Daily Inspiration: Meet Laurie Brander

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laurie Brander.

Hi Laurie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Laurie Brander, and horses are a massive part of my life. I have been moving out of a long career as a trial paralegal and into a career as a full-time transformational coach working with horses for over a decade now. I work with my horses to transform the lives of people. The value of equine-assisted learning and other therapies has gained a lot of traction in the last couple of years and has transformed my business, Epona Experience (www.eponaexperience.com).

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest obstacle in building Epona Experience was that equine-assisted programs and therapies were beginning to be conceptualized when I started seeking education to offer EAL. I muddled through several pieces of training and programs and had a hard time putting together what I thought was a valuable experience worthy of charging money. And horses are costly, so I had to keep grinding hard to pay for the herd at my legal job. I found excellent training in Canada in 2016 and traveled to Equine Connection Academy of Equine Assisted Learning to attend their training programs. That was a turning point for Epona Experience as we now offer our curriculum programs that were meticulously studied and developed for their effectiveness.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Epona Experience facilitates life skills and personal development programs that combine the best elements of education and science, mixed with a little magic (horses). We have a very robust website explaining why we work with horses and the various groups of people we work with: women’s groups, business teams, youth, and people in recovery programs. From the first time I met a horse, I knew it made me feel calm and grounded, and I could quickly lose worry and anxiety in their presence. Horse people have known this for centuries. Horses can help people in profound ways that are hard to explain, and sometimes I am left shaking my head. I still find the healing ability of horses hard to believe, even though I see people grow and transform in just a few weeks of interacting with our herd. Luckily, Heartmath Institute is doing scientific studies about the value of equine-assisted programs and the physiological changes that happen to humans and horses during positive interactions. I am sharing this video in all my programs because it summarizes an introductory study about our work in just three minutes: https://youtu.be/JUiHf9yAG24.

Can you talk to us about the role of luck?
I don’t know if I like the word “luck” that much. If you do good, you will receive good. If you have the right “attitude of gratitude” and put energy and intention into your work, doors will open, and you will be connected with the right people and circumstances to help you succeed.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.eponaexperience.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EponaExperience