Eef Gilbert
Equine Assisted CoachHelping you regain your footing.
“the impact of trauma is in the somatosensory self.”
— Dr. Bessel van der Kolk
My Story
My own story started at the end of my first career in academics. I had passionately worked as a researcher and activist in conflict areas in Central and West Africa for over a decade, when my partner died in Dakar on the 5th February 2018.
The week after that my 20 year old cat died, and the week after that my daughter left the house. In a mere three weeks my life was turned upside down. I was left alone, seemingly without a purpose and weighing a mere 50 kilos. A ghost of my former self.
I slowly made my way back to professional life with cognitive therapy. But my fire, my inner strength, power and purpose was gone. During the years that followed I lived but was hardly alive.
That is until I met Tygo, Eros and Valerie Elsing.
During the months of equine-assisted coaching I learned just to be again. No explanations, no long winded talks about what had happened, no analysing. Just being. Aware. Here. Now.
Slowly my body started to relax again. Ending the years of being stuck in Freeze or Flight mode. Slowly the fog lifted. Slowly life returned. And when it did, all I could think about was to retrain as an equine-assisted coach. The rest is history.
My Values & Beliefs
You can't talk yourself out of trauma
Trauma is stored in the somatosensory self and can only be released there.
mens sana in corpore sano
Embodying life in the here and now, feeling your way through safely within wise and healthy boundaries.
Trust and responsibility start with you
Being trustworthy and responsible to ourselves sets us up for life in a powerful and life-changing way.
My Approach
In my work I follow the horse and its interaction to and with the coachee(s). Horses can’t lie and it enables me to bypass any biases we as humans might hold to get to the core of the disturbed somatosensory self.
As a coach, I focus on the here and now rather than on the past, but past events may come to the surface. The body needs to remember so it can find its way out of the disturbance. This process can be quite intense, mentally as well as physically.
As a trained researcher I dig into the academic literature on the subjects we come across, to assist with proven practices to restore a healthy mind-body balance.
Eros
Eros is a 22 year old Andalusian horse, born in Spain.
His sensitivity and human orientation make him a perfect coach for all things hidden.
In addition, he is eager to learn, curious, honest, and reliable. That makes him a great colleague to work with.
Tygo
This is Tygo, a 16-year-old Frisian. Born and raised on the farm where the coaching sessions are held.
Tygo is quite a big horse which could be seen as overwhelming, but he is actually very tender. He has big shoulders to lean on and offers them willingly to those who need them. He is the big brother everybody needs.
This makes Tygo a very nice and reliable horse for coaching.
Mr. Bond
At only 6 years old, Mr. Bond is the youngest of the coaches, but with his 1m70 he is the tallest.
Mr. Bond is a beautiful and trained sport horse, with an innate sense of curiosity.
His playful spirit and sensitivity make him an excellent coach. Especially when things get heavy.
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