By Rupert Isaacson
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The podcast currently has 16 episodes available.
From PR to Horses: The Story of Smiling Goat Ranch with Sheryl Barto
In this transformative episode of Equine Assisted World, Rupert Isaacson sits down with the remarkable Sheryl Barto, founder of Smiling Goat Ranch in Carbondale, Colorado. Sheryl shares her deeply personal and inspiring journey, shaped by her son James, who is on the autism spectrum, and her lifelong love for horses. Discover how Sheryl built Smiling Goat Ranch into a haven for children, families, and individuals navigating autism, trauma, and life's many challenges—all while integrating horses, mountain sports, and ranch life in a holistic and life-changing way.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
Sheryl's Personal Journey (Starts at 2:00)
Sheryl grew up with a deep connection to horses, spending her youth showing Ponies of the Americas (POAs) and exploring the countryside on horseback. Despite her dream of becoming a horse trainer, life initially took her on a different path—earning a journalism degree and building a successful career in PR. But when her son James was diagnosed with autism at age 10, Sheryl began to uncover a new purpose: helping others through the healing power of horses and nature.
The Birth of Smiling Goat Ranch (Starts at 16:30)
Founded in 2015, Smiling Goat Ranch offers equine-assisted therapy, classical horsemanship, and activities like mountain sports and ranch work. Sheryl’s approach is profoundly influenced by her experiences as an autism mom, her classical horse training skills, and her belief in the therapeutic connection between humans and animals. The ranch serves not only children with autism but also individuals dealing with trauma and those searching for connection and belonging.
The Name and the Heart of the Ranch (Starts at 24:00)
The ranch's name, Smiling Goat, reflects the joy and character of its early residents: three pygmy goats named Nelly, Lester, and Hubert. These quirky and lovable animals became symbolic of the warmth and playfulness that permeates the ranch, which now includes a range of animals and activities designed to meet people where they are—whether they connect best with horses, goats, mountain trails, or even wildflowers.
The Role of Classical Dressage and Yoga (Starts at 32:15)
Sheryl delves into the profound parallels between yoga and classical dressage, noting how both disciplines cultivate strength, balance, and harmony. She explains how classical dressage training helps horses develop the muscular and mental fitness needed to carry two riders, which is central to their work with autistic children and other special-needs clients.
A Community Effort and a Lifelong Mission (Starts at 41:20)
Building Smiling Goat Ranch was a community-driven endeavor. Sheryl recounts how local organizations like Roaring Fork Leadership and University of Denver students helped her create internships, housing, and infrastructure that make the ranch a sustainable and welcoming environment for families and visitors.
Horse Boy Inspiration (Starts at 52:45)
Sheryl describes the life-changing moment she first encountered Rupert Isaacson’s Horse Boy Method, witnessing its transformative impact on autistic children. This led her to train extensively with Rupert and incorporate Horse Boy principles into her ranch’s programs. From using horses to teach subjects like math and geography to understanding the vital connection between humans and animals, Sheryl’s philosophy blends evidence-based science with deep compassion and creativity.
The Power of Belonging and Connection (Starts at 1:04:00)
Smiling Goat Ranch provides more than therapy—it fosters a sense of community and belonging. Through internships, working student programs, and recreational therapy, the ranch creates opportunities for connection and growth, not just for its clients but for the broader community.
Memorable Moments from the Episode
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🌐 Smiling Goat Ranch
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Many of us are familiar with the term "trauma informed' but Ellie Williams - a British therapist and horsewoman whose Equiteam practice is based in York, Pennsylvania, has accrued more than two decades experience of work in the field.
With her tight knit team, she has been pioneering the field of equine assisted psychotherapy since before most of us even knew about the term - and with startlingly positive results.
If this is an area of the equine assisted world that you are interested in exploring - and let's face it, many clients even if undiagnosed bring unhealed or unaddressed trauma to any practice, then listen on - Ellie Williams can mentor us all.
Find Ellie's Program:
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https://rupertisaacson.com
Jane Faulkner is a household name, at least in Equine Assisted circles, down in Australia.
And with good reason. Like many people who have come to the Equine Assisted world from an originally non horsy background, she has brought a therapist's perspective to our often overly horse-focussed field. Equine Assisted Therapy, Australia - Jane's organization - draws on her experience in nursing, and Gestalt therapy - an approach to psychotherapy that helps clients concentrate on the present to understand what is actually happening in their lives at this moment and to help resolve conflicts both internally and with the world at large. She's also a yoga buff and discovered decades ago how movement and emotional and mental health are inextricably linked.
Though a latecomer to horses, Jane dived in thoroughly - becoming a certified riding instructor and trail guide in Australia and gradually acquiring her own herd on the Gold Coast of Queensland.
But there is much, much more to her story than this - how travels in Europe and then into the dodgier areas of South America and further afield brought her face to face with conflict, how people from different cultures even within their own country often misunderstand each other, and how to bridge those gaps, and therefore how all of us often misunderstand ourselves and what to do about it.
And how the horse, as ever, lends itself as a healer, a mirror, a helper. So listen on, there is much to learn from Jane's story and the methodologies she has helped create.
Find Jane's Programs:
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https://rupertisaacson.com
The Journey On Podcast and Summits have become something of a legend in conscious equestrian circles - and rightly so.
Anyone who has tuned in to the vast array of talent that Warwick features in his in depth interviews ends up walking away with insights into themselves as well as into horses and how they interact with and assist humans, both in the practical and mental/spiritual realms.
To those still new to Warwick, an Australian-born champion in the Western discipline of Reining, he made it to the World Equestrian Games before a pro-fund relationship with a particular horse changed his whole outlook on the horse and human relationship. What followed was a journey of self discovery that has led to exploration of therapy, neuroscience, psychadelics and shamanism as well as ever deeper dives into the horse and human interface.
Recently returning from his latest challenge, the 500 mile Gaucho Derby in Argentina, Warwick tells us how it bumped him up against some of his own limitations - and how he got through to the other side.
Also we look at the upcoming Journey On Summit in Birmingham UK, happening August 1-4 2024, who the fascinating array of speakers are and what they have taught him so far. So, for those equine Assisted peeps out there, sit back and enjoy the listen as Warwick guides us further into how and why the outside of a horse is so good for the inside of a human.
Register to the UK Summit now:
https://summit.warwickschiller.com/?aff=RupertIsaacson
Find Warwick's Programs online:
Find our other shows and programs:
https://rupertisaacson.com
Most of us in the equine assisted field are familiar with encountering skepticism - the inevitable "aren't you just giving kids pony rides?" attitude that can sometimes stand in the way of the field and its practitioners getting the recognition and therefore funding they deserve.
Fortunately, in recent years there has been a massive uptick in the peer reviewed research into equine assisted modalities. Leading this field are Dr Ann Hemingway of Bournemouth University and her assistant researcher Kezia Sullivan.
The results of some of their recent studies are frankly astonishing. For example, one study found that domestic violence, after just a 5 day equine intervention, went down a whopping 51% a year after the intervention was done. This points to major brain changes in those undergoing equine assisted interventions of all kinds.
The rate that Dr. Hemingway and Ms. Sullivan are publishing is prolific, which is good news for all of us.
So listen to what their latest studies have found and are finding - they are providing the kind of research sound bytes that we all need when talking to funders, education authorities, health services and the like. In addition, the two-woman team provides a service crunching data and producing studies on individual equine assisted organizations and methods. If you are looking to get your results proven in a peer reviewed study then you want to listen on.
Go data?
Contact Dr. Ann and Kez:
[email protected]
[email protected]
keziasullivan.co.uk
Find our other shows and programs:
https://rupertisaacson.com
If you are in the Equine Assisted World and you have not yet hear of the Institute for Human and Animal Connection at Denver University, then you should. The institute - one of the first to really get academics behind the work we all do with horses and people (and not just horses) paved the way for real careers in the field, and through its research and collaborations had brought a much needed scientific legitimacy to what was once disregarded as mere 'playing with ponies'.
At the helm of the Institute is the amazing Nina Ekolhm Fry. Originally from Finland - indeed from the minority of Swedish Speaking Finns, she grew up with horses in the northern European tradition but also began working early in her career with the Red Cross and humanitarian aid, so the combination of horses with compassion based healing work comes was established early on.
Nina has a fascinating story - how she came to the usa and began exploring the many equine assisted programs on offer while developing programs at Prestcott College in Arizona and then at Denver, and helping to develop the field into a globally recognised therapeutic modality, including the work of HETI (Horses in education and Therapy International) in which she is a prime mover. So if you don't yet know her, meet Nina now, and you'll realise how much we all owe to her pioneering work, as how far - thanks to those like her - we have all come. Listen on.
Contact Nina:
[email protected]
https://ihac.du.edu
Also mentioned in the podcast:
Fran Jurga equine repository research
https://equineassistedresearch.com/
Find our other shows and programs:
https://rupertisaacson.com
Linda Kohanov is a legend.
A household name in the horse world and also for many of those interested in shamanism and myth, her bestselling books The Tao of Equus Riding Between The Worlds, Way of the Horse, The Power of the Herd and The Five Roles of a Master Herder have established her as a go to as a reference for the spiritual side of the horse and human connection.
Her courses and lectures and method Eponaquest, keep her busy nationally and internationally.
But there is a lot more to Linda than that. her background as a musician, journalist, historian and music critic, as well as her deep inquiry into mythology have given her worldview that sees patterns where others might miss them, discerns structures and connections between seemingly disparate world and - in about as clear a way as one could wish for - sets a gold standard for self actualization: creating a life and career through ones passions that also serves and inspires others.
The world of equine assisted human development owes much to Linda as a pioneer, but her work has spilled over into the non equine mainstream of human development as well.
Living in the Sonoran Desert near Tuscon, and opening her ranch to seekers of the horse human connection from around the world, Kohanov has a story that can inspire anyone from any walk of life seeking to self actualize through their interests, their passions, their heart.
There is much to learn here as Linda takes us on a journey that gives us many clue as to how we too, might find our calling.
Books mentioned:
Contact Linda:
[email protected]
Online courses: LindaKohanov.com
Workshops EponaQuest.com
Epona Quest Instructors
Find our other shows and programs:
https://rupertisaacson.com
Anyone in the Equine Assisted World had heard of the legendary EAGALA program - perhaps the first organization to really bring the field out of the realm of purely therapeutic or adaptive raiding and into the realm of the neuro-psychiatric, at least on a level outside certain isolated mental health institutions.
What many in the Equine Assisted fields may not know is that EAGALA was the brainchild of Lynn Thomas, a mental health professional who didn't know much about horses but who from a very young age, through being drafted into a series of outward bound programs for at risk youth, some of which had horses,observed the radically positive effect that nature, movement and horses, even when one didn't ride them, had on people.
Here on Equine Assisted World Lynn recounts the fascinating story of how these early insights morphed into the EAGALA program and how that grew exponentially into the giant we know today.
But then, as all innovators do - she pivots - creating two new programs that are no less fascinating . Arenas For Change - a new cutting edge approach to well being for the equine practitioners themselves, addressing the burnout that so often goes with the demands of this field. And Horses For Mental Health, which - get this - helps therapeutic equine programs tell their story and get both recognition and more crucially, funding.
This podcast is also time sensitive, as if writing this, on December 15th 2023, Horses For Mental Health is calling for submissions from programs in need of having their stories told. If your program could use a helping hand, and whose doesn't, then perhaps you should listen all the way to the end..
Contact Lynn
https://horsesformentalhealth.org
https://arenasforchange.com
Find our other shows and programs:
https://rupertisaacson.com
That the Netherlands is a forward thinking country we can all agree – especially when it comes to matters of social welfare. Given that the country also helped give the world things that give great pleasure - like coffee, tulips, the Stock Exchange, New Amsterdam (New York City), not to mention liquorice, gouda cheese and gin (alright, there might have been a bit of a colonial process at work for some of these, but nonetheless…), its perhaps no surprise that all things equestrian-assisted, from straight up Therapeutic and Adaptive Riding to Equine Assisted Psychotherapy to other neuro-cognitive approaches, have been funded in the Netherlands on a state level for decades. It’s also a country with a strong tradition in fine horsemanship. The Dutch Warmblood, the Gelderlander, the Frisian..’nuff said.
Carola Beekman`s Maheo Program (meaning Proud in Polynesian), located in Arnhem, in the Eastern Netherlands, treads the line between cutting edge Equine Assisted Work for autism, trauma and neuro-cognitive work, and the use of the Old Masters System of Classical Dressage, especially the work in-hand and in the long reins, not just to keep her horses in optimum mind and body for the job, but also as its own therapy for her adult clients; training them to be horse trainers, maintainers and rehabbers.
Carola’s background goes beyond the equine and therapeutic however – for years she was a teacher in the regular school system and eventually got her principal’s license, so teaching actual academics - maths, science, languages, all through the horses and her barn environment, is also part of the service at Maheo.
Finally, where Carola has perhaps gained most of her experience, is through her own struggles with mental and emotional health. Rather than try to present herself as somehow perfect, she – in true honest Dutch fashion – is refreshingly open and frank about thee struggles and the insights they have given her, as we will learn.
So listen on; Carola Beekman has a lot to teach us out here in the Equine Assisted World.
Contact Carola
https://www.carolabeekman.nl/
https://movementmethod.nl
Carola offers Horse Boy Method & Movement Method workshops. Find her at:
https://ntls.co/horse-boy-method-trainers/
Find our other shows and programs:
https://rupertisaacson.com
In our world of Equine Assisted best practices, the subject of horse wellness and horse welfare is paramount. It stands to reason that for a horse to be able to transmit wellbeing to a human, then that horse must have wellbeing itself both in its body and in its mind. Too often we have seen old, often injured horses donated to therapeutic programs because they are quiet, and then these horses - because they receive no real care other than feeding, blanketing and , if they are lucky, turn out - become more and more sour, as they become stiffer and more in discomfort. This sourness often gets taken out directly on handlers and volunteers - biting, sly kicks, foot crushes and shoulder barges are a known feature of some of the more old0school therapy barns. Indirectly the horses also take out their discomfort on the differently abled and neurodiverse riders themselves by giving a ride that just doesn't feel good, sometimes resulting in those riders not wanting to continue.
Now, in defense of this older school approach, there is no blaming or shaming here. Knowledge of horse welfare in previous generations was something of a specialist area. The upper level of, say, eventers or foxhunters understood fitness and soundness very well, but this knowledge didn't necessarily trickle down to other areas of the horse world. Similarly, a horse's need for free movement and a healthy, stable herd dynamic was understood in some quarters but not necessarily in others. The importance of lunging or long reining for topline muscle and in hand work for suppling, rehab and maintenance of horses is only just becoming something mainstream, as if basic horsemanship. So, the older school therapy stables with suffering horses came from a good-hearted place, wanting to offer a much-needed service to an underserved community. Its up to us, as practitioners, to keep the best practices moving forward.
So, this is why it gives us great pleasure here at Equine Assisted World to be interviewing Sea Stewart, whose approach to Equine Cranio-Sacral work addresses so many issues of our horses' wellbeing. From the need to plentiful cerebral spinal fluid in the spinal chord and brain, to the need for supple and well hydrated fascia between the muscle groups, to the production of calming hormones for emotional well being, the work of Shea Stewart and those like her deeply informs our practice. Listen on - there is much of value here that can be applied in any of our barns. And as you'll find, just listening to Shea and her outlook in bio rhythms and happiness is a treat. Enjoy.
People, Groups and books mentioned:
Mauro Zappaterra MD: Mauro Zappaterra obtained his MD and PhD degrees from Harvard Medical School. He completed his PhD doing work with neuronal stem cells and the effects of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in brain development and in the adult.
William Garner Sutherland: Grandfather of Cranio-sacral
William Seifritz: Plant cell biologist
Biodynamic Carnio Sacral Association of North America
Michael Kern UK
Breath of Life Conference
The Cranio Sacral Podcast Ryan Hallford
Contact Shea
https://www.equinebalance.net/
[email protected]
Find our other shows and programs:
https://rupertisaacson.com
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