you out there?
Speaker BThere are.
Speaker BAnd actually, I mean, depending on what area you're in.
Speaker BSo I'm in the Pacific Northwest.
Speaker BI also have retreats periodically in various places in California and so forth.
Speaker BBut we do also have a database on our website, center for Equus Coaching.
Speaker BIf you're looking for someone in your area, you can also Google Equus coaching or Equine assisted coaching to find someone who does this type of connection with horses near you.
Speaker AOkay.
Speaker AAnd would you suggest getting familiar with horses in general before you try to do this so that you don't go in and petrified?
Speaker BNo, no, not necessarily.
Speaker BBecause when you're with the horse, if you're scared, it's okay.
Speaker BYou know, the.
Speaker BWhoever the practitioner is is going to teach you some safe interactions and show you how to be safe.
Speaker BAnd they're also not going to let you get, you know, hurt.
Speaker BAnd if you do have a fear of horses, that's okay.
Speaker BMaybe you just start out by brushing the horse and being close to the horse.
Speaker BThat is a huge interaction right there because that in and of itself will calm your nervous system.
Speaker AI was.
Speaker AI was gonna say just.
Speaker AYeah, just like petting a dog or they say, snuggle with your dog.
Speaker AIt drops your cortisol levels by like, 20.
Speaker BYeah, exactly.
Speaker BExactly.
Speaker BSo there's lots of ways that you can be with horses that it's not scary or threatening.
Speaker BYou know, no one's going to put you in harm's way or have you interact with a horse.
Speaker BThat's unsafe.
Speaker AThat's amazing.
Speaker ASo if you had to sum up all of your jobs, all of your experiences, I mean, I'm looking at your thing, and you've been a dj, a comic, a pilot, a coach, like, you do all kinds of stuff.
Speaker AHow would you put that into one big package?
Speaker AI mean, how does that shape you?
Speaker ALike to work with your clients?
Speaker BYeah, I'm.
Speaker BI'm.
Speaker AYou've done a lot.
Speaker BI'm.
Speaker BI.
Speaker BAnd.
Speaker BAnd it's out of curiosity.
Speaker BIt's out of exploration.
Speaker BIt's out of just being like, I want to explore that thing that is.
Speaker BHas come.
Speaker BIt's.
Speaker BIt's about being open.
Speaker BAnd I think if you're open, you're going to have more things presented to you.
Speaker BAnd, And.
Speaker BAnd when you're open, you can be more aware of what's coming in into your.
Speaker BInto your, you know, your.
Speaker BYour realm, your bubble, your whatever.
Speaker BExpand that bubble.
Speaker BYou know, be expansive, be curious, explore and, you know, build some awareness.
Speaker BAnd don't be afraid to try new things with beginner eyes.
Speaker BEven if it's something very routine that you do, like drive to a certain place, take a different route, open your eyes and be like, oh.
Speaker BOr take the same route and just notice one thing that you have never noticed before or that you've just taken for granted.
Speaker BI think if we start looking at life as an experience, it's.
Speaker BIt's a lot healthier way to go through.
Speaker BGo through life.
Speaker BSo I've had a lot of experiences that I just love, and, you know.
Speaker AIt'S all good and good, bad, ugly.
Speaker AI mean, you got to learn how to navigate them all.
Speaker BIt's the journey.
Speaker BYeah, exactly.
Speaker AThe journey.
Speaker ASo tell people where that.
Speaker AHow they can work with you, how they can find out about you, where they go to find.
Speaker ATo talk to you.
Speaker BYeah, that's great.
Speaker BYou can go to my website, Willoughby coaching.com I'm also on Instagram at Sue Willoughby.
Speaker BAnd if you like, you can check out my podcast, Midlife Strategies for Badass Women.
Speaker AOkay.
Speaker AAnd all of that will be in the show notes.
Speaker AAnd you also said you had something that you would like to offer, something fun.
Speaker ATell us about that.
Speaker AKind of off the topic of horses.
Speaker BIt's not about the topic of horses, but it does go along with coaching and personal development and professional development.
Speaker BI have over a decade of real estate experience, and I love podcasting.
Speaker BIt has been such an amazing way for me to connect with people all over the world.
Speaker BUh, so I love it, being both as a guest and a host, and I wanted to open that up to real estate agents.
Speaker BAnd so I have created a limited series podcast called Podcasting for Real Estate Pros.
Speaker BAnd it's 21 really short episodes to walk you through the process of creating a podcast and using it as a marketing tool.
Speaker BSo while it may be geared a little bit towards real estate agents, anybody in the entrepreneurial space, or any midlife person, woman, whatever, if you're thinking about creating a podcast, go give it a listen.
Speaker BIt's on Apple, Spotify.
Speaker BIt's called Podcasting for Real Estate Pros.
Speaker BThere's also a free.
Speaker BIt's free.
Speaker BIt's a downloadable resource.
Speaker BI've got a workbook that walks you through, gives you actionable steps to actually create a podcast, and 21 episodes.
Speaker BSo it's.
Speaker BIt's a pretty fun little adventure.
Speaker AVery cool.
Speaker AAnd I'll put that.
Speaker ACan I put that in the show notes, too?
Speaker BYeah, absolutely.
Speaker AOkay, perfect.
Speaker APerfect.
Speaker ASo.
Speaker AWell, this was fun.
Speaker ASo I really, like I said, I came into this completely curious and ready to learn, and I learned a whole, whole lot.
Speaker ASo thank you.
Speaker BYou're welcome.
Speaker BIt's my pleasure.
Speaker BI love talking about horses and how cool they are.
Speaker AYeah, absolutely.
Speaker AAnd if you could.
Speaker AYou're not off the hook yet, though.
Speaker ASo if you could give the audience one tip, trick strategy, or words of wisdom from Sue Willoughby, what would it be?
Speaker BWell, I think it's kind of that same theme that I've been talking about the whole time is be curious, abc.
Speaker BAlways be curious.
Speaker BBe curious about your surroundings.
Speaker BBe curious about what you're feeling.
Speaker BBe curious about what lights you up.
Speaker BBe curious about what makes you react and why.
Speaker BSo, abc, always be curious, abc.
Speaker AI love that.
Speaker AThank you so, so much for coming.
Speaker BYeah, thank you.
Speaker AAnd for everybody else out there listening, you heard it.
Speaker AGo check her out and learn more about this, because it is absolutely fascinating.
Speaker AAnd check her out.
Speaker AAnd you guys have a blessed day, and I will see you back next week.
Speaker AThank you.