PathStone incorporates horse sense into human relations consulting

After 20-plus years in corporate America, Maggie Brown traded in her briefcase and heels for three things she loves: Colorado, psychology and horses.

Through her business, PathStone Counseling, Brown incorporates equine-assisted psychotherapy, known as EAP, into corporate workshops and individual sessions.

EAP is an emerging field in which horses are used as tools for emotional growth and learning. Through EAP, participants learn about themselves by engaging in activities with the horses, and then processing feelings, behaviors and patterns.

?Horses have an amazing ability to mirror the self,? Brown says, noting that horses reflect what human body language tells them. When people complain that a horse is stubborn or does not like them, the lesson to be learned is that if they change themselves, the horse will respond differently, she says.

Prior to PathStone, Brown worked in human resources at several large companies, including Baxter Healthcare in Deerfield, Ill., and American Express in New York. She decided to move to Colorado and open a human resources consulting firm while visiting a friend here in 2000.

?Colorado was calling me for years, and it appealed to my entrepreneurial spirit,? she says. Using less than $5,000, she launched her business.

In 2001, she began learning how to work with horses through a Naropa University horse therapy program. The course inspired her to enroll in Regis University to receive a master?s degree in counseling, in which she incorporated equine-assisted therapy. Brown also received certification for EAP through the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association.

Since the association was founded in 1999, the Santaquin, Utah-based nonprofit?s membership has grown from 36 to more than 4,500 members worldwide. Co-founder Greg Kersten attributes the popularity of EAP to the effective nonverbal feedback that horses provide participants.
?Working with horses makes it easier for people to understand themselves, which assists with their own healing,? he says.

Brown began incorporating EAP into her practice a year ago. She points out that participants don?t need to have experience in riding horses, as 90 percent of all exercises are done from the ground. According to equine learning association, the focus of EAP involves setting up activities with horses that require an individual or group to apply certain skills such as assertiveness, leadership, teamwork and problem solving.

These activities may include grooming the horse or leading the horse to a designated area. During the leading exercise, for example, if a horse perceives that its handlers lack assertiveness, it may walk away or stand still.

?A lot of people are fearful about working with a 1,000 pound animal,? Brown says. ?There are those who don?t deal with their fear and repress it. The horse picks up on this and says, ?I don?t know if I can trust this person.??

However, when participants accomplish a task in spite of their fears, it can create confidence and provide metaphors when dealing with other intimidating situations in life, she says.
For Lyons resident Cindy Ward, exercises such as leading the horse have offered insightful feedback. Ward has participated in three sessions with PathStone to date.

?In a very short time, the activity with the horses helped me see that I could make choices about changes I wanted to make in how I communicate with others,? she says. ?Being around horses heightens your senses and awareness.?

Through PathStone, Brown offers workshops for team building and leadership development. She also works with individuals at a rate of $75 per session. PathStone has offices in Longmont and Boulder, and Brown partners with Montana Estates Horse Ranch in Longmont.

Though she would not disclose revenue, Brown says she intends to grow PathStone through increased workshops with corporations and nonprofits. She also expects to expand through offerings for individuals such as ?Wisdom of the Heart,? a six-week, women?s-only course, which begins in May.

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