THE EQUUS EFFECT · SHARON, CT
Hone Your Emotional Fitness Skills
in the good company of our horses.
The Equus Effect provides equine-assisted learning, using a body-based approach to emotional fitness and personal growth, guided by horses on 65 acres in Sharon, CT.
WHO WE ARE
Built on addressing issues faced by veterans, first responders and their families, The Equus Effect now offers profound and practical tools for clarity, calm and attunement for everyone living and working in this age of distractions and demands.
Our horses are catalysts for personal and professional growth. They show us how to offset overwhelm and spend our attention and energy more wisely. Our facilitators are certified coaches, Somatic Experiencing® Practitioners, healing arts professionals and expert horse people.
Experience the aliveness and power of embodied learning. Join us on 65 acres of pristine land and water for retreats, individual sessions or train for professional certification.
WHO WE SERVE
We work with individuals and groups who are serious about growth, connection, and lasting positive change.
We work with people at different stages and from different walks of life. What they share is a genuine interest in growth and a willingness to show up, get in their bodies and do the work.
Military, Veterans, First Responders & Families
Individuals and Groups
Clinicians, Healing Arts, and Equine Professionals
Youth
“When I learned how to trust myself on the inside, the outside got a whole lot easier.
I kept reacting to things that happened before instead of what’s really going on now. I had no idea I was dragging the past into everything until I understood how to show up for that horse.”
What's Coming Up
Upcoming Experiences
WHY HORSES?
Because horses are honest — how they feel is what they do.
Their sensitivity, presence, and authenticity make them powerful guides to personal growth for anyone willing to show up as they truly are.
Powerful, Non-predatory Mammals
Their existence for 55 million years has depended upon their ability to sense the intentions of those around them in extraordinary ways. And their willingness to partner with us models that true strength is gentle and true gentleness.
Catalysts for Change
Horses let us know exactly how we make them feel. Their non-judgmental honesty allows us to recognize and release habitual patterns in real time without feeling deficient. They respond with a willingness to collaborate when we release a pattern that’s been stuck - which is obvious and liberating for everyone.
Transparent Trust
As mammals who are preyed upon in nature, horses know that if they make a mistake, they’re dinner. When they are willing to yield, we know we are trustworthy. When we are congruent, they collaborate. Emotional honesty is everything to them, and when we let them inside, they let us know what really matters to them. It is indeed a privilege and an honor to gain a horse’s trust
There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river.
“
We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.
Desmond Tutu
OUR PROGRAMS
Our programs are tailored to groups that need tools for self-development and greater presence in their lives.
We work with veterans and first responders, clinicians and healing arts professionals, individuals and teams, and horse people who sense there is more to offer. Each program is built around the same belief: real change can be accessed through the body. Our horses make that visible in ways that nothing else can.
MILITARY, FIRST RESPONDERS & FAMILIES
Build New Emotional Fitness Skills
Profound and practical tools to:
· Stay steady under stress
· Unwind ‘Strong Face’ fatigue
· Recover faster after impact
FOR EVERYONE
Special Programs & Retreats
· Inside the Equus Effect
· Renew, recalibrate, reconnect
FOR EVERYONE
Horsemanship Skills
· Gain new in-hand skills and attune to horses for performance, safety, confidence, and fun!
· Improve your relationship, support horses’ engagement, health and well-being
FOR EQUINE PROFESSIONALS
Train to Facilitate
· Full 8-month training program
· Weekend courses to add experience, tools & practices
A FOCUS ON YOUTH
Our experience with military and first responder families, we know how to teach the value of focusing attention, embodying qualities of trust-based leadership and learning how to communicate respectfully.
We understand the value of these skills in this culture of distractions and demands on young minds and bodies. In response to this, we have developed programs for students and young people to offset the impact of the external and internal demands on their time and attention.
They will learn to:
Cultivate trust-based leadership skills
Set healthy boundaries
Understand the value of collaboration
Build confidence through competence
Learn to communicate more effectively
Make distinctions among various emotions
Focus their attention and energy on things that really matter
Young people are particularly receptive to these life lessons that contribute to much healthier, more productive lives as adults.
Interested In Helping Us With Our Mission?
OUR IMPACT