The Tao of Equus: A Woman's Journey of Healing and Transformation Through the Way of the Horse
In The Tao of Equus, author Linda Kohanov intertwines the story of how she awakened to the spiritual presence of horses with compelling mythology, neurological research, and personal anecdotes. The result is an extraordinary story of healing and communication that turns conventional understandings of these amazing creatures upside down.
A horse trainer and equine-facilitated therapy practitioner, Kohanov first began exploring the horse-human connection in the early 1990s. When her black mare, Rasa, became lame, Kohanov was plagued by a series of sinister dreams and premonitions. Finally, prompted by her dreams, she canceled a chancy surgery to save Rasa’s potential career in competitive riding. To relate to the injured horse outside conventional equestrian pursuits, Kohanov immersed herself in the day-to-day activities of the herd.
In the process, she discovered that horses are intensely emotional, intuitive, intelligent beings. They are true reflections of our deepest souls. Over time, she discovered their extraordinary ability to awaken intuition in humans, while mirroring the authentic feelings people try to hide, makes these animals powerful therapeutic teachers. Kohanov describes the subtle emotional and even clairsentient cues she tapped into after time spent interacting with her herd. And she details the techniques she developed to help students strengthen mind-body awareness and access their own extrasensory abilities through the way of the horse.
For Kohanov, it’s no mistake that many who feel alienated from modern society — women in particular — find themselves mysteriously drawn to these magnificent animals. She delves into the spiritual processes behind the magical connections riders sometimes stumble onto inadvertently and skillfully explores the subtle behavioral nuances horses detect and reflect. She reveals a potent feminine perspective in horses and shows how this equine-based wisdom can help people heal and empower themselves.
Blending her provocative story of prescient dreams and ancestral communication with a wide-ranging exploration of equine-facilitated therapy practices, Kohanov delivers an extraordinary work sure to interest both longtime riders and readers interested in exploring the deepest reaches of the bonds between species.
Praise for The Tao of Equus
"You can dump all the information you want onto me, and it will never change me or heal me. Instead, tell me a good story. This is what Linda Kohanov has done in The Tao of Equus. Her stories about the mystery of healing and transformation between human and horse are extraordinary, magical. Linda has done her homework, and her book stands well on its research, but it dances on its stories. Good work. Heartfelt, soul caressing work. A book that can change minds, hearts, and attitudes."
— Susan Chernak McElroy, author of Animals as Teachers and Healers
"…an intense and searching spiritual journey….If we are to protect this earth, we will have to recognize, as this author did, that the sacred, the numinous, and the wellsprings of creativity can be touched when we open our souls to the souls of other living creatures. In a more professional sense, I was taken by the author's insight that the horse can detect the discordance between action and feeling that arises when patients repress significant emotion or memory. That observation explains why contact with horses can be so useful in the healing process. It also suggests an exciting research agenda that might validate the role of animals as guides to the exploration of human consciousness."
— Aaron Katcher, M.D., vice president of Animal Therapy Association, author of Between Pets and People, medical director of People, Animals, Nature, Inc.
"The Tao of Equus reveals the transformative, healing power that is implicit in the human-animal bond, and is a startling challenge to anyone wishing to limit consciousness to humans."
— Larry Dossey, M.D., author of Healing Beyond the Body and Reinventing Medicine
"Effective psychotherapy 'contains' a mysterious energy that synchronously interweaves the interaction of therapist and client. In The Tao of Equus, Linda Kohanov takes us on a marvelous excursion of her evolutionary relationship with horses, highlighting equine facilitated psychotherapy and the Tao energy that horses have to offer in the service of this work. I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in innovative psychotherapy and more than just a superficial look at horses."
— Fred P. Gallo, Ph.D., founder of Energy Diagnoistic and Treatment Methods (EdxTM) and author of Energy Psychology, Energy Tapping, and Energy Psychology in Psychotherapy
"The Tao of Equus helps us to experience the exquisite balance between body,mind, and spirit. I felt the horse as the bridge of love."
— Lynn V. Andrews, author of Medicine Woman