Posted: 7/19/05
Wind Horse Awareness stresses learning from horses
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Sarah Sander puts a lot of stock in horses and their ability to help people.
The Brownsville woman is starting a unique business at her home at 3956 County Road 3.
She calls it Windhorse Awareness, partly by virtue of the frequent winds that blow on the ridge, and partly because of the sense of awareness that Sander feels horses can impart.
A sense of awareness is a broad way to describe a complex and spiritual journey that people make with Equine Experiential Learning (EEL).
A synopsis of EEL can be found in a sidebar with this story. Sander shared some of the intricacies with this reporter on a warm July 7 afternoon, and yes, the wind was blowing at her farm at the top of the mile grade above Brownsville.
Sander speaks with a combination of serenity and conviction about her business, even though she acknowledged toward the end of our discussion that some people have a hard time grasping or even accepting it.
ìItís kind of woo-woo, I guess, people like to say,î she said. ìItís a little out there.î
But letís start at the beginning. Sander, 38, works for United Auto Supply in La Crosse, Wisconsin. She moved to her farm 15 years ago after she got married. Thatís when she got her first horse, Apollo.
She grew up in Milwaukee, but always loved horses when she would encounter them at summer camps and such.
She knew she wanted to do something with horses, because she felt drawn to them.
Then she read a book that brought it all together, The Tao of Equus, by Linda Kohanov. The book opened her eyes to a whole new world. Rather than having a horse be a slave to her wishes, she learned to listen to what a horse has to say. It opened different connections within her.
ìI highly recommend anybody reading it,î Sander said.
She then took a three-day workshop program from Kohanov last fall. ìI just came home reeling. It was like entering a whole different world,î Sander said. It helped her so much that she could not ignore it. She thought it could help others, so she became a certified EEL instructor under Kohanovís tutelage.
Sander said the class made her more open, and taught her not to stuff her emotions.
People at a crossroads are the most likely to take an EEL class, Sander said. They might be looking for something different, making a transition from a death or divorce, or wanting to find more meaning in their life.
Horses are good teachers, Sander feels. ìThey are willing to meet you half way or more than half way if youíre willing to listen to them,î she said.
Horses convey freedom, independence, strength, and beauty, Sander feels. A lot of people grow up loving them, then life gets in the way and they ignore that, Sander said. People often tell her that horses have come back into their lives.
The animals have a mysterious connection with people, Sander said. ìItís almost like theyíve been led or have a calling [with horses]. Things have been happening or leading them on,î Sander said.
People in the Midwest are not as open to ideas like this as people in some other parts of the country, Sander said. Some folks have even asked her if what she does is part of a cult. No, Sander said, itís an intuition, a gut feeling, a sixth sense.
Workshops chart feelings
Sander said her workshops cover several things. Participants will make an emotional message chart, and learn to look at negative emotions and find what lies behind them. Theyíll explore things like sadness, grief, and depression. They will get help finding their authentic self rather than their false self.
The workshops, which always have two facilitators, do that in a safe environment. They have a welcoming sense of community that builds trust and friendship, Sander said. ìThereís boundaries, and we like to keep people safe,î she said.
Horses enter this equation because people pick up feelings from a gut level by being with and listening to horses.
Participants will enter a round pen with the horse of their choosing. (Sander has three horses.) Often people are drawn to a certain horse. An abused person, for example, is often drawn to a horse that has a similar background, Sander said.
ìPeople end up dancing with horses, literally,î Sander said.
People can release emotions with horses as a witness or partner, she said. ìThings can come out that have been held back for a really long time,î she said.
Horses can read whatís going on underneath the social masks, Sander feels. For example, when a horse pushed a client, the woman stopped the horse respectfully and learned about boundaries.
I asked Sander what horse owners think of her business. She replied that some people know what sheís doing, but they put up walls. She feels a true horse person has these experiences intrinsically but just doesnít acknowledge them or talk about them.
Her business is slow, Sander admitted. She has done only one workshop so far. Sander isnít sure how to market her business, where to advertise, who to contact.
Our interview ended with Sander giving me a rundown on her three horses, Apollo, Agent (who people tend to call ìSergeant,î) and Riley.
ìHeís taught me so many things,î she said of Apollo. ìHeís a whole college education right in one body.î
About Riley, Sander said, ìShe has been incredibly good at this work.î
And Agent has lots to say but likes to do it in his own way.
For more information on Windhorse Awareness, call Sander at 507-724-5662, or email her at Sarah@ windhorseawareness.com
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