Parables: Life Lessons From A Horse Kat Chrysostom

Welcome to Episode 9 of Parables: Life Lessons From a Horse where we are talking about freeing ourselves from societal limits and self-imposed beliefs.

A few years ago, I was speaking at an event, and afterwards, one of the audience members approached me because he felt my message needed to be heard in Africa… He and his wife had created a village in Uganda and they were doing amazing things there. One thing led to another, and there I was, in Uganda, speaking at their village, inside a women’s prison and at churches.

To say it was an amazing trip is an understatement—It was enlightening, inspiring and life-altering.

Without going into too much detail, I had the incredible experience of a true African safari. On that adventure, I experienced nature in it’s most natural, untouched form. Listen to learn more about what I discovered on that Safari and the life lessons I took away.

Those lessons also led me to inviting on today’s guest, who says “If you live your life based on what other people will think or say you make really boring decisions.” It was this mantra that inspired Seanlai’s mission to ‘Unshame Sex’.

As an award-winning CEO, Seanlai knows all about zigging while everyone else is zagging.  A self-proclaimed girly-girl scaled her startup construction company to more than $10M, a feature in Forbes and a coveted spot on the INC.500.

Today, she is a behaviorist and TEDx speaker who writes, coaches and consults globally.

Welcome to Episode 8 of Parables: Life Lessons From a Horse where we are talking about creativity and routine.

Over the past year, I have been consistent with Para—Playing with him regularly, setting goals and always showing up. Pretty quickly, though, I felt that our progress together plateaued and boredom set in... For both of us. Boredom then started manifesting itself into unfavorable behavior from him and I began to wonder "What is the answer?"

Through self-reflection of  my own life, I soon discovered the answer was creativity, variety and learning!

Since changing my perspective for Para, I have begun challenging him through creative activities, learning new things and always keeping it fun. I'm glad to report that we are back on the upward trend of improvement.

Our guest today shares about creativity and how we can all learn to embrace it.

Carly Kade is a creativity coach, award-winning independent author, horse owner, and the host of the Equestrian Author Spotlight Podcast. She helps fellow equine authors build, grow, and expand their author careers. Creative writing makes her spurs jingle!

In the Reins, the first in Carly's series of novels inspired by the equestrian lifestyle, has been an Amazon best seller for more than 10 weeks, is an EQUUS Film Festival Literary Award Winner for Best Western Fiction and has earned two Feathered Quill Book Awards in the Romance and Adult Book featuring Animals categories. The In the Reins book series was written with horse lovers in mind, no matter which discipline they ride, and the horses are as vital to moving the story forward as the human characters are. The books are perfect for poolside reading or taking to the beach. If you want to learn more about Carly, connect with her here.

Welcome to Episode 7 of Parables: Life Lessons From a Horse where we are talking about sequence and structure.

When Para came to me, he would do just about anything to avoid being caught. He was clever in his avoidance and it was clear that he didn’t trust humans (and certainly didn’t want to be close to them). Through trial and error, I found the correct sequence that worked for both of us in approaching him. Soon after, he was approaching me in the pasture. I had not necessarily changed anything, but I had changed the sequence of the things I was doing.

That made me realize just how imperative sequence and structure are to our success.

In this episode, we are going to be talking about:


Sequence of events matter
Structure sets us up for success or failure
Failure teaches—We win or learn (not win or lose)

Finding the happy medium between structure and creativity is essential to our success. Learn how to flow and innovate with structure to accomplish your goals.

Will Smith said “No matter how talented you are, your talent will fail you if you’re not skilled. Skill is achieved through practice. Work hard and dedicate yourself to be better everyday.” This rings true for many of us and sometimes it's easy to discount people's hard work when we only see the end result. 

Today, we are talking with Alissa Kelly who shares a beautiful story about her horse Toasty. Toasty was a “reject” with poor confirmation, but with Alissa’s vision and his heart, they made an impression in the arena that has shocked people. Listen to learn more about Toasty and how try and heart can overcome obstacles in animals’ lives and in our own lives.

Alissa Kelly is a wife, mom and barrel racer of 14 years and both raises and trains future barrel horses for competition. Beyond that, she enjoys working from home doing sales, marketing, networking and promoting riders and brands within the equine industry.

One of her prize horses is Toasty and he is a rather special horse. He was discarded due to his severe sway back at the age of only 2. As Alissa says “The most valuable lesson I have learned from him stems from his heart and try. These two things have led him to becoming recognized and adored by many. He’s the horse that loves his job, tries no matter the circumstance and puts his heart into the sport.” 

Toasty reminds Alissa every day that even if we are not breaking records or winning every weekend, you can still be admired and respected.

Connect with Alissa at The Back Tack.

I’ve always seen and connected with animals differently than many people. I could never explain the feeling I had with them, but in this episode we are talking about a book, Kinship With All Life by J. Allen Boone, that demonstrates this feeling so beautifully and unfolds stories that represent the silent language that is spoken between animals and humans.

We will be reviewing research and science behind the connection between animals and humans as well as learning how animals can make us better leaders. True leadership is partnership—not dictatorship.

What is the difference between training and educating, anyway? We will be talking about that difference, and:


How animals can teach us love without boundaries
To be still 
And to listen without expectations

If you’re interested in reading or learning more about this book, check in out here.

Welcome to Episode 4 of Parables: Life Lessons From A Horse.

Today, we are talking with Jamie Samples of Yellow Barn Media about authenticity. When people are authentic, you can feel their genuineness. They are more likely to be happier, more productive and share with others.

Although I don’t usually talk about my dog, in this episode, I’ll be telling a quick story of his adverse reaction to a visitor in my home. Animals are ever-present and his reaction reminded me of just that.

Jamie is own of the most authentic people I know and she has many great things to share with us. She is the owner and founder of Yellow Barn Media, a full-service marketing firm, specializing in content creation and business coaching. She is well known for her contagious smile and zest for life that flows over into her marketing content. Jamie started her entrepreneurial journey at 13 years old and her passion for all things marketing has bloomed in that space for the last 20+ years.

On a personal note, Jamie is a wife, boy mom, and hobby farm enthusiast, most recently known as the crazy chicken lady to most of her friends. She lives life to the fullest and enjoys working her craft and connecting with people through social media.