“Those lucky enough to own a horse would seem to have a better understanding of this… mysterious promise of an ancient freedom and an even more ancient knowing.” -Linda Kohanov, Way of the Horse
Why “Spirit Horse”?
If you’re around horse people long enough you’ll hear them talk about “heart horses”. This usually refers to a horse that a person feels a particularly deep connection with. They’ll often say things like “he always knows when I’m not feeling well”, “I swear she can read my mind!”, or “I’ll never have another horse like that one”. Anyone lucky enough to have a heart horse connection knows what this feels like.
Yet these types of connections are not singular to horses. These seemingly telepathic abilities are their natural means of communication. They can feel the heartbeat, blood pressure, and emotions of all living things around them. They can feel shifts in electromagnetic fields, and sense the tension and pain hidden in our bodies. This is why they are such experts when it comes to healing, why they are so effective in therapy, and why they are so deeply damaged by trauma. Nothing to them is strictly physical, mental, or emotional. Everything to them is spiritual as well.
This spirit level connection is the natural skill of the horse, and it’s a skill we can learn from them if we are willing. It is this lesson that I strive to bring forward in my work: to help horses reclaim their natural ability to navigate the world in divine and spiritual ways, and to connect with their human in an equally sacred manner.
It is my mission to enable every horse to not just be a “heart horse”, but to reach their endless potential as a Spirit Horse.
About the Practitioner
My name is Gretchen Coleman, a life long horse lover and nature enthusiast. I grew up in a family of 9 kids, of which I am the 5th born and eldest girl. I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah moving at a very young age to Pennsylvania. After 5 years of running barefoot in the woods, my family moved to the humid summers of Houston, Texas where I got my first horse: a little Arabian gelding named Q who I have had for 17 years.
I have studied, cared for, trained, and been taught by horses for over 20 years. For 8 of those years I have been studying alternative healing practices for myself to overcome various health and life issues. Most of my knowledge was taught to me by my mother, Judy Seigfried (companionherbs.com). This year I took the step into applying this ancient wisdom to my horsemanship and livelihood. In February I became certified in visionary equine craniosacral therapy through the Rocky Mountain School for Animal Acupuncture and Massage, taught by the fabulous Tracy Vroom. I will complete this entire course as a level 7 therapist this upcoming February, and afterwards plan to become certified in many methods, including myofascial release techniques, acupuncture, and others.
In 2019 I married my beloved husband Chuck, who is also a healer. He is a shaman, a Reiki master, and a certified sound therapist. We often do sound baths together.
When I’m not with horses I enjoy almost any outdoor activity such as hiking, swimming, camping, rock climbing, and general exploring. I love music, concerts, mushrooms, petroglyphs, and my family. I adore my two dogs, Mable and Dusty, and my four horses, Q, Skyline, Sitka, and Arthur.
