Horses talk with Adrianna Alexander of Arizona, and she listens. Their collaboration puts an interesting spin on her passion for life coaching of humans. The equines’ nonverbal communication in a paddock cues Adrianna how to help women find healing through Exquisite Strides.
Rather than riding a horse, group sessions begin with a circle of women who talk. When ready, a woman can go inside a fenced area to interact with the horse who moves with freedom. During the two-year training in the Equine Gestalt Coaching Method, Adrianna found hope overcoming her long-standing battle with an eating disorder.
“Halfway through the certification, I had a breakthrough personally,” she said. “I had a meltdown in a pasture when a horse I had been trying to catch walked up and nuzzled me while I cried sitting on the ground. The fact this program helped me with my carefully hidden problem of 14 years took my belief in the work to another level.”
Adrianna’s goal is to help clients work through unfinished business and trauma to address whatever holds them back from who they want to be. She stables nine horses on the family ranch of 20 acres. “Horses stay on high alert for predators in the wild,” she said. “Their natural instinct for survival taps into sensing pain, anger, fear. These are communicated in a herd.”
She monitors how the horses react to clients as a litmus test for what emotions may be present in the person. The horses seem to sense disparity between what a person may say and how she feels. For example, one well-regarded professional woman visited out of curiosity, saying, “I don’t need anything. Everything is fine.”
However, when Adrianna observed how the horse stayed at the gate as though wanting to be freed, she took those clues for direct questions about obligations the other woman managed. The guest cried and admitted she felt overwhelmed with demands. That authentic admission became a starting place where Adrianna could help her redefine dreams and goals.
“Connections are valuable,” she said. “It’s important to occupy a space where other people going through situations can share friendship and support.”
She learned that firsthand in 2018, the same year her dad died and her marriage failed. She was a single mom running her own business. “Whenever I feel nervous, I’ve learned to trust God has a plan for me.”
Her favorite Bible verse is “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34 NIV).
She has a minor in theology from the University of San Diego and prays to be able to ask the right questions to help her clients. “Experiences may make us feel broken, but we can find wholeness, joy, and peace,” she said.
For more information about Adrianna click here.
A different program that includes horses is equine therapy. More details can be found here.
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