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Meet Hesper Colohan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hesper Colohan.

Hi Hesper, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Like everyone else, I came to LA as an actor looking to work in film and television. Then I became Equine Specialist for an Equine Assisted Psychotherapy Program and a certified Equine Life Coach.

It’s a mouthful and not exactly the path I thought I would be taking in my mid 30’s. But what started out as a part-time job wrangling horses and being a trail guide (because I’m a terrible waitress) turned into a remarkable journey while developing a relationship with horses.

People always ask if I grew up around horses and the fact of the matter is that I just didn’t. Horses are what people with money would do. We did not have a lot of money growing up in VA. I always had an affinity for horses, collected horse figurines and was first in line at every state fair pony ride and that was about it. But more than anything, I wanted to act/sing and become a performer. I loved being on stage and I loved entertaining. I wished on every birthday candle to become an actor in Hollywood. I even taped a picture of The Hollywood sign to my ceiling so it was the last thing I would see before I fell asleep (waaay before vision boards were a thing)

I was confident enough in my ability to ride horses and being in a ranch environment when I applied to be a volunteer at a ranch in Hollywood (of all things). I had been living in LA about three years at this point and while I love LA and felt a sense of accomplishment about moving here, I was also depressed and deeply missing time spent in the mountains of Colorado. I didn’t feel like I was connecting to anything or anyone. I was lonely and struggling with self-esteem and having confidence about making anything work. I was stuck and it sucked.

Luckily my dad, who’s gay and happens to be a dharma teacher here in LA, started giving me some insights on how our minds work. He knows a thing or two about low self-esteem and questioning life choices. What I found MOST helpful was that rather than giving me advice he would ask me questions that prompted me to get more curious about what I was truly feeling and to just acknowledge it. To own it is to accept it. Once you accept something then you have choices on what you want to do with it. Mindfulness and present moment awareness had started becoming a solid resource for me and I consider it as the foundation to living as authentically as I can. As it turns out, working with horses and mindfulness go hand in hand.

…Meanwhile back at the ranch…I thought I would just be mucking stalls and hopefully get to ride here and there when I applied to be a volunteer. The manager said it’s a guide position for tips only. I wasn’t thrilled at the idea of being responsible for Angelinos on horseback…but if it got me back in the saddle and out in nature again with cash, then maybe it’ll be worth my while.

I was thrown into a herd of 60-70 horses with hope and a prayer. Part of the job interview is basically finishing the day with all of your limbs and digits intact while not dying.

But something big shifted in my heart after that first day. I came home completely exhausted. I was covered in dust, sweat, a little bit of blood and a lot of poo. My head was swimming with the entire day and all of those horses and their different personalities. The chatter in my head as I was falling asleep was as if I had just made 60-70 new 4-legged friends. On top of the fact that I didn’t fall off a cliff or get bucked off a horse. It was apparent that my idea of being an “advanced rider” was in fact wrong. So wrong. But I was hooked.

I didn’t know how long this would last or if I even had what it took to be a trail guide with all of these rough-riding cowboys and cowgirls. But I felt like I had found my tribe and I couldn’t wait to go again. I stopped acting all together and ended up being a trail guide for over a decade.

About 5 years in, I stumbled across Life Coaching when a fellow guide suggested I look into it. I have always had a knack for counsel and human behavior. I love connecting with people and helping sort through problems. I find that a single shift in thought or perspective can have a huge impact on a person’s life. It certainly had an effect on mine. I believe in creating a ripple effect back out into the world. That a single drop creates a wave that could reach the ocean. Buddhism taught me about looking within to find the answers. That small seemingly insignificant changes can have a huge effect. I love teaching people how to do the same. Our lives around us are only as good as we are being to ourselves.

Somewhere in a google search about Life Coaching and horse behavior, I stumbled across Equine Life Coaching. I couldn’t believe it was a real thing. I literally gasped at the possibility of combining two of my favorite things. I then found an actual Equine Life Coach with whom I mentored under for 3 years and my entire relationship with horses and to myself changed dramatically.

I was being trained in real time to facilitate Equine Assisted Learning and Equine Somatic Therapy. It’s all under the umbrella of experiential therapy, that uses the relationship between horses and humans to help heal trauma. Local treatment centers started utilizing our program as part of their treatment program. This is where I started working with groups of teenagers in treatment for addictions, trauma and other varying degrees of mental illness.

It was during this time that I became a certified Equine Specialist through E.G.A.L.A. Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association. I trained alongside mental health professionals as co-facilitators for Equine Therapy (E.A.P) and Equine Assisted Learning (E.A.L) Seeing firsthand the healing that would happen when people were connecting to horses was remarkable. Horses can help with anxiety, depression, and trauma. They can help you build self-confidence and leadership. “Empowering your most authentic self.”

In 2015 I joined the team at Stand InBalance as an Equine Specialist. We are an Equine Assisted Psychotherapy program under the direction of Dr. Valerie Coleman, PHD, PsyD. I’m currently the Lead Equine Specialist with Stand InBalance. I continue to work with groups of teenagers and young adults from trauma-based in-house treatment centers. I work with an amazing team of 6-8 women who are MFT’s and horse professionals. Not to mention a herd of 14 horses and donkeys. I truly love it.

Stand InBalance practices Natural Horsemanship, IE; Parelli and Natural Lifemanship. Which are horsemanship philosophies based on connecting to the horse and being in a relationship through their natural instincts and ways of communication. Rather than scaring them or “showing who’s boss and in control”. Building a connection with a horse (or a donkey) can help people connect to themselves and to the world around them.

It is not easy explaining how or why equine therapy works. It’s not something that can be summed up in a couple of sentences. But it’s important for people to know that therapy doesn’t always have to be about sitting in an office talking about your feelings. Alternatively, therapy (and coaching) can be about connecting to yourself, to nature, to an animal that can provide a wealth of reflection, information and healing without you even saying a word.

While interacting with animals has its own psychological benefits for humans. Interacting with horses is on a different level simply because of the prey/predator dynamic. It is not like connecting with our beloved cats and dogs.

Horses can sense the physiology of a predator up to 2 miles away. They can sense our respiratory system, our nervous system, muscle tension, digestion, etc. Which means when a human comes into the arena feeling “fine” about everything but really they’re scared or uncertain about what’s happening, the horse can sense that discrepancy. The outside of the body says calm cool and collected while the insides have a heart that’s beating out of their chest and they’re holding their breath. Which is exactly what a lion does when they are on the hunt. Horses are like big bio feedback detectors and they will call us out if we’re not being honest and authentic about what we are feeling and what our intentions are all about.

Living authentically takes practice. It’s like a muscle that becomes stronger the more you use it. Working with horses helps us get into our bodies and our intentions with what we want in our lives. Living an empowered and authentic life makes for a better self.

I’ve always been a dreamer and I tend follow my heart. As I look back at the road, I thought I was taking and the road that I ended up on, I’m reminded about how my fears were showing up as information that I needed to light the fire in order to take action. Challenging me to move towards uncertainty, getting curious about it and seeing where it might lead. Like when I realized I was not as strong of a rider as I thought I was when becoming a trail guide. But sticking with it anyway gave me the confidence and self-esteem that I was looking for in my new life in LA.

It was my dream to become an actor that led me to LA. Finding horses underneath the actual Hollywood sign is irony at its best. But mostly, it feels like a manifested dream I wasn’t entirely aware that I was making. By staying true to my heart and what I valued in my life I was able to see other possibilities show up that I never would have seen had I kept to the script of a story that I thought I SHOULD be writing. It’s important to get clear about what really matters in your life. Tapping into authenticity can help navigate these paths without blinders on. Horses continue to teach me how to be the best version of myself and I love teaching the same in others.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Yes and no. I believed I was on to something great. That doing equine therapy spoke to my heart and I was confident about my ability to do it more than anything I’ve ever done in my life.

It almost ended when I had a falling out with my Equine Life Coaching mentor. We had worked together for over three years for her program and our relationship outside of the arena deteriorated. We were friends and when trust was broken, it all ended professionally and personally. I was devastated.

When that relationship ended, I thought I would never find another program with a similar philosophy. I started doubting if this was something I “should” be doing instead of going full-time at the desk job.

And it was hard leaving said desk job. Health benefits are real. Working with horses means I would need to pay for my own health insurance. But mostly, it was because that desk job was with The LA Phil. What allowed me to pursue Equine Life Coaching was working part-time (sometimes full-time) for The LA Phil, The LA Opera and Center Theatre Group (respectively) for almost 20 years. I may have stopped being an actor but I never stopped being part of the world of performing arts. After the pandemic, I realized that I couldn’t keep working two jobs up to 50 hours a week. After all this time, I still had one pinky toe in the world of theatre and music. Letting go of that all together felt very strange.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m an Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Facilitator for an Equine Psychotherapy program, an Equine Life Coach in short. I specialize in Horse and Human relationships. I work mostly with teens and young adults and am known for my no nonsense approach and insights to the work. I’m currently in the process of creating my own small Equine Life Coaching Business geared towards individual coaching.

I help people turn really big and overwhelming things that get them stuck in their life into bite-size pieces. I teach about emotional intelligence and mindfulness while connecting with horses and donkeys. I aim to help people lead a more authentic and fulfilling life.

I also teach/train therapists about Equine Therapy and how it works inside a session.

I’m proud of finding a fulfilling career that utilizes my innate qualities around horse behavior and human psychology. I’m most proud of creating a happy and successful life as a single woman in her 50’s.

What sets me apart from others? I like to find the sweet and salty in things. I have a positive outlook on life with a healthy dose of cynicism. Sarcasm runs deep. I’m a realist with a penchant for finding the magic in the everyday.

How do you think about happiness?
Being out in nature, horses and donkeys, spending time with family and friends, a delicious meal, “porch sit’n”, being around a fire pit, singing, dancing, swimming, riding horses (because GIDDY UP!!) Equine therapy seeing a client connect the dots to their lives and into action when a horse does just the right thing to inspire it. Magic. Watching the squirrels run around in the morning with a cup of coffee, my 23-year-old cat, and time to myself.

Because life is about experiencing it.

Pricing:

  • 200$ 1 hour Zoom Life Coaching
  • 240$ 1.5 hours Equine Assisted Growth and Learning

Contact Info:

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