Horses are prey animals and live in the moment. Their survival depends on their ability to accurately scan the environment for incongruence. They are masters at reading our energy, our minds and hearts. This tells them about our intentions and character. When they discover differences between the way they feel from us and how we behave, they are unlikely to cooperate. To horses (and humans), integrity between our hearts and minds is often more important in leadership than our words and actions. When working with horses, those who take the time to establish a connection before moving to the task at hand, encounter less resistance and often experience a much greater sense of partnership.

 

Success in working with horses is about 'listening' … with our eyes and our inner selves (intuition). Horses moves in every activity in which he participates. Movement is the essence of the horse. How a horse moves is how he feels. By 'listening' (closely paying attention) helps us to experience a new way of understanding. We 'hear' those unspoken words with our eyes.

 

The same principles apply to 'listening' to people. By paying close attention to one another we find that the same is true. Interacting with horses teaches us how to be more in tune to the intentions, thoughts and feelings of people by noticing body language … posture, gestures and movement.

 

Horses respond to body language and textured sounds. They respond best to visual communication. They actually feel when they see. Perhaps most of what they see is not in focus, they pay less attention to specific details and more attention to the surrounding energy … trusting in what they feel, see and intuit. By interacting with the horses, participants often discover a whole new world in the process.

 

All Equus Alive programs are designed around fundamental principles in how we communicate, lead and interact. By exploring the parallels between what happens with the horses and what happens in real life, as individuals or as part of a team or organization, participants come to understand and embrace the concepts.

 

If you can encourage a horse to trust and follow, you can encourage people to do the same.