Equine Guided Coaching - Why Horses?

​I am a person that strives to lead a purposeful life. I have a couple of passions that keep pushing me. One is seeing the potential in others and supporting them as they fulfill that potential, its why I’m a coach and why I focus on personal leadership. One of the other passions is my horses. And I’m privileged to partner with them in my coaching practice.
One of the most frequent questions I get when I tell people that I’m a leadership coach, and I focus on equus coaching, is what is equus coaching? And then, why horses?
These gentle creatures have developed a relationship with humans for centuries. I believe they choose to partner with us as much as we choose them. Horses are prey animals and highly social herd animals. As prey animals, they are biologically designed to have a heightened sensitivity. Their survival depends on it. They are also masters of emotional intelligence and intuition. They are uniquely in tune with their surroundings. The field of equine assisted learning, or equine facilitated human development, leverages these instincts and is a powerful arena for learning about our own behaviours, intuition and how we show up in our leadership.
So how does this work? When we look at how herd animals behave and how their instincts keep themselves and the herd safe, we find many opportunities for learning. A horse brain differs from humans in a large way when it comes to our learning. They do not have an ego brain. Our ego is responsible in large part for how humans process information. We think (sometimes overthink), rationalize or analyze, and problem solve. We often suppress negative emotions or reactions that we have been conditioned to believe are socially unacceptable. Horses on the other hand view emotions as information. Not negative or positive, simply information. They observe, assess whether it is a threat to their survival and respond accordingly. They respond to the energy that we bring to the encounter as a pure reflection. They are a mirror without ego, manipulation or personal agenda. They see us for who we really are – unhindered by the filters that we as humans see ourselves, others and our relationships. They are honest in their view and their reaction. Their survival depends on it. We can learn much from this pure and honest reflection.
Horses demand authenticity when interacting with them. I believe that authenticity is a cornerstone of leadership. Well, of life, really. How do we know when we are operating authentically? With integrity? Sometimes we don’t. But horses do. Our human habit of suppressing our emotions or modifying our behaviour to reflect what we THINK is acceptable instead of what we FEEL is right creates incongruity with our energy. Horses see right through the slightest incongruities of emotion and intention, and often become visibly agitated or very detached in interacting with people who are covering their emotion with an appearance of well-being. Yet once that person acknowledges the real emotion instead of faking it, horses will show immediate signs of relaxation.

​I partner with my horses to help people explore their own personal leadership. Their strengths, their emotions and behaviours. My role in this partnership is translating horse behaviour into a language that humans understand. My horses' role is to do what they do best - respond authentically. Equine guided coaching, or equus coaching, is a powerful way to explore one’s own authenticity and learn to embrace their personal leadership. As a coach, I help relate the experiences they have with my horses to the challenges they face in their lives. These experiences are not riding lessons, most activities are conducted on the ground beside the horse, without any restrictive equipment. Previous experience with horses is not required. All you need is an open mind, an open heart …. and maybe weather appropriate clothing!
Are you curious about how equus coaching can support your personal leadership development? I’d love to hear your feedback and am happy to answer any questions you may have.
If this resonates for you, my 2020 workshop schedule will be posted soon. One on one experiences with me and my horses can be scheduled at your convenience. Please contact me at [email protected] for more information.