Wyatt Webb - Its Not About the Horse: Its About Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt

Other Hay House Titles
of Related Interest

Books

THE ANGEL BY MY SIDE,
by Mike Lingenfelter and David Frei
THE LOVE AND POWER JOURNAL, by Lynn V. Andrews
SIMPLE THINGS, by Jim Brickman
SIXTH SENSE, by Stuart Wilde
VISIONSEEKER, by Hank Wesselman, Ph.D.

Audio Programs

CHAKRA CLEARING, by Doreen Virtue, Ph.D.
INTUITIVE HEALING, by Judith Orloff, M.D.
THE MANIFESTATION PROCESS, by John Randolph Price
THERES A SPIRITUAL SOLUTION
TO EVERY PROBLEM, by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Card Decks

IF LIFE IS A GAME, THESE ARE THE RULES CARDS,
by Chrie Carter-Scott, Ph.D.
SELF-CARE CARDS, by Cheryl Richardson
WISDOM CARDS, by Louise L. Hay
ZEN CARDS, by Daniel Levin

All of the above are available at your local bookstore,
or may be ordered through Hay House, Inc.:

(800) 654-5126 or (760) 431-7695
(800) 650-5115 (fax) or (760) 431-6948 (fax)
www.hayhouse.com

Its about Overcoming
Fear and Self-doubt

Wyatt Webb

with Cindy Pearlman

HAY HOUSE, INC.
Carlsbad, California
London Sydney Johannesburg
Vancouver Hong Kong New Delhi

Copyright 2002 by Wyatt Webb

Published and distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by: Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd.: orders@psdprom.co.za www.hayhouse.co.za Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast: www.raincoast.com Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Editorial supervision: Jill Kramer Design: Ashley Brown
Interior photos: Photo of Wyatt Webb and Monsoon the horse:
Courtesy of Mary Henebry

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews without prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Webb, Wyatt.

Its not about the horse-its about overcoming fear and self-doubt / Wyatt Webb, with Cindy Pearlman.

p. cm.

ISBN 1-56170-978-6 (hardcover) 1-4019-0128-X (tradepaper)

1. HorsemanshipTherapeutic use. 2. Psychotherapy. 3. Horses Psychological aspects.

4. Human-animal relationships. I. Pearlman, Cindy. II. Title.

RC489.H67 W43 2002

616.89165dc21

2002001161

ISBN 13: 978-1-4019-0128-8
ISBN 10: 1-4019-0128-X

10 09 08 07 9 8 7 6
1st printing, August 2002
6th printing, May 2007

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to Carin.

Contents

Please note:
All of the stories and case studies
in this book are true.
All names have been changed
for confidentiality purposes.

I came to Wyatt Webb with only one rule: He was not going to make me cry.

That seemed like an easy one. We were going to meet in Tucson, Arizona, where I would participate in the Equine Experienceand Wyatt would decide if I was the type of person who could help him write his story.

That decision would partly be based on what I could tell him about my own life. No offense, he said when we first spoke on the phone, but I dont want anyone helping me write this book who hasnt lived some.

In fact, thats about all he said. Oh, there was one more thing: By the way, dont wear sandals. Youll be around horses. Click.

On the plane ride from Chicago, I sat crammed into an airplane seat in my new black suede desert boots and decided exactly how it would go with Wyatt. I would tell him about a few of my minor struggles. Id brush a horse. Id probably get a nice tan. And we would size each other upthe no-nonsense therapist and the tough, big-city journalist.

About 45 minutes into my second day with Wyatt, the tears were rolling down my cheeks.

The day began with another type of waterworks threat, though, and that came from the storm clouds brewing over the mountains in Tucson. There I sat on hay bales with six other women, listening to Wyatt talk about the Equine Experience. Then we were told to go into the arena (a big, dusty area surrounded by metal fences) and choose our horses. I wound up with an 1,100-pound dark brown horse named Adieu who sized me up by craning his neck and glaring at me with an eyeball the size of a small lemon.

Wyatt had instructed us to greet the massive animals and then lift their extremely huge hooves, where we would use a picklike device to clean their shoes. Was he nuts? I thought, consoling myself with the fact that dogs love me, cats love me, and horses were just bigger beasts who would certainly know that I was an animal person and thus listen to me. Of course, Adieu could have cared less about my qualifications. He wouldnt lift his foot for anything. Squeeze the tendon at the bottom of his leg, Wyatt said, breezing by on his way to check on another guest.

I tried squeezing with both hands at one point. I even broke a nail. Nothing. What to do? Since Wyatt was busy with the other women, and since Adieu probably had clean enough feet, I moved on to the third task, which was to brush the horse. Problem solved.

Thats when I felt Wyatt standing close behind me as horse dust swirled around us. So, you just skip over whats hard in life? he said.

Bulls-eye! Im busted! It was like being shot. Then Wyatt moved in closer, and in the most soothing, quiet voice that I have ever heard in my life, he whispered, I can see that youre in a world of pain.