E159 Sue Willoughby Equus Coaching
Let’s Be Well Together Podcast - Episode 159
Date: February 11, 2025
Participants: Elise Seifert, Sheila Webster and John Webster
Guest: Sue Willoughby
Start Times and Segments:
[0:00:17] What’s On Your Mind: Elise found a list of lessons that people learn too late in life.
[0:10:20] Expanding Minds Interview: [Mental Wellness] We interview Sue Willoughby, who does Equus coaching – life coaching using horses as coaching partners. Horses provide an amazing feedback loop for her clients. Sue finds coaching opportunities by watching the clients and the horses interact. Horses are prey animals and herd animals. They look to their herd mates for feedback. They’re constant assessing their surroundings. When you’re in the presence of a horse, you’re part of their herd. They’re looking to you to see and, more importantly, to feel what they’re getting from you. The horses act as mirrors. If someone is trying to hide an emotion, or acting as if they’re not afraid, you can’t hide those things from horses. If someone is going through something, the horse will relax after the person can settle down and become more grounded and be in touch with what’s really going on with them. The horse will come over and interact. They are no longer threatened and feel comfortable.
[0:29:22] Running Popup: It was unexpectedly hard to stay disciplined about running in a way that was easy. That led to thoughts about different types of discipline we learn through running.
Quotes and Take-Aways:
Sue – Equus coaching is life coaching with horses. I use horses as my coaching partners, because they provide an amazing feedback loop for my clients. When my clients are interacting with the horses, I’m looking at the horses’ behavior. I’m tuned into the horses’ behaviour and their intuitive behaviours. I’m also listening to my clients and watching the loop to see what comes out of it. It gives me very good coaching opportunities to ask questions that might not normally come up during a regular talk coaching session.
Sue – Horses are prey animals and herd animals. They look to their herd mates for feedback. They’re constant assessing their surroundings. Every cell in their being is about survival, because they’re prey animals. When you are in the presence of a horse, you are part of their herd. They’re looking to you to see and, more importantly, to feel what they’re getting from you.
Sue – The horses act as mirrors. If someone is trying to hide an emotion, or acting as if they’re not afraid, or acting in other ways they don’t want people to notice, you can’t hide those things from horses.
Sue – Horses don’t judge you. They don’t care whether you are afraid or upset. They pick up on that.
Sue – If someone is going through something, the horse will relax after the person can settle down and become more grounded and be in touch with what’s really going on with them. The horse will come over and interact. They are no longer threatened and feel comfortable.
Guest Information: Sue Willoughby is the Founder of Willoughby Coaching, where women over 40 confront personal obstacles and change the trajectory of their lives. Raised by a single alcoholic parent, Sue struggled with low self-esteem and learned from an early age to be self-sufficient and embrace discomfort. She came out at the age of 17 and struggled to find her place in the gay community, attempted suicide at 19, and was on a path of living hard and playing harder. Sue found coaching through her lifelong love of horses. They were always there to support her through some of the darkest and most difficult times of her life and she now finds fulfillment in being the coach she wished she had in those challenging times of her life. Sue resides outside the Seattle area with a horse named Moose, two mini-longhaired Dachshunds, Benny and Buddy, and a VW Bus called Arlo.
Website: www.willoughbycoaching.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/suewilloughby
Instagram: @sue_willoughby
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Thanks for joining us,
(-(-_(-_-)_-)-) Your wellness check-in team
John, Sammy, Cameron, Sheila, Elise, Isabelle, Noura, Julie and Riley