Meet Melisa Pearce | Founder, Touched by a Horse

We had the good fortune of connecting with Melisa Pearce and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melisa, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
The thing people who haven’t experienced Equine Gestalt are most unaware of is how much healing power horses truly have to offer the human spirit.

I have a quote I love to use in explaining what I do:

Our lives are shaped and seasoned by unforeseen circumstances.
Our being human means we choose our own responses and reactions to life’s circumstances, often maturing as we grow.
Through friendship, and with guidance, our own truth is formed as we step int our destiny.
Horses can be sweet, trusted confidants on life’s journey.
Horses can be our dearest guides and most profound teachers.
Blessed are those who experience the whispers from a horse’s heart.

Horses give us so much more than just companionship. They show us a better way to walk through the world and they help us see where we are hiding our authenticity from others and even from ourselves.

I am always deeply grateful for my horse’s contributions to my work with clients and students. Through their deep knowing, I have witnessed them open doors to hearts that have been profoundly sounded and closed off, allowing lightness and joy to enter where there had only been pain and darkness.

Horses are completely honest win the way they show up for us, and their subtle guidance is often considerably more profound than any words I could say ore homework I could give a client or student.

Over the years, several studies have been completed on the efficacy of the Equine Gestalt Method. Each has found that horses have an overwhelmingly positive affect on human beings who are experiencing pain, trauma, indecision, and life change. Over 95% of people who participate in an Equine Gestalt session would do it again and over 95% felt more hopeful after their session than they did before. Although the practitioners I’ve trained are excellent at what they do with Gestalt and coaching; the horses are the power behind the change those number represent.

What should our readers know about your business?
Touched by a Horse is a unique program that fuses the healing principles of Gestalt with the incredible power of horses to create lasting positive change in human lives.

As a Gestalt psychotherapist and an owner of a horse farm, my clients frequently had small bits of contact with my horses. Driving past them on the way to my office or visiting with them over the fence in between sessions. AS I took more note of the affects the presence of the horses had on my clients, I began to see patterns of behavior in the horses and the clients that were clear indications that the horses were both reading the human energy and also manipulating it in ways that effected that individual’s work with me. Touched by a Horse was born when I began intentionally partnering with my horses to facilitate change in my Gestalt clients.

The modality of Gestalt, and the way horses prefer to be with humans are very complimentary. Gestalt, which is a German word that loosely translated means “flowing into form;” is a humanistic therapeutic modality that seeks to resolve past trauma, eliminate limiting beliefs, and finish unfinished business bringing the client into the full realization of living in the present moment. Horses, who are masters at being present in the moment, offer their huge hearts and influential energy to the client which in turn helps the client stay present, feel safe, and more easily shift their energy to a positive state.

After I had an opportunity to see just how impactful the combination of Gestalt and horses was for my clients, I was called to create a program to train others. The Equine Gestalt Method has grown from an initial class of five students in 2008 to over 250 certified practitioners around the world. The program itself is a two-year intensive endeavor involving classroom (via Zoom), hand-on CORE workshops, a dedicated program coach, and self-study components. Graduates of the program also participate in Continuing Education opportunities. The resulting community of practitioners is vibrant and vital, with a formal organization, group activities, and annual gathering.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My way of showing people the beauty of Colorado is from the back of a horse! Nothing is more breathtaking than experiencing the Rocky Mountains during a trail ride with good companions and horses.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The program that was most influential in getting me to where I am today is Tony Robbins Mastery University. This program was the turning point in my career that took me from successful to impactful in my business and life. That said, neither my business or my life’s work would be complete without a shoutout to the students and graduates of the Touched by a Horse Equine Gestalt Certification Program. It is through them that my work touches far more lives than I could ever have done on my own.

Website: Touchedbyahorse.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/touchedbyahorse/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/touchedbyahorse

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@touchedbyahorse9770

Image Credits
Kim Beer Photography