This book is about the profound applications of horses as healers and teachers. It explores and defines the foundational principles of Equine Guided Education and the ‘horse as healer/teacher’ process. Horses model the essential qualities of trust, authenticity, honesty, intuition, listening and a willingness of spirit. Horses have no agenda with us; they simply reflect our strength of character, our heart, our internal incongruence and our self-limiting perceptions. By example, they ask us to lead our lives with the same dignity, grace, and power that they naturally embody.

Horses help us close the gap between how we actually present ourselves to others distinct from how we think we are being. The minute our bodies get close to them, they size us up, asking, “Who is leading?” They expect us to embody what we care about and stay centered on the life we want to live. In so doing, they help us understand that leadership begins with the self we are.

The question, “Are you leading your life or is it leading you?” becomes the topic of exploration. By becoming aware of our animal nature and our innate drive for survival, we develop the capacity to respond with choice versus react to the pressures of life.

The following pages reveal that the underlying principles of horsemanship parallel the concepts associated with human development, growth and learning. Horses teach us how to find self-acceptance in a world of judgment. As we learn to think more like a horse, we develop our intuitive imagination and create new possibilities for our lives. Rather than focusing on what is wrong with us, we shift our attention towards what we are naturally good at. On this path of becoming we focus on staying connected to what has meaning and purpose.

"Your book is full of wisdom and kind heartedness emerging from every page." Deb

"I'm re-reading your Horse Sense for the Leader Within for the 4^th time - I get much more from it each time. Thank you for articulating everything so well and for paving the way. " Lucinda Newman