Can a Horse be Your Best Coach?
“Horses are experts at helping people develop power, focus, balance-in-motion, social intelligence and the physical, mental and emotional collection demanded of great leaders” -Linda Kahonov, The Tao of Equus
ecent research indicates that interaction with nature reduces stress levels, improves memory and gives us a sense of be- longing to the larger ecosystem. This research is related to the emerging field of ‘Ecotherapy’, where we are invited to engage in nature-based activities to restore our sense of well-being. In Western Europe, Ecotherapy is already integrated into the health care system. Doctors may require patients to spend time at a farm, taking walks, swimming in a mountain lake or working with animals or flowers. Imagine receiving a written prescription like that from your physician! Bringing together the wisdom of nature’s restorative capacities, the strong results found from animal assisted work and the unique skills of coaching, fortunate practitioners are engaging in ‘Equine Assisted Coaching’. While it stands alone with its own distinction, equine assisted work is often recognized as a compo- nent of the broader field of Ecotherapy, a certificate program offered uniquely at The Graduate Institute in Bethany, CT. Equine Assisted Coaching provides a perfect backdrop to more deeply embody the learning provided from more traditional coaching approaches.
R “This horse looks uncomfortable. I refuse to be in a place where
I have to prove myself. I know I am not wanted here. This horse does not want me to lead it. She’s thirsty, hot and wants to get out of this barn. I don’t want to make her do what she doesn’t want to. Just free her please – Now! I can’t do this. ”
This was the running litany of objections I heard while in the indoor ring with my client, Jennifer, and our accompanying horse, ‘Coach Beatrice’, a formidable white and brown draft paint cross. Beatrice was rescued as a baby from a ranch that routinely extracted her mother’s urine to make pharmaceuticals and kept her still for months at a time. Knowing of her own good fortune, Coach Bea- trice is an eager servant of this kind of work. This session was not as easy as Jennifer had hoped. But she did leave with a breakthrough she could not have anticipated, one that coaching alone may not have created.
I learned that if my commitment was haphazard, I got no results or mediocre ones at best. Through the session, I recognized the life- long patterns that have been invisible to me until now. - Jennifer, Human Resource Executive
14 Natural Nutmeg - April 2015
It is said that horses are ‘emotional prodigies’ who have the ability to sense what is foremost on our agenda, emotionally, intel- lectually and even spiritually, usually way before we can. This can be either intimidating or profoundly comforting, depending on what each of us uniquely brings into the ring. Some say it is a place of metaphor that has direct translation to the workplace, our primary relationships and to our own hopes and dreams. I have seen it myself and am humbled time and again by the feedback that these early domesticated animals offer us as we interact with them to bring about some result.
If we step outside of our own sense of purpose, direction, clar-
ity, the horse senses a kind of ‘danger’ in our incongruence and responds with an obvious restlessness. However, if we are authentic to our fear or trepidation and can learn to ‘befriend’ it, the horse im- mediately perks up and seems willing to partner with us.
In equine-based coaching, the horse might spook, for instance, in response to someone’s own fear level or they might act bored and proceed to distract themselves, often revealing a lack of focus on the part of the coachee as was the case for Jennifer. As a coach, we are taught to care as much for the human participant as we do the horse coach’s well-being. We are therefore attentive to setting up safety guidelines, thereby creating body awareness, raising emo- tional intelligence and increasing the sensory perception about the boundaries and needs of the coachee as well as the horse. Hence, as one approaches the horse, the metaphor becomes glaring. Just as with approaching a boss, a fellow employee or a loved one, all par- ties are served if at least one of them is aware of the factors at play and where their personal ‘edges’ of comfort and emotional as well as physical safety lie.
More often than not, we crash through one another’s com- fort zones and do so without permission, perhaps assuming more familiarity than we actually have. Or just the opposite, we keep too much of a distance and we lose connection quickly.
If we are too aggressive or if we are wishy washy in work or at home, people often have to ‘get away from’ us in order to fully relax and feel that they can be themselves. Sound familiar? This was evidenced in a recent 2.5 day Professional and Personal Develop- ment Intensive offered by Brinkerhoff Associates in CT. The intent of the experience was to offer ringside coaching (in our offices in New Haven) as a kickoff to a longer term coaching relationship. While shocking insights can occur in just one session with our horse coaches and can span many life issues, this engagement was
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