Why Horses?

why integrate horses & business mentoring?

Progress stalling or things feeling “off” in your business is rarely just about your strategy. It's more often about how the complexities of life intersects with it.

That intersection creates conditioned responses. A nervous system in overdrive. Business decisions and moves that aren't truly aligned to your values and instincts (and it’s hard to see otherwise), because it feels somewhat impossible to tap into what those really are, particularly at the pace you’re working.

This work brings awareness to those conditioned responses and unexamined assumptions - to the state of your nervous system.

And it's most powerfully done with horses present.

Horses are authentic and honest in a way that humans can't be. They don't respond to your title, your positioning, your marketing message, or how well you've prepared. They respond to who you are in the given moment. Your true presence.

For business owners who are high performing and accustomed to thinking their way through decisions, this work allows the full complexity of life — family, hormones, grief, chronic illness, parenting, neurodivergence — to coexist with your business. So your decisions feel clearer. Your practice becomes sustainable. And professional progress stops costing you personally.

The science

Your nervous system is shaped by how you run your business — your boundaries, your pricing, your team, your environment, your pace. It also regulates to what's around it. Busyness. Noise. Peace. Nature. Beauty. And in this work, horses.

In polyvagal neuroscience, this is called co-regulation: we regulate physiologically through proximity to regulated others. Horses are particularly effective at this, partly because of the size of their heart, and their capacity to bring our body into a parasympathetic state simply through presence.

A horse grazing quietly near you sends a signal to your brainstem that the environment is safe. That signal travels bottom-up, brainstem first, the limbic system next. And from there, the space between mind, heart, and body opens to access whats true for you.

People describe a quality of clarity after time with horses that they couldn't create in any other environment.

I've been a participant in equine facilitation and therapy for nine years. Prior to that I had tried most approaches, those grounded in deep science like CBT and ACT, through to spiritual and somatic practices. Nothing came close to what happened for me in a paddock with the herd.

The breakthroughs, the clarity, the shifts, the grounding and the boundaries clarification all changed the way I live and work. Honestly, it's something I find hard to convey. It's something to experience.

I formalised that by training as an equine facilitator with Meg Kirby and Noel Haarburger at the The Equine & Animal Assisted Psychotherapy Institute. Now I bring this work into business coaching and mentoring, to support business owners making moves they trust.

horses & me

The horse as partner, not prop

The horses I work with are not tools or therapy aids. They're sentient animals with their own preferences, boundaries, and ways of communicating and their participation in this work is always on their terms.

That's an ethical consideration, but it's also a practical one. A horse's response to you is honest in a way that humans — including coaches and therapists — simply can't replicate. They're tuned into congruence. They respond to your presence and your nervous system, not the version of yourself you think you need to put forward to perform as a high achiever.

Working with horses as partners is what makes this work unique. It requires presence and awareness. And that presence and awareness is what allows for sustainable high performance, particularly for business owners navigating the full complexity of life alongside their work.

This is not therapy, and it doesn't require a saddle. You won't be asked to ride. You don't need prior experience with horses — I just ask for openness to what might unfold.

This is not a retreat or a wellness experience. The work is grounded in equine-assisted learning methodology, trauma-informed facilitation, and the same nervous system science that underpins somatic coaching and high-performance psychology.

What you'll find is an environment where your body responds differently than it does in your office or on a walk. And a structured process for making that useful.

If you're sceptical, bring that. The horses won't mind, and neither will I.

What this is not

ways to work together, with the horses

MENTORING

To explore this equine work further, you can book a half-day intensive in the paddock — well suited to those travelling from outside Melbourne — or develop an ongoing mentoring relationship with two 90-minute sessions each month, where equine facilitated sessions can be woven in as the work calls for it.

Suited to business owners navigating:

Conditioned responses and patterns running on autopilot affecting their leadership
Business decisions that feel misaligned with their values and instincts
The full complexity of life alongside their practice; chronic illness, neurodivergence, hormone cycles, grief, parenting, caring for family
The ceiling that strategy and cognitive approaches alone haven't shifted
Nervous system regulation and what becomes possible from that state

WORKSHOPS

Half or full day workshops in the paddock, either 1:1 or with your team.

Suited to business owners and leaders ready to work at a different layer, because the usual thinking and planning process are feeling heavy.

What we can work through:

Capacity planning and business goals
Team communication and dynamics
Leadership patterns running on autopilot
Decision-making that feels stuck or misaligned
Creative blocks and self-doubt when developing new work, a book, or a big idea

Some of my wonderful clients…

“If you're the primary strategist or ideas person in your business, I'll bet there are SO MANY things you would love to get done but don't have the time or the technical expertise to make it happen.

"If only I could ....", you say "my business would be flying".
With Katee in your corner, now you can.

She possesses the perfect combination of cleverness (to understand exactly what you want to achieve), strategic insight (to know the most effective way of making it happen), and practical skills (to then turn that vision into a reality).

If your business is hamstrung (as mine was) by a lack of technical skills or operational ability, Katee is your solution. Get her into your business and rather than being frustrated by technology, you'll be empowered by it.

She's a top shelf human as well, so you get good vibes as well as rapid progress. Highly recommended.”
Col Fink - Business mentor & coach
"I reached out to Katee because our business, Real Schools, had grown significantly over 18 months, but our systems and processes hadn't quite kept pace. We needed someone who understood not just our CRM and business operations, but more importantly, where we wanted to take our business — and someone who could collaborate effectively with our team.
Katee was perfect for this role. She brings a remarkably strategic mind and works with incredible efficiency. What sets her apart is her dual focus on elevating customer experience while driving commercial outcomes.
One of the most valuable things she did was facilitate internal workshops that gave everyone a voice to express their pain points and needs. She then skillfully brought everyone along on the journey, presenting solutions in a way that created genuine buy-in.
Beyond her professional expertise, Katie has this wonderful ability to anticipate business needs and solve them through a strategic lens. She's incredibly easy to work with and quick to deliver results.”
Charlotte Holden - Marketing Manager with Real Schools & Adam Voigt
“Katee's essence is that she cares. Every conversation I have, Katee has been one where I feel like I'm at the centre of the conversation. And she is elevating me, she's lifting me, she's just listening to me. And isn't that what we all want. And I just love that. And as a result, the engagements felt productive, and useful, and we can get into flow. If you're wondering, should I work with Katee? Let's go with Yes.”
Digby Scott - Master Facilitator
"While my IP and delivery were solid, I knew our operational systems needed refinement to scale effectively.
What makes Katee extraordinary is her comprehensive understanding of successful practices combined with her unique ability to operate on two levels simultaneously. She brings both the detailed ground-level execution and a strategic 'floodlight view' of how everything interconnects.
Within days of working together, she transformed our fragmented pieces – systems, collateral, IP, newsletters – into a cohesive, aligned ecosystem.
Her clear vision of what success looks like at a systems level, combined with her ability to execute the practical elements, created immediate and lasting impact for our practice. That dual perspective is what sets her apart."
Richard Young PhD - Performance expert, Mentor and Author.
“Katee didn't just identify what I needed from a support person – she helped me understand why I needed it.
When she explained that my ideal support person needed to be proactive, she connected it directly to protecting my energy. It was a paradigm shift.
She has this unique ability to articulate what's truly important to you and then show how the right support can amplify it.
This wasn't just about getting help; it was about strategically preserving my energy for what matters most. That realisation was transformative."
Robert Bihar - Finance Trainer, Coach & Mentor
“In just six months, Katee transformed our chaotic backend, consolidating 15 disconnected platforms into a seamless, efficient system, relieving me of a massive mental load.
Asana, a tool she introduced, has been a game-changer, enabling me to manage long-term strategic projects effortlessly.
Despite my past struggles with admin tasks and people, Katee made the process easy and enjoyable. She's not just effective—she's a fantastic person to work with.”
Sharon Dann - Stellar Partnerships
“Katee’s ability to make complex processes into seamless and integrated systems is invaluable. Her knowledge and experience across such a huge range of products and platforms means you always know you’ve got the most up to date and best practice information. Katee is extremely thorough from conception through to execution, and beyond. Ensuring both the customer experience and back-end management are given care and consideration. I would not hesitate to recommend Katee for support, consultation and implementation.”
Mikayla Whetton - Business Manager for Lisa O’Neill
"As our business was growing rapidly, we knew we needed more robust support in both people and platforms.
What truly sets Katee apart is her deep understanding of the delicate balance between people, processes, and platforms. She helped us transform our overwhelming collection of tools and documents into a streamlined, future-proof system.
The impact was immediate – we've eliminated key-person dependency by getting everything out of our heads and into clear, transparent processes. The mental load has reduced significantly, with our platforms now carrying the weight we used to hold in our minds.
What surprised me most was Katee's extensive pre-existing knowledge; she'd done so much of the thinking before we even started, allowing us to move straight to solutions without wasting time.
She didn't overcomplicate things – instead, she found that perfect balance of tools and support that freed up our time and headspace to focus on what we do best. It was such a relief to have that level of insight and experience guiding us."
Penny Terry - Speaker, Mentor, Trainer & Podcaster & Lucy Byrne - Facilitator & Trainer
“Katee is an absolute gun! Her guidance and solutions are practical and she makes you feel more relaxed about finance and projects that are usually very overwhelming!"
Dave & Bianca - Dave O’brien.com
“I recently engaged Katee to help me identify the best support I need for my practice.
Katee asked all the right questions, and helped me to narrow down to my specific requirements. She really is the expert in this space.
Katee continued to keep in contact, making sure we had fully closed loop and I had all the elements I needed in place. I would highly recommend Katee if you're thinking of a reset in your practice or you're just levelling up. And she's just great to work with!”
Mary Butler - Leadership Coach
“Katee is nothing short of a magic maker!
When investing in a coach or mentor, you know it’s time for change but what I didn’t expect was the deep impact my time with Katee would have on my confidence.
Not only did she help me gain clarity on a new direction in my business, Katee also helped me see the intrinsic value I offered my exisiting clients and my distinctive difference from my competitors.
The momentum our calls created was electric with people reaching out noticing the shift in gear in my business, congratulating me on my success and lining up for discovery calls. Three months we worked together and now I am on my way to build my dream.
I highly recommend Katee to anyone who wants action, change and transformation because you will get it in spades!”
Sarah Hodges - Online Business Manager Frank & Freda

touch base

I'd love to hear about what you're working on and where you need support.

A note on timing: My 1:1 project capacity is booked through May 2026, but that doesn't mean I can't help you. I have DIY tools and courses for immediate implementation, priority waitlist spots for June onwards, and other options depending on what you need and when you need it.

Fill out the enquiry form and I'll be in touch with what solutions makes most sense for you.