Transforming Lives with Equine-Assisted Coaching: Stories from the Field

Some healing begins in silence. Some begins with tears. And sometimes, it begins with a horse.

For Melissa Mullens, the journey into equine-assisted coaching didn’t start with a goal or a career change—it started with heartbreak.

“I lost my husband of 24 years,” she shares. “I was so overcome with grief I couldn’t even function.”Though she had loved horses her entire life, it wasn’t until she found herself in the depths of unimaginable sorrow that she truly connected with one. That moment came during her first equine coaching session with The Freedom Way® co-founder, Janice, and a soulful buckskin mare named Bailey.

“All I could do was lay in the stall and sob,” Melissa recalls. “And Bailey just breathed into my neck the whole session. It was the strangest, yet most healing moment I’ve ever felt. Bailey just stood there and held space for me as I bawled my eyes out.”That quiet presence—that gift of nonjudgmental holding—is where transformation often begins.

“To say it was divine intervention seems cliché,” Melissa says, “but that’s exactly what it was.”

That single session was a turning point. It awakened something deep within her—a calling to not only be with horses, but to understand their healing presence. Melissa enrolled in The Freedom Way Equine-Assisted Coaching Certification Course and began a new chapter in her life.

“I haven’t coached others yet,” she says, “but the course helped me heal tremendously in the five years since I lost my husband. It gave me tools, understanding, and a way to keep moving forward.” Melissa’s journey didn’t stop at healing—she found new love, new purpose, and a new way to live. “I’ve since met an amazing man who loves horses and loves me. We’ve had wonderful adventures with our horses—and it all began with that session with Bailey and Janice.”

At The Freedom Way, we witness experiences and hear stories like Melissa’s all the time. Horses don’t just carry and hold people—they help process emotion, provide presence, and show insights of possibility. They see who we are beyond words, and they help us remember how to breathe again, how to trust again, how to hope again. And like in Melissa’s experience, even how to love again.

Equine-assisted coaching isn’t just a profession. It’s a path of personal transformation—for both coach and client.

Are you ready to discover what a horse can help you uncover? Our next certification course begins February 4, 2026. Whether you're called to coach or simply need healing for yourself, this journey could change your life—just like it did for Melissa. 

Learn more and join the herd at www.freedomwayequinecoaching.com