About Barbara Alexander
My name is Barbara Alexander, and I am the President and Founder of Epona Ridge, a soul-based evolution over the last 18 years. In retrospect, my entire life has been inspired by spirit since I was very young; I just needed the time to discover that the business path most traveled was not the one to nourish my soul.
After many years in the corporate world of leadership and performance development, I discovered that the measurement of REAL success was not what we thought; it was far more straightforward: it's the amount of happiness experienced every day. (Read more about Barbara's Journey.)
After a lot of soul searching, years of studying A Course In Miracles, nine years of training to become a Reiki Master/Teacher, and 18 years of facilitating experiential retreats, I've discovered the energy of connection that has changed my life forever.
I began training in EFEL (Equine Facilitated Experiential Learning) in 2004 and am an Eponaquest Worldwide facilitator of EFEL and Leadership programs. I was honored to have trained so extensively with Linda Kohanov herself and was able to take all of my professional and advanced certification courses in EFEL with Linda.
With EFEL training combined with 20 years in corporate training and motivation, I understood the missing link between energy dynamics and how individuals affect the connectivity of all beings in the office and at home. Traditional team and leadership training had missed vital interpersonal skills training that proved critical to personal balance and mutual respect for a healthy culture.
Over the last decade, I've collaborated with Frederic Pignon and Magali Delgado, two of the world's finest horse trainers in dressage and liberty work, to develop a holistic approach for personal development with equestrians. We've combined aspects of horsemanship and equine-facilitated learning in the human field of intuitive, emotional, and physical intelligence. This combination changed the horse-human relationship, opening new doors to extraordinary co-creation.
The more I studied, the more I found the golden threads that connected it all. Healthy relationships, the keys to inner balance, joy, and personal fulfillment, were not just my hopes and dreams; many have felt the same calling. So, I began to create programs for those who want to immerse themselves within a sacred space to learn, grow, and find the inspiration of their souls.
Over the last few years, I have discovered some of the most exciting advances and deep fulfillment through this work as I continue developing the psychology of energy, interconnectedness, and personal joy at home, in the office, and in the arena.
Why Horses
Experiential learning has become a powerful and proven approach to teaching based on one incontrovertible reality: people learn best through experience.
Experiential learning with horses offers unfamiliar experiences and unique opportunities to learn personally and professionally because they provide immediate and unbiased feedback. They have an unprecedented ability to tune into an individual’s energy and respond in kind, helping humans discover their strengths and gaps that affect inner balance and clear communication as they improve skills to interpret non-verbal communication accurately.
Most people are so focused on the end goal that they commonly miss vital non-verbal cues. Yet, these cues provide invaluable information that helps cut through blocks, confusion and wasted time.
Extroverted individuals often miss the subtle cues and become overbearing. This can cause a team’s morale and productivity to suffer.
Introverted employees who don't know how to modulate their energy in a group of extroverts find that their contributions go unheard, which leads to job dissatisfaction.
Through various exercises and discussions, participants of experiential learning discover how to modulate their personal energy to respond appropriately to others, especially under stressful situations.
I have found that these training techniques build confidence, compassion, and camaraderie as people step outside of their typical environment and experiment with new and fun ways to improve themselves.
The Physiological Component
HeartMath Institute provides a clue to explain the bidirectional "healing" that happens with horses.
"Recent studies conducted by the Institute of HeartMath provides a clue to explain the bidirectional "healing" that happens when we are near horses.
According to researchers, the heart has a larger electromagnetic field and higher level of intelligence than the brain: A magnetometer can measure the heart's energy field radiating up to 8 to 10 feet around the human body. While this is certainly significant it is perhaps more impressive that the electromagnetic field projected by the horse's heart is five times larger than the human one (imagine a sphere-shaped field that completely surrounds you). The horse's electromagnetic field is also stronger than ours and can actually directly influence our own heart rhythm!
Horses are also likely to have what science has identified as a "coherent" heart rhythm (heart rate pattern) which explains why we may "feel better" when we are around them. Studies have found that a coherent heart pattern or HRV is a robust measure of well-being and consistent with emotional states of calm and joy--that is, we exhibit such patterns when we feel positive emotions.
A coherent heart pattern is indicative of a system that can recover and adjust to stressful situations very efficiently. Often times, we only need to be in a horses presence to feel a sense of wellness and peace. In fact, research shows that people experience many physiological benefits while interacting with horses, including lowered blood pressure and heart rate, increased levels of beta-endorphins (neurotransmitters that serve as pain suppressors), decreased stress levels, reduced feelings of anger, hostility, tension and anxiety, improved social functioning; and increased feelings of empowerment, trust, patience and self-efficacy."
The Soulful Component
Many lucky enough to be around horses found a soulful connection in early childhood that calls us to rekindle later in life. It is a familiar story in that we experience an unusual opening of the heart, but only when we are ready to listen. It is an entirely different kind of connection to these sentient beings that aids and deepens a human’s soulful alignment with the more significant part of life.
This dynamic effect isn’t limited to those who have had previous experience with horses.
Scientific studies are beginning to explain why this is possible. It is as if we get stuck in the analytic side of thought and inadvertently close ourselves off from the possibility of a deeper level of intuitive connection. Through physical proximity with horses in a natural environment, our heart rate and energetic balance begins to shift, opening us to more intuitive levels of awareness within ourselves.
We find moments when who we are is no longer separate but connected to all that is and it becomes a personal and transformational journey. We tap into the sanctuary of the heart and find the gateway to our own natural and unique rhythm, where we grow by identifying with our inner truths and learn from the gifts of listening within.
~ Barbara Alexander, Founder, Epona Ridge
“When does a clinic end up being a profound, life changing experience? I talk with Barbara Alexander who organized a clinic with Frederic & Magali Pignon that I attended. I thought I was going there to learn liberty training and okay, some “leadership” exercises. I got a bit more than I expected! Barbara and I talk about how horses can teach and facilitate finding our way to joy. This isn’t a “woo woo” thing and it wasn’t all pixie dust and unicorns (although Frederic and Magali’s horses are quite magical!). We talk about boundaries, leadership, and being tuned in to ourselves. And for those of us who are riders, the exercises had the added benefit of being very aware of your horse’s body language, how the two of you communicate non-verbally, and how those work (or don’t work!).”
Betsy Bilhorn
Click on the video to see Betsy’s interview: UNDER THE FORELOCK
