What is WisdomRider?

 

WisdomRider is a small, privately run Equine Assisted Coaching facility near Taos, New Mexico.

Run by Astrid Nemer, WisdomRider provides a safe and intimate environment in which to explore your undeveloped potential, test your leadership skills and resolve personal and professional challenges.

WisdomRider offers Life Coaching with Horses to individuals and small groups. You must be over 21 years to participate.

WisdomRider allows horses to become a tool for teaching yourself and others how to communicate in a way that inspires a natural willingness to follow.

 

WisdomRider Philosophy

The philosophy behind WisdomRider Equine Assisted Coaching, or self development through the way of the horse,  is that we, as individuals, are free to choose how to create relationships. When we know how to use the tools we have been given, we can go on to create them based on "want" rather than "have to" or "I'll make you", and this can be demonstrated to us by our equine partners in a beautiful, clear, congruent manner.

What this is really all about is the quality of our relationship with the horses,with ourselves and others--and with yourself--and about entering new pathways to our own potential.

WisdomRider might help you recognize certain behavior patterns that might not be working so well for you anymore, and what they might mean. When we have a chance to look in a new way at the positive and negative aspects of these patterns (which often have become habituated in us), we can open up to the freedom to make choices that we previously might not have known existed. This can be both liberating and exciting!

Astrid Nemer

My name is Astrid Nemer, and my mission, through WisdomRider and Equine Assisted Coaching, is to aid in bringing about change for each individual, in terms of his or her inner freedom, self-fulfillment, life purpose, liberation, and a life empowered by authenticity...in other words, to help each person honor his or her own innate process through reverence for horses as our guides.

I was born and raised in Fulda, Germany, wishing with all my heart that I were surrounded by nature and horses. At University I majored in English and Art and then at 19 I moved to Los Angeles, CA, to live with my aunt. After 5 years of working as a camera technician in Hollywood, in 1986 I at long last relocated to the precise place I wanted to be--Taos, New Mexico--and felt I had finally come home.

I pursued my work in the clay arts and worked as a photo developer until I could bring horses into my life. While working on (and to support) my horsemanship skills, I became a cosmetologist and owner of a small salon in Taos.

It was when I learned of the Parelli approach to horses that my transformation took place. A veil was lifted for me and suddenly my relationship with my horses changed. I realized it wasn't the horse's "fault" when something didn't seem to be working "correctly". It was me, my lack of understanding, and of knowing the horse, and my lack of ability to communicate. It was as if I were speaking Chinese to someone who spoke only English. At best, you could guess at what I meant and at my intentions...imagine how unsettling that must have felt to my equine partner!

It's all about the " Quality " of your relationship with your horse. I learned that it was about the quality of the relationship: in other words, it is about clear and congruent language, both verbal and nonverbal.

I began to accept in to my awareness the concept of body language, rhythmic pressure, energy work...and when those ideas became important to me, I found myself also wanting to shift the balance between doing and being with my horse. And that's when the real transformation occurred...and the feedback from my horses became my teacher and mirror. From there, my vision of Equine Assisted Coaching began to develop. I wanted most of all to combine my love of working with people with my love of working with horses. It was time to give up my salon and pursue a way to make that happen.

Manifesting the vision
To manifest my vision, I sought out Parelli Natural Horsemanship in Colorado and attended several workshops with them, then ended up in Idaho and Texas with other horsemen to learn more about becoming "natural" rather than "normal" in my approach. I also wanted to learn more about the human side of the interaction, and so became a Coactive Life Coach(at the Coaches Training Institute in Denver, CO). At that point, I sought out a woman named Susanne Elise Schwaiger, whose 10-year program for Equine Facilitated Coaching in Germany (Das Pegasus-Projekt) was just what I wanted and had envisioned for myself. After inviting Susanne to come to Taos and taking her course, I became a practitioner of the Pegasus-Projekt. I learned more about myself and the horse and with her program I was ready to put all the pieces together--to create WisdomRider for you.

Now the time is exactly right to… Let the story unfold and be told.

 

The WisdomRider Staff

My assistants in coaching are Nielson and Merlin. Nielson, a 19-year-old leopard Appallosa from Washington, found me about 4 years ago. Merlin is a little buckskin Mustang from a small Indian reservation west of Albuquerque.

In our home and 1-1/2 acre facility, we create a safe arena for you to dance in the moment, feel liberated and express yourself freely. We offer you a way to step into a completely different perspective through the eye of the horse, which invites you to become fully present in the here and now.

As your coach, using natural horsemanship and coactive coaching skills and intuition, I will guide you alongside the horse to see what unfolds...your committed partner in the arena of Equine Assisted Coaching.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Prior knowledge and experience with horses is not necessary. At WisdomRider we will introduce you to the horse in a safe manner, allowing the creation of mutual respect and 
trust to blossom.

Welcome our new staff member BUSTER, like Buster Keaton. Buster,the mustang came from a wyoming herd , and is ready to work with you.