We recently connected with Julie Ruddy and have shared our conversation below.

Julie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Is there a heartwarming story from your career that you look back on?

The heartwarming story of my career began three years ago with a tearful phone call from my sister. She and a friend were desperately trying to find someone willing to give a neglected horse named Samson one final long weekend of kindness before he was euthanized.

At the time, I didn’t even have a horse barn—just a small goat pasture. But I said yes.

Within hours, Samson arrived. He was frightened, shockingly underweight, and clearly unsure of the world around him. I rushed to the local co-op for horse feed, a brush, and bug spray. When everyone left, I tied him to an apple tree, gave him a long bath, and told him he was safe.

Over that weekend, I watched him rest in the shade, roll in the grass, and slowly begin to relax. Beneath his worn appearance was a gentle horse with kind eyes. By the end of the weekend, I couldn’t let his story end there. I called and asked for a stay of execution so I could try to help him regain some weight and strength.

What started as a temporary act of compassion became a life-changing commitment. Knowing horses need companionship, I recruited three baby goats from a neighboring dairy farm—Angel, Bootsy, and Babs—to keep him company. Day by day he ate. Month by month he gained weight. By winter, Samson was healthy again.

Today, three years later, Samson is still thriving at Meadow Brook Farm. But the bigger surprise is how much he changed me.

Helping restore one neglected horse led me to partner with a senior horse rescue organization, welcome additional horses into my care, retire from a long career in advertising, and pursue advanced training in Equine-Facilitated Learning and Coaching. I also incorporated Reiki into my work, creating a unique approach that helps people learn resilience, presence, authentic connection and much more through interactions with horses.

What began as an effort to save a horse’s life ended up transforming my own. Samson arrived needing rescue, but in many ways, he rescued me too and set me on a path that feels like destiny.

Julie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My journey into this work was completely unexpected. For most of my career, I worked in advertising—except for the brief period when I bought a bar and restaurant, but that’s a different interview! Everything changed three years ago when a neglected senior horse named Samson arrived at my farm. What began as an effort to give one horse a safe place to land became a profound turning point in my life.
That experience led me to partner with a senior horse rescue organization, expand my herd, and pursue training in Equine-Facilitated Learning and Coaching. I also became a Reiki Practitioner and began integrating energy work into my offerings. Today, I have the privilege of bringing all of these passions together at Meadow Brook Farm—the very farm where I grew up as a 4-H kid competing in horse shows every weekend.
I provide equine-facilitated learning experiences, coaching, Reiki, retreats, workshops, and group programs, all conducted with my horses by my side. My clients come from all walks of life. Some are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or disconnected. Some are navigating life transitions, seeking clarity, rebuilding confidence, or looking for a deeper connection with themselves and others. Others simply want a meaningful experience that helps them slow down and reconnect with what matters most.
The horses help people solve problems that more traditional approaches don’t always reach. There is something deeply evocative about horses. They live entirely in the present moment. They respond to authenticity, not titles, accomplishments, or appearances. They offer immediate and honest feedback about how we are showing up in the world. Through interactions with them, people often gain insights into their relationships, communication styles, boundaries, leadership, self-awareness, and emotional well-being.
What sets my work apart is the combination of modalities and experiences I bring together. I draw from my background in coaching, business, personal development, equine-facilitated learning, horse rescue, and Reiki. But perhaps more importantly, I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. I create space for people to discover their own answers rather than prescribing solutions. The horses are my partners in that process, and they are extraordinary teachers.
I have witnessed astonishing things happen between horses and humans. I’ve seen moments of insight, healing, connection, and transformation that I can’t fully explain or prove, but that I know to be true in my bones. The more time I spend with horses, the more convinced I become that they carry an ancient wisdom—one that modern humans desperately need.
What I am most proud of is that this work benefits both humans and horses. My horses are not tools; they are rescued, retired, or senior horses who now have meaningful lives helping others. Watching a horse step into a new role and become a source of healing and inspiration for people is incredibly rewarding.
At its heart, my work is about connection—connection to yourself, to others, to nature, and to the wisdom horses have been offering us all along. Horses have taught me that presence is more powerful than performance, authenticity matters more than image, and connection is more valuable than control. My mission is to share those lessons with as many people as possible.
My life’s work is teaching humans how to be more like horses. It may sound unusual, but I genuinely believe their way of being in the world is, in many respects, better than ours. Horses live honestly. They live in the present rather than in unhelpful thoughts about the past or future. They know how to establish boundaries, build trust, remain aware of their surroundings, and stay deeply connected to their community. If more of us embraced those qualities, I believe we’d create healthier lives, stronger relationships, and a more compassionate world.
Horses have spent centuries offering these lessons. My role is simply to help people hear them.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was everything I thought I knew about how to be with horses.

Like many people, I was taught that good horsewomanship meant being in control. You learned how to train, direct, correct, and get a horse to do what you wanted. The focus was on leadership, performance, discipline and results.

But when I began studying Equine-Facilitated Learning and spending time with horses outside of traditional riding and training environments, I realized I had been missing the most important skill of all: listening.

Sometimes I wonder if horses have spent centuries trying to teach us the same lesson. Not how to ride. Not how to train. Not how to win ribbons. But how to listen.

A horse doesn’t care how many books you’ve read, how many clinics you’ve attended, or how many years you’ve been around horses. What matters to them is much simpler. Do you notice when they’re worried? Do you recognize when they’re uncomfortable? Do you respect their boundaries? Do you care enough to hear what they’re communicating, even when it isn’t what you wanted to hear?

That realization changed everything for me.

I had to let go of the idea that every interaction needed to be directed by me. I had to become more curious and less certain. More present and less focused on outcomes. Horses taught me that influence is different from control, and connection is more powerful than authority.

What surprised me most is that this lesson extended far beyond horses. It changed the way I coach people, the way I communicate, and the way I move through the world. I’ve learned that listening sounds passive, but it may be one of the bravest things we can do. Because the moment we truly hear another being, we can no longer pretend we don’t know what they need.

The backstory is that I thought I was learning how to teach horses. Instead, the horses were teaching me. They keep offering the same lesson, over and over again—not demanding, not forcing, simply waiting for us to become quiet enough to hear.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Be your brand. Not in a marketing sense, but in the sense of fully embodying who you are and what you stand for. When your work is an honest expression of your values, passions, and experiences, it becomes much easier for people to connect with you and trust you. I’ve fully accepted that I’m the person who constantly talks about horses and how amazing they are!
My own path is a good example. I never set out to create the work I’m doing today. I started by helping one neglected horse. That led to horse rescue, which led to Equine-Facilitated Learning, which led to Reiki, coaching, workshops, and experiences I couldn’t have imagined when I began. None of it came from following a business plan.
I think it’s important to know where you’re headed, but not be so attached to the route that you miss unexpected opportunities. Some of the best things that have happened in my career came from saying yes to something that I didn’t fully understand at the time.
So my advice is to be your own greatest ambassador. Share what you believe in. Let people see your passion. Stay open to where the journey wants to take you. When you do that, your work develops a life of its own and can carry you to places you never imagined.
Be fearless enough to follow what genuinely excites and inspires you. You never know where it might lead.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://belikeahorse.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julie.ruddy.14/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-ruddy-92b192355/
• Other: Horse rescue non-profits that I’m affiliated with:
  https://www.thisoldhorse.org/
  https://www.racehorsereimagined.org/