POWERFUL EXPERIENCES

We create Equine and Human Experiences to help people develop their own solutions for their organizations.

These kind of experiences happen in other places:
The Center for Leadership Development is pursuing pioneering research into the effectiveness of Equine Guided Leadership Education (EGLE) - collaborating with horses- to teach leadership competencies.

Over the past two decades there has been explosive growth world-wide in the emerging Equine Assisted Activities industry, especially in programs that focus on Equine Assisted Learning (EAL). In the United States alone there are more than 700 centers that provide some type of equine assisted learning program, and four internationally recognized associations, Equine Facilitated Mental Health Association (EFMHA), Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA), Equine Guided Education Association (EGEA) (Hallberg, 2008) and the Equine Experiential Education Association (E3A) that teach, support and certify their members in collaborating with horses for healing, and human growth and learning purposes.

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/CFLD/research.php

What do horses know about leadership?

Though leadership seminars have been around for some time, the horse is bringing group awareness together in a novel way that large companies, including: Pfizer, Proctor and Gamble, Wells Fargo, Hewlett Packard, and Lockheed-Martin, and the U.S. Army have found it works better.

Horses respond in an unfiltered way to aspects of people's behavior. Says Manson: "Horses have been acclimated to people, responding to them like a 'herd' in domestication. If the business team is not successfully working together, the horse, as team member, illustrates through his response. Manson says the method tends to stick better in people's minds because it's so different.

Reynes, Andrea “Equine Experiential Learning - Innovative Horizons” http://www.e3assoc.org/ , January 20, 2007


Why use horses?

… Equine experiential education is a relatively new method of teaching. The process is effective because the horse provides a unique form of undisguised feedback to what is going on emotionally with a person. And the horse does that in a relatively psychologically safe way, one that fosters trust for processing information and self awareness. "The way we act, interact and react with the horses is the same way we interact with the work environment. This is how horses can show us what we need to change about our workplace approaches," he says.

… Manson's clients include the U.S. Army, Lockheed Martin and the Bank of Oklahoma. He brings up the analogy of the horse's group again, to illustrate another dynamic of the business team: "We are like a herd. There are leaders and followers." Clients learn about the difference between a dominant or passive form leadership style. 'Passive' means leading without dominant force. The approach works best with horses, and people learn how it works to create trust in the human herd. The dominant horse may get the food and water first, by kicking and biting. The dominant human, he explains, may get the person to do what it wants, but not in a satisfying way.

Reynes, Andrea “Equine Experiential Learning - Innovative Horizons” http://www.e3assoc.org/ , January 20, 2007