🐎The Healing Power of Horses in Life Coaching

🐎The Healing Power of Horses in Life Coaching

Author: Anne-Marie Zanzal 1ac1f670-c17c-11f0-806a-ef1502adef07 May 9, 2025 Duration: 47:00

Join Authentically Us, a community and support space for late blooming lesbians! Find us at https://www.annemariezanzal.com

Lotus Community Coaching is a 6-month program for women who are reevaluating their sexual identity, coming out as LGBTQIA+, and transitioning from a straight, married life to an independent life. If you're struggling and need help during this challenging time, learn what Lotus Community Coaching can offer you: https://annemariezanzal.com/lotus-community-coaching/

This week on the podcast host Anne-Marie Zanzal chats with Sue Willoughby, a "No BS" life coach and Equus coach, who shares her journey of self-discovery, coming out, and the transformative power of equine-assisted coaching. Sue discusses her unique approach to helping women reconnect with themselves through the wisdom of horses, while also reflecting on her own experiences with family dynamics, relationships, and identity. Anne-Marie and Sue delve into the therapeutic benefits of horses and how they can facilitate personal growth and healing. Sue shares how horses can serve as mirrors to our emotions and personal challenges

❓ What to Expect in This Episode:

🐎Sue shares her coming out story and formative experiences as a young, queer person.

🐎Exploration of how working with horses in a coaching setting can reveal our 'blind spots.'

🐎Emphasis on the importance of mindfulness and being in the here and now.

🐎Explanation of how the horse can become a metaphor for our personal issues.


 Why This Matters:

For anyone who is feeling stuck, mindfulness work and somatic experiences can lead to emotional release. This episode builds awareness on how Equus coaching can help us become more attuned with ourselves, and how the horse serves as both a mirror and a model for behavior.


You can find out more about Willoughby Coaching online at https://www.willoughbycoaching.com/

Sue is also the host of the A Life Worth Being podcast. You can tune in right here, on YouTube! ⁨@SueWilloughby⁩ 

One of Sue's coming out songs is I'm Coming Out by Diana Ross: https://youtu.be/3pmt-wWzC1E?si=CHq_f9TBqgDSl9aH

A book that influenced Sue is Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/165395.Rubyfruit_Jungle

The lesbian movie that Anne-Marie and Sue talked about is Desert Hearts: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089015/


Authentically Us is a support community for later-in-life LGBTQ women at all stages of the coming out and beyond process. Coming out later in life is often accompanied by suffering. Whether you're looking to deconstruct messages from a conservative faith tradition, experience divorce-related guilt, or struggle with feelings of shame around your coming out or sexual identity, Authentically Us has the right kind of support for you. Monthly subscription to Authentically Us on Mighty Networks is $35/month, but you can try your first week for free. Find Authentically Us at https://bit.ly/Authentically-Us

💬 Join the Conversation:

Have you participated in coaching or therapeutic work with horses? What was it like? How did it help you? Share in the comments your experiences!


🔗 Visit our website:

Anne-Marie's : [ annemariezanzal.com]


🔗 Follow us on social media:

💠 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amzanzal

💠 Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/annemariezanzalcoaching/

💠 Twitter: twitter.com/annemariezanzal

💠LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/annemariezanzalpurposefulempowerment/


👉 Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more inspiring stories and advice on navigating life, love, and everything in between!



It can feel incredibly isolating to question your sexuality after years of living a different story. Coming Out & Beyond Support for Women Questioning Their Sexuality Later in Life is a companion for that specific journey, created for those who find themselves navigating these waters from a place of established life-perhaps within a marriage, after a divorce, or while building a family. Host Anne-Marie Zanzal brings her perspective as an ordained minister and hospice chaplain to conversations that gently unravel complex layers of identity, faith, and fear. This podcast delves into the real, often unspoken challenges: confronting compulsory heterosexuality, processing religious or spiritual conditioning, and managing the anxiety of how a personal revelation might ripple through your closest relationships. Episodes offer a blend of personal reflection, insightful interviews, and practical support, focusing on emotional and mental well-being without offering simplistic answers. It’s a space where you can hear stories that resonate with your own, fostering a sense of clarity and community. Tuning in, you’ll find a resource that honors the full spectrum of this experience-the confusion, the liberation, and everything in between-always grounded in compassion and deep understanding.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Coming Out & Beyond  Support for Women Questioning Their Sexuality Later in Life
Podcast Episodes
📣The Power of Telling Your Story! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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This week on the podcast, host Anne-Marie Zanzal welcomes fellow author and later-in-lifer, Sarah Locke. Sarah shares her journey of coming out later in life and living with multiple sclerosis. Sarah's personal value of…
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"The Catalyst Chapter: #For WLW Navigating Love's First Chapter and Beyond" Learn more about the course and register at https://annemariezanzal.com/courses-from-anne-marie-zanzal/#catalystrelationship"Strengthening Love:…
❤️The Best Tool For Change? Love! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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"The Catalyst Chapter: #For WLW Navigating Love's First Chapter and Beyond" Learn more about the course and register at https://annemariezanzal.com/courses-from-anne-marie-zanzal/#catalystrelationship"Strengthening Love:…
❤️‍🩹The Catalyst Experience Changes EVERYTHING! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:47
"The Catalyst Chapter: #For WLW Navigating Love's First Chapter and Beyond" Learn more about the course and register at https://annemariezanzal.com/courses-from-anne-marie-zanzal/#catalystrelationship"Strengthening Love:…
Uncloseted Media Brings Much Needed LGBTQ+ Lens to Journalism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:38
"Strengthening Love: Building Secure Bonds for Lesbian Couples" https://healthylesbianrelationships.com/TW: Hate groups, racism and homophobia are discussed. Some strong language is used. Listener discretion is advised.T…
❤️‍🩹 Healing Your Grief When Coming Out- Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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"Strengthening Love: Building Secure Bonds for Lesbian Couples" https://healthylesbianrelationships.com/TW: This episode explores grief as related to the coming out experience and may be difficult for some to hear. If yo…
❤️‍🩹 Healing Your Grief When Coming Out- Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:26
In the episode of Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories, host Anne-Marie Zanzal and her fellow coach, Barbara Rowlandson explore the complex emotions surround grief when coming out later in life. This is a MUST listen ep…
📷”I Want To See These Women’s Faces” [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:09
"Strengthening Love: Building Secure Bonds for Lesbian Couples" https://healthylesbianrelationships.com/In the episode of Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories, host Anne-Marie Zanzal speaks with documentary photographer…
🤔Unpacking Compulsory Heteronormativity [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:49
"Strengthening Love: Building Secure Bonds for Lesbian Couples" https://healthylesbianrelationships.com/This week on the pod: pull up a chair and lean in as host Anne-Marie Zanzal and her fellow coming-out coach, Barbara…