Interview with Silke Garcés – Horse-Assisted NLP Coach and Owner of Horse Mind Coaching
Intro
I’ve always admired people who dare to reinvent themselves (who listen to that inner voice and take a completely new path). That’s why I’d like to share the story of Silke, even though it’s outside my usual science scope, because it’s inspiring in a very different way. Silke’s roots are in science (and that’s how we met). She built a successful career in Life Science Marketing, working for some of the big names such as Illumina and Qiagen, before following her intuition, her love for horses (a passion we share), and her wish to help people through a new approach. Today, with Horse Mind Coaching, she blends equine connection and NLP coaching to guide her clients towards clarity, calm, and reconnection.
Read the interview, be inspired, share it, and let us know what you think in the comments.
Q1 : You’ve moved from a scientific marketing leadership role into founding Horse Mind Coaching, supporting people with the help of your horses. What inspired you to make this career shift?
« Reflecting on my last 20 years of professional life with 20+ years to come, I asked myself what type of work would characterize a fulfilled life, using Martha Beck’s Change Cycle. I found out that I wanted to be more outside in nature, with my horses and support people in their journey to a more fulfilled life. My former career didn’t meet these criteria, so I decided to create my own business, Horse Mind Coaching. »
Q2: You’ve described it as a big and courageous move to leave the corporate world behind. What internal or external signals gave you the confidence that it was the right decision?
« During my life, I learned that following my intuition or gut feeling gave me the best results and biggest leaps. Every step I took towards creating my new business felt right and exciting for me, which gave me some confidence. However, the bigger part of my confidence came from seeing the amazing results that my first beta clients had after the sessions. It always worked and gave the client what he or she needed in their specific situation. Clients’ results are my guiding principle in my work. »
Q3 : Your coaching is designed to help people who feel overwhelmed, stuck in thought loops, or disconnected. Can you walk us through what a session looks like for someone in that state, and how your approach helps them reconnect or reset?
« My clients connect in a session with one or more horses through Zoom. They see the horse and hear me talking. When someone is overwhelmed, stuck, or disconnected, their nervous system is in a chronically activated state. This wears down the mind through thought loops and also the body, by flooding it with constant stress metabolism. When my clients look at a calm horse in a beautiful natural environment, they can receive signals of safety from the horse’s facial expression. Horses are prey and herd animals, able to get into a fight-or-flight response very quickly and then calm down rapidly when the danger is over, to preserve energy. They have highly evolved facial expressions to signal safety, and we humans can perceive these unconsciously. Depending on the degree of activation, it can take 10-20 minutes to reach a safe and calm nervous system state. Some of my clients haven’t felt calm for years, some have never felt it. The second part of the session is tailored to individual needs: some clients want clarity on big life decisions, others have stuck emotions that can be processed in the non-judgmental space horses provide. »
Q4 : You combine NLP coaching with equine connection. How do these methods complement each other in practice?
« The horse coaching is best for calming the nervous system and learning to be present in the here and now. Neuro Linguistic Programming addresses blocks in the human mind, such as stuck negative emotions from the past, limiting beliefs, and inner conflicts. I practice a form of modern NLP that is extremely quick, and the changes last. That’s why my clients can rapidly transform their lives in an 8-session program. »
Q5 : You offer sessions online. How do you recreate the sense of presence and emotional connection virtually, without being physically with the horses?
« I personally think the connection is even better in a virtual format, for several reasons. My clients are in the comfort and safety of their home, with no need to travel and no distractions from a different environment. In addition, most of my horses are young and participate freely. In a virtual setting, I can be very close to them, as I can read their body language and know how to stay safe. »
Q6 : There’s increasing interest in somatic and nature-based methods. What’s the scientific foundation behind horse-assisted coaching, and why do you believe, as your clients prove too, that it works so well?
« Equine therapy has well-documented, scientifically proven benefits, and equine-assisted in-person coaching is starting to generate more evidence as well. The method I use is quite unique, and I choose to demonstrate its effectiveness through the amount of change my clients share with me after the program. »
Q7 : You’ve mentioned moments when a client’s shift or feedback clearly confirmed the power of this work. Can you share one story that stayed with you?
« I had one client who suffered from a frozen shoulder for two years. After just a single horse coaching session, all symptoms were gone. »
Q8 : Looking ahead, and perhaps beyond taking in even more horses 😉, where do you see Horse Mind Coaching in two or three years?
« The next step for me is to become a certified Wayfinder Life Coach in Martha Beck’s coaching training. As I used many of her techniques to radically shift my life, I would like to offer the same tools to my clients to facilitate even bigger life transformations. I can imagine some more horses; I still miss a chestnut and a black silver. I collect horse color genes as part of my passion. »
Q9 : What advice would you give to professionals who feel overwhelmed or burnt out and are considering a less conventional path like yours?
« First, get support! There are situations in life where you need the help of someone who is two steps ahead of you and has more bandwidth. If you are overwhelmed with work, hire professionals like Inga for your pending projects, to allow you to recover. Second, it’s actually a good sign to be at a low point like this — it’s your body telling you that this is not the right situation for you. Find someone you deeply resonate with and get guidance to find your true path. »
Q10 : And finally: For you, coaching with horses is above all about…
… helping people to rediscover their home in their mind and bodies!