About Us
What we can learn from horses is infinitely more valuable than what we can teach them
Experience the Healing Power Of Our Horsepower
Why Horses?
The Power of Our Horsepower
Horses are large, powerful nonpredatory animals possessing incredible strength and beauty. Working through fear and building confidence arise naturally when engaging with these animals. Horses are particularly good at helping humans because of their honesty and the way that they are designed biologically. As prey animals, horses read the energetic field and us when we are in their field. They respond honestly to whatever stimulates them. Horses show up as mirrors for us to see things about ourselves that sometimes we like, and sometimes we do not. Their honest feedback can help us grow in self-awareness and encourage transformational change to occur.
Horses create opportunity for relationships, but a relationship with a prey animal can be challenging. The horse’s agenda first includes finding safety, food, and comfort in its environment. When these needs are met, horses become responsive to other dynamics. They become curious. They experiment with boundaries. They negotiate hierarchy and respond to leadership.
The human must explore ways to create that connection and align him or herself to the horse’s particular psychology and language. If the human client is successful setting up an interaction to achieve response and connection without producing threat, fear, or discomfort for the horse, those skills can transfer to creating improved connections in the human world.
Our desire to relate and connect with a horse requires that we be present, focused, and engaged. In return, horses give us instant and authentic feedback without judgement. Working with horses provides endless opportunities for real life metaphors. As we work through specific exercises in the horse arena, our thoughts, beliefs, behaviors, and patterns emerge, reflecting real life experiences that are often occurring in our daily lives. Horses help us to become more mindful as we navigate the process of making progress towards becoming the best version of ourselves possible. Incorporating the unique engagement of horses and the specialized skill sets of a human team interacting with the innate potential of our clients to find solutions is the real power behind our horsepower.
The Science Behind the Work We Do
An Arena of Possibilities
Studies show that working with horses reduces anxiety and depression through physiological changes that reduce cortisol, the stress hormone. In addition, spending time with horses lowers blood pressure and increases the release of oxytocin, a natural chemical that promotes feelings of positivity and connection.Horses are gifted in the science of neuroception and are biologically designed to detect the attitudes, emotions, physiological states and behaviors of people they interact with. They have the ability to exhibit alertness and discernment without judgement.
The fundamental premise of Polyvagal Theory (PVT) is that human beings innately need safety and have biological systems devoted to fiercely avoid harm. The body’s rapid-response survival system, the autonomic nervous system (ANS), is comprised of three elements- dorsal, sympathetic, and ventral- and subconsciously works in the background to read subtle signals of safety or threat. From a polyvagal perspective, a key goal is to help the client find ways to move out of a dysregulated state-either a numbed-out “dorsal vagal” state or a hyper aroused “sympathetic” one- and return to “ventral vagal,” the biological seat of safety and connectedness. Horses create an arena of possibility where clients can uncover and discover the tools they need to manage and maintain a regulated emotional state that will enable them to go from surviving to thriving.
Meet Our Founder and Executive Director
Linda Aldrich
Linda Aldrich founded The Pony Express Equine Assisted Skills in 1982. As Executive Director of her non-profit organization, Linda has provided a life skill/leadership program for youth ages 12- 18 years of age utilizing their rescued horses as teachers, healers, and agents of change. Linda has her MA in Education, is finishing her MA in Counseling and has several degrees in Equine Facilitated Learning, Leadership, Wellness, and Coaching. Linda is currently working towards her certificate in Equine Assisted Connection TM.
Linda has over three decades of teaching and training horses and riders and taught the Equine Program at Santa Rosa Junior College for ten years. She has competed in several equine disciplines including three-day eventing, dressage, and show jumping and worked in the film industry for many years as a stunt rider and coordinator for All Star Animals. Linda recently lost The Pony Express Ranch to The Glass Fire in September of 2020 and is in the process of rebuilding the ranch and the many programs that called her ranch home.
Contact Us
You Can Donate Directly to the Pony Express Location, just send a check to:
The Pony Express
6413 Sonoma Hwy.
Santa Rosa, CA
95409
