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Bio
Zoë, certified energetic & holistic practitioner, coach, trainer and instructor with 20+ years of experience in Europe and the United States "Stal van Mourik", The Netherlands (2007 - 2017) Horsetrainer in California (2017 - 2020) 'House of Horsemanship' - EU & US (since 2021) *Certified IET practitioner *Equine Trauma Specialist *Horsemanship Coach (certified Life Coach) *Shamanistic healing |
Na het runnen van haar eigen pensionstal in Gelderland (2007 - 2017) emigreerde Zoë naar California, waar ze vier jaar lang heeft mogen werken op verschillende ranches en rescues, om te leren van mensen uit het vak. Ze kwam in aanraking met voornamelijk (wilde) Mustangs, Quarter Horses, renpaarden, gangenpaarden en Arabische paarden, die allemaal verwaarloosd of zwaar getraumatiseerd waren door mishandeling en/of verwaarlozing.
Al heel jong was Zoë op zoek naar andere manieren van omgaan en werken met paarden en kwam na talloze boeken en informatie via het internet (nog voor het Social Media tijdperk) terecht bij Natural Horsemanship. Ze was toen zo'n 12 jaar oud en wegens een nare thuissituatie altijd op zoek naar 'ways out', om maar niet thuis te hoeven zijn. Als baby kroop ze al onder hekken door, naar paarden toe en hoe ouder ze werd hoe duidelijker deze rode draad werd: deze machtige en grote dieren werden haar familie, die haar de rust, veiligheid en liefde gaven waar ze als kind zo naar verlangde. Vanuit gevoelens van dankbaarheid en verantwoordelijkheid begon Zoë's reis naar een betere manier vinden (en waar nodig creëeren) om met paarden te kunnen werken.
De werkwijzes van bijvoorbeeld Ray Hunt, Tom en Bill Dorrance en voornamelijk Buck Brannaman (de inspiratie voor de rol van Robert Redford in de film 'The Horse Whisperer') sprak haar enorm aan. Al snel begon ze (in Nederland) met Parelli NH, de enige methode die toendertijd beschikbaar was, via filmpjes op het internet. Daarnaast zocht ze verder naar meer (wetenschappelijke) informatie, meer mogelijkheden, ervaringen en methoden die te maken hadden met ethisch verantwoord paarden trainen en rehabiliteren, die ze vervolgens toepaste op haar pension- of trainingspaarden in Nederland. Metaphysica is daarom een belangrijk element volgens Zoë, wanneer het gaat om toegepaste wetenschap bij dieren.
Uiteindelijk kon ze haar overtuigingen en kennis gaan 'testen' in de Verenigde Staten, waar ze vier jaar lang op verschillende rescues en ranches werkte om getraumatiseerde en wilde/feral paarden een tweede kans op een paardwaardig leven te bieden.
Al heel jong was Zoë op zoek naar andere manieren van omgaan en werken met paarden en kwam na talloze boeken en informatie via het internet (nog voor het Social Media tijdperk) terecht bij Natural Horsemanship. Ze was toen zo'n 12 jaar oud en wegens een nare thuissituatie altijd op zoek naar 'ways out', om maar niet thuis te hoeven zijn. Als baby kroop ze al onder hekken door, naar paarden toe en hoe ouder ze werd hoe duidelijker deze rode draad werd: deze machtige en grote dieren werden haar familie, die haar de rust, veiligheid en liefde gaven waar ze als kind zo naar verlangde. Vanuit gevoelens van dankbaarheid en verantwoordelijkheid begon Zoë's reis naar een betere manier vinden (en waar nodig creëeren) om met paarden te kunnen werken.
De werkwijzes van bijvoorbeeld Ray Hunt, Tom en Bill Dorrance en voornamelijk Buck Brannaman (de inspiratie voor de rol van Robert Redford in de film 'The Horse Whisperer') sprak haar enorm aan. Al snel begon ze (in Nederland) met Parelli NH, de enige methode die toendertijd beschikbaar was, via filmpjes op het internet. Daarnaast zocht ze verder naar meer (wetenschappelijke) informatie, meer mogelijkheden, ervaringen en methoden die te maken hadden met ethisch verantwoord paarden trainen en rehabiliteren, die ze vervolgens toepaste op haar pension- of trainingspaarden in Nederland. Metaphysica is daarom een belangrijk element volgens Zoë, wanneer het gaat om toegepaste wetenschap bij dieren.
Uiteindelijk kon ze haar overtuigingen en kennis gaan 'testen' in de Verenigde Staten, waar ze vier jaar lang op verschillende rescues en ranches werkte om getraumatiseerde en wilde/feral paarden een tweede kans op een paardwaardig leven te bieden.
Read the following news article about the Green Grate Arabian case, where 83 were severely neglected and left to die. A large group of these horses were able to come to Love This Horse and find new homes:
https://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/terrebonne-women-sentenced-in-severe-horse-neglect-case/article_f20800d8-29c6-5cfc-b1fe-c9d168a7af27.html
and/or watch the video below:
Naast het trainen, lessen volgen/geven en leren van de mensen in haar directe omgeving begon Zoë zich op Spiritueel vlak ook meer te ontwikkelen en behaalde uiteindelijk haar Integrated Energy Therapy (Basic, Intermediate, Advanced & Pets) certificaten waardoor ze niet alleen mensen maar ook (kleine) dieren mocht gaan behandelen. Een fantastische aanvulling op haar werk, waarin ze het belangrijk vindt om heling op fysiek, emotioneel, mentaal en spiritueel vlak met elkaar te verbinden.
IET is gebaseerd op het vrijmaken van eventuele blokkades in het cellulair geheugen van het menselijk (of dierlijk) energetisch en fysieke lichaam. Er bestaan 9 primaire "integratie punten", locaties waar ons lichaam emoties/herinneringen opslaat en bij zich draagt. Wanneer er sprake is van een blokkade, kunnen klachten zich fysiek gaan manifesteren en ervaren we uiteindelijk ook lichamelijke klachten. Dankzij de niet-invasieve methode van IET kunnen zelfs diepgewortelde en heftige emoties en herinneringen vrijgemaakt worden, zonder deze momenten opnieuw te herleven. Ideaal voor dieren, die nare herinneringen niet bewust naar de oppervlakte kunnen brengen!
IET is gebaseerd op het vrijmaken van eventuele blokkades in het cellulair geheugen van het menselijk (of dierlijk) energetisch en fysieke lichaam. Er bestaan 9 primaire "integratie punten", locaties waar ons lichaam emoties/herinneringen opslaat en bij zich draagt. Wanneer er sprake is van een blokkade, kunnen klachten zich fysiek gaan manifesteren en ervaren we uiteindelijk ook lichamelijke klachten. Dankzij de niet-invasieve methode van IET kunnen zelfs diepgewortelde en heftige emoties en herinneringen vrijgemaakt worden, zonder deze momenten opnieuw te herleven. Ideaal voor dieren, die nare herinneringen niet bewust naar de oppervlakte kunnen brengen!
Watch how IET with horses work and what their behavior can tell us: https://youtu.be/xkdPMU4NoQQ
More information about Integrated Energy Therapy: https://www.learniet.com/
Want to become a certified practitioner yourself? We host multiple weekends in The Netherlands, if you're interested in attending a course in the US; please contact me! I expect to be able to host these courses in California in 2023.
Zoë en JP, een van de rescuepaarden die als "gevaarlijk" was afgeschreven
During her first two years in California, Zoë's work mostly involved around her work at a starting rescue close to her home, taking lessons from 4-star Parelli Instructor Maurice Thibault (3L Ranch, Tehachapi) with her own horse and finetuning her Liberty and Freestyle work. Almost every day she helped around the rescue with approximately 30 horses, that were awaiting their adoption after being succesfully rehabilitated. She also assisted with seizing horses and showing them to potential adopters.
Due to the use of lots of pressure (through the appliance of Parelli NH) she kept feeling resistant to continue down this road, and decided to follow her own instincts and path. She visited clinics from people she'd been admiring her whole life (like Buck Brannaman) but also experienced whole new techniques when watching the Scarpati family from Argentina.
In 2018, Zoë visited Silver Horse Retreat (San Dieg) for the second time, to assist owner Sara during a week of Horse Constellations in Nature with participants from Japan. Silver Horse Retreat is an off the grid retreat, focused on Healing work involving horses, Shamanism and nature. During her first visit three years prior, Zoë became interested in Shamanism, in particular Animal Medicine and Guided Meditations. It once again reminded her of the importance of Spirituality, Self-Development and Authenticity. 3 Important elements she'd often overlooked until her life (like physical ailments) forced her to see and do things differently.
After that first, intensive stay at Silver Horse Retreat in 2015 she noticed a shift in her life. This intense stay brought her more healing than regular therapy had done over the years; a remarkable difference. Back in The Netherlands she kept learning about Shamanism and how to implement this during her daily life and work with horses. Since 2022 she offers her own, online Shamanic Journeying Classes.
Watch my vlog about my stay at Silver Horse Retreat: https://youtu.be/6pq9TQqgVFk
Family Constellation sessie, 2015
Teaching will always be important for Zoë (passing on knowledge and wisdom), so when she started as an instructor at Freedom Ranch Equestrian Connections (Juniper Hills, CA) and was asked to teach physically/mentally challenged students she decided to finish her Life Coach study so that she would be able to help anyone who was remotely interested in horses. Motivating and helping riders with a muscle disease, Asperger's Syndrome or ADHD around horses and even on their backs is something she finds truly humbling and important work.
Stephanie (the owner of the ranch) has an MMA/film-industry history and has adopted a lot of her strategies from that past to actually training horses. It's absolutely inspiring and refreshing to see her at work, with so much creativity and passion that it rubs off on every horse and human. Stephanie has successfully rescued, rehabilitated and re-homed several horses, ponies, dogs, goats, sheep and a whole lot more!
Zoë has had the pleasure of ranch-sitting at this beautiful place a couple of times; twice in 2019 and once in 2020. She and her husband are scheduled to return in the summer of 2022.
Stephanie (the owner of the ranch) has an MMA/film-industry history and has adopted a lot of her strategies from that past to actually training horses. It's absolutely inspiring and refreshing to see her at work, with so much creativity and passion that it rubs off on every horse and human. Stephanie has successfully rescued, rehabilitated and re-homed several horses, ponies, dogs, goats, sheep and a whole lot more!
Zoë has had the pleasure of ranch-sitting at this beautiful place a couple of times; twice in 2019 and once in 2020. She and her husband are scheduled to return in the summer of 2022.
All animals of Freedom Ranch are animal actors! Zoë has had had the pleasure to come along as Animal Handler a couple of times or help train horses for a shoot. Here you can watch a videoclip where Eden and Zoro are featured as Animal Actors: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC9GyTAuk8s
Op de set van een videoclip
In the fall of 2019 she met Vera, she is the owner of Love This Horse, Equine Rescue (Rosamond, Mojave Desert), USA's largest Arabian horse rescue.
She introduced her to Walter, a young, traumatized Lusitano who was found running across the Los Angeles freeway in the summer of 2018. He was saddled, had a lasso around his neck and was covered in whip marks, wounds and blood. People behind the wheel were able to safely guide him away from the busy freeway where he collapsed and eventually was seized by Animal Control.
Nobody ever came to claim Walter. A lot of newscasts and papers did a story on him, which of course made people feel sad for him, so they donated whatever they could to help with his recovery. Later they found out that Walter most likely has been used/trained to be a "dancing" or "tripping" horse (a brute practice that's been done mostly by "charro's", even though it's illegal) but that he was able to escape his abusers.
By the time Zoë met Walter, he had been recovering for about 1.5 years at Love This Horse, so he had some time to emotionally and physically recover. He was living in his own round pen, because he would clear the fences of a normal stall (about 5 feet) when he felt overwhelmed by something.
She worked with Walter extensively from Januari through March, about 4 times a week. You can find more about his progress under the tab "Videos".
She introduced her to Walter, a young, traumatized Lusitano who was found running across the Los Angeles freeway in the summer of 2018. He was saddled, had a lasso around his neck and was covered in whip marks, wounds and blood. People behind the wheel were able to safely guide him away from the busy freeway where he collapsed and eventually was seized by Animal Control.
Nobody ever came to claim Walter. A lot of newscasts and papers did a story on him, which of course made people feel sad for him, so they donated whatever they could to help with his recovery. Later they found out that Walter most likely has been used/trained to be a "dancing" or "tripping" horse (a brute practice that's been done mostly by "charro's", even though it's illegal) but that he was able to escape his abusers.
By the time Zoë met Walter, he had been recovering for about 1.5 years at Love This Horse, so he had some time to emotionally and physically recover. He was living in his own round pen, because he would clear the fences of a normal stall (about 5 feet) when he felt overwhelmed by something.
She worked with Walter extensively from Januari through March, about 4 times a week. You can find more about his progress under the tab "Videos".
Een van de eerste sessies met Walter
Besides Walter, she also worked with other (mostly Arab) horses. Some were already started under saddle and needed some adjustments or hours under saddle before they were ready to be placed for adoption (about 10 horses get adopted each month!). A lot of adopted horses are killing it in the Endurance sport!
Starting green horses, correcting behavorial issues or just "trouble shooting" were also part of her tasks.
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Zoë & Boomerang, een Poolse Arabier
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When a group of 9 severely neglected Arabian horses arrived at the rescue (they came from a kill-pen in Oregon), Zoë had to invest most of her time to these terrified horses, besides working with Walter who was also very traumatized. Some of these horses had never even seen a human being from up close, most of them had been saved from a gruesome end. In both cases, the horses were very traumatized and scared of people, so it took weeks before she could establish physical contact. Zoë works in complete freedom; without ropes, sticks, lasso's, etc.
After a couple of months, it wasn't just Walter who could already be touched and handled; three horses from this feral group could be succesfully touched, haltered and lead. Three months after their arrival, the first horse was already adopted and transported to his new home in New Mexico.
The group feral horses, on the right is Cognac; the first horse that was succesfully trained and adopted
Watch the video below to observe how Zoë works with a feral horse. Najia is a mare that was (almost) used as a tripping horse (a cruel practice where running horses are being lassoed around their legs to be pulled to the ground) so she has deeply rooted fears for humans.
Watch the video below to see Zoë working with Freedom, a 4 year old Arabian who was also used as a tripping horse:
By the end of 2020, Zoë had to suddenly return to The Netherlands. Here she hopes to share her experiences and principles with other, like-minded people who love and want to help horses. She started a new platform, dedicated to doing exactly this and with the help of other (Dutch) specialist; find out more on the website of House of Horsemanship!
Besides horses, people and their pets are also welcome for (healing) sessions with Zoë. She offers Shamanic and Energetic healing and courses, send an e-mail if you'd like to know more.
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During her work with (traumatized) horses, Zoë likes to use natural products to support the emotional and physical wellbeing of the horse.
Relax Compositum from De Groene Os is my favorite secret weapon. A few drops of this (100% natural) herbal tincture over some pellets will help the horse regulate their emotions and bring them to the surface easier, which improves our communication and makes it easier to get results. You can find more information about the use of Relax Compositum, Ashwagandha and Green Clay in blogs. |
NederlandZoë's main work focuses on teaching, hosting courses or clinic's and developing a brand-new, certified education for inspiring Equine Trauma & Behavior Specialists. She will travel back and forth to the USA until she can stay permanently. Stay updated by following her Social Media accounts or by reading her blog/visiting the News Page. |
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