Cowboy’s life hacks from the ranch

Grant Golliher grew up on his family peach farm raising mules in western Colorado. There, he learned how to forge relationships with animals based on trust, not force. As a young man in the late 1970s, he left home for Wyoming, riding on a mule all the way there by himself, with just $500 in his pocket.

That’s when he entered the horse business, and he’s been perfecting the craft of horse whispering ever since. “You have to give them a safe space to learn, give them the freedom to make mistakes, and help them face their fears,” says Golliher, 64, who has broken in thousands of horses, including wild ones, over the years.

In his new book “Think Like a Horse: Lessons in Life, Leadership, and Empathy from an Unconventional Cowboy,” Golliher dishes out all the wisdom he’s gleaned from nearly 50 years as a horse trainer. 

Golliher met his wife, Jane, who grew up on Diamond Cross Ranch near Jackson Hole. As a couple, they’ve run the ranch as a retreat for 25 years, hosting everyone from celebrities and Fortune 500 executives to Supreme Court justices — like Mike Pence, Kanye West and Sandra Day O’Connor, to name a few.

His retreats always include horse whispering demonstrations, where he shares the lessons he’s learned from the trade. “The groups that come to our ranch always ask why I haven’t written a book,” Golliher told The Post. “I’m getting a little long in the tooth and I want to make a difference, so I finally wrote this down.”

In “Think Like a Horse,” Golliher tells the stories of the horses and people he’s worked with, sprinkling in what he calls “little gold nuggets of wisdom” from his trade. Some lessons include: Be clear about your boundaries, be as soft as you can be but as firm as you have to be, make the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult — and don’t be afraid to take risks.

“After nearly half a century as a professional horse trainer, I’ve discovered a philosophy that I believe fits all aspects of our lives,” says Golliher. “Whether you’re a corporate executive, a teacher, a coach, or even a parent, this book will give you the guiding principles to form healthy relationships in life.”