Touched By A Horse

08/28/2026

Perhaps the real question isn't,
"How do I get my horse to respond differently?"

Perhaps the deeper question is,
"What am I bringing into this relationship with my horse that I have not yet acknowledged?"

The next time you go to the barn, check in with yourself first. Be honest.

Horses don't ask us to be perfect. They're okay if we're not happy all the time. They understand humans have a big emotional field.

If you're feeling sad, tell your horse you're sad. If you're not at your best, be truthful about it.

They're incredibly giving when we're honest.

They invite us to become real, and sometimes, that becomes the beginning of healing.

08/27/2026

271 people from various regions, backgrounds, and populations were included in this study. Findings demonstrated that there was an increase in the feelings of hopefulness and an improved sense of self-esteem and self-worth with the clients who participated in an EGCM session.
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Curious to learn more about becoming an Equine Gestaltist™?

Visit https://touchedbyahorse.ca/equine-coaching-certification-program-details/

We are currently taking applications for our January ‘27 class, and it’s filling up fast, so if you're interested, get your application in!

08/25/2026

Sometimes clients come believing they need better techniques. And sometimes they do.

But often what's really happening is much deeper.

The horse is responding to unprocessed fear, collapsed boundaries, suppressed anger, or emotional fragmentation.

The horse exposes the gap between who we appear to be and what we're actually feeling.

As Equine Gestaltists™, we don't pass judgment. We don't tell people what they should do.
Instead, we lean into that gap with awareness, because awareness gives us choice.

And choice creates possibility.

That's where real transformation begins.

08/24/2026

COACH

(noun) — views clients as capable, resourceful, and as a whole person; assists clients in finding their own answers

Gestalt and the co-active model of coaching share a belief that clients have the answers within themselves for their unique situations, and yet the answers are presently outside their awareness.

This method assists the client in bringing their own truth into the healing and gaining clarity. ⁠

The coaching done within the context of EGC is not designed to be solution-focused or even motivational to complete tasks. Both the Gestalt Coaching Method® and the Equine Gestalt Coaching Method® train the practitioner to ask better questions through creativity and empowered listening and to accomplish experiential work through Gestalt.

EGCM is not psychotherapy and is effective whether or not a client is in therapy. Individuals from all walks of life and all ages can benefit from EGCM coaching. If you have experienced a life change, trauma, or incident that you know has deeply affected you and are now ready to clear the influences of those events from your path to growth, the Equine Gestalt Coaching Method® may be for you.
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We are currently taking applications for our January ‘27 Equine Gestaltist™ class. If you're interested, get your application in!

To learn more, visit https://touchedbyahorse.ca/equine-coaching-certification-program-details/

08/21/2026

Step up and show up with confidence in place. You are being called upon to draw from deep within yourself, making use of all your reserves. Stop to remember all successes that have occurred in your life. Do this without judgement. Take inventory of all successes, no matter how insignificant they may seem. Sit in gratitude, taking full stock of everything that has added up to who you are today. This is only a small step in discovering what is yet to come for you. Do not hide at this juncture from what is being offered. Step up. The only requirement is to show up and be all that you are. Do not hold back. Do not play small or reserved or feel that you are less deserving than anyone else on the planet. Step into this situation confidently, allowing your full self to shine through to the benefit of all. — Melisa Pearce

08/20/2026

GESTALT

(noun) — wholeness; flowing into full form.

Gestalt work aims to develop greater awareness, find your truth, and express your authenticity. Through Gestalt sessions, our graduates have done their personal work, have shifted in how they are in the world, and are ready to sit in the presence of pain in others.

Gestalt is a German word loosely translated to mean “wholeness. Fritz Perls, the psychoanalyst who coined the term Gestalt therapy, understood that we could not be truly whole if we did not know the different parts of self and their synergy in our personality. Wholeness of self in the present moment is the keystone to Gestalt. But Gestalt is more than a form of psychotherapy. Gestalt is a way of life in which we focus on the experience of “now,” referred to as the present moment.
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We are currently taking applications for our January 27’ Equine Gestaltist™ class. If you're interested, get your application in!

To learn more, visit https://touchedbyahorse.ca/equine-coaching-certification-program-details/

08/18/2026

As humans, we often learn to hide.

Many of us learn at an early age to adapt. We learn how to perform, please, manage perceptions, or survive emotionally inside our families, schools, relationships, and workplaces. And over time, we become disconnected from what we're actually feeling.

We might say,
"I'm fine."
"I'm calm."
"I'm not overwhelmed."
While our body is bracing for impact.

Humans become very skilled at disconnecting from themselves.

A horse, however, is rarely pretending. If they're nervous, you know it. If they're relaxed, you know it.

They are authentically living in the present moment. And that's one of the greatest gifts they offer us — they invite us back into authenticity.

08/17/2026

The definition of “awareness” — having knowledge or perception of a situation or fact; having conscious knowledge of one's own character and feelings.

Did you know, Gestalt encourages a person to fully acknowledge all operating systems within them and to ask where these systems took root in their life?

Once aware of these systems, choosing what to hold onto and what to abandon is up to the client.

Through an experiential process, often this awareness leads to clearing up residue from past encounters and interactions.

As a result, a person gains a sense of peace and feels free to be who they really are and to select behaviors that enhance their life instead of remaining at the mercy of becoming reactionary.

08/14/2026

If you've been feeling a genuine pull toward Melisa's Equine Gestalt Coaching Method® Program, this is your chance to experience the work before committing.

For a limited time, we're opening a special opportunity to step inside the process and witness the work firsthand.

Join Melisa Pearce, founder of Touched by a Horse®, for a live Zoom experience where you’ll witness the transformational process in real time.

During this one-hour session, Melisa will:
• Walk through how the Equine Gestalt Coaching Method works
• Facilitate a live demonstration with a volunteer
• Show how powerful breakthroughs unfold inside the process

Even though this demonstration will be non-equine, it offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at the methodology students learn in the Equine Gestaltist™ Certification Program.

✨Live attendees receive a complimentary 30-minute call with Melisa to explore if this work is right for them.

Saturday, Sept 5th – 11:00 AM MST

Link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/DUD8-nNbTNSBvnadBQtHuQ

Come curious. Come ready to learn. Come experience the work for yourself!

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: EGCM Program Informational Webinar - 10:00am Pacific Time. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

08/14/2026

If you've been feeling a genuine pull toward Melisa's Equine Gestalt Coaching Method® Program, this is your chance to experience the work before committing.

For a limited time, we're opening a special opportunity to step inside the process and witness the work firsthand.

Join Melisa Pearce, founder of Touched by a Horse®, for a live Zoom experience where you’ll witness the transformational process in real time.

During this one-hour session, Melisa will:
• Walk through how the Equine Gestalt Coaching Method works
• Facilitate a live demonstration with a volunteer
• Show how powerful breakthroughs unfold inside the process

Even though this demonstration will be non-equine, it offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at the methodology students learn in the Equine Gestaltist™ Certification Program.

✨Live attendees receive a complimentary 30-minute call with Melisa to explore if this work is right for them.

Wednesday, Sept 2nd – 6:00 PM MST

Link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/MZqTkkOdQPu0Oj0RwZiGvg

Come curious. Come ready to learn. Come experience the work for yourself!

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: EGCM Program Informational Webinar - 5:00pm Pacific Time. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.