Why do we use horses in coaching?
How does that work?
Big, scary, dumb brutes. What could we possibly learn from them?
These two can bite, kick, bolt and buck, yes, they CAN but, and here’s the thing, they WON’T because they use their energy wisely. And that makes them anything but dumb! You’re quite smart yourself, because you already know that you could learn from horses, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this article. You may not even be aware that you know but subconsciously you have started to connect the dots.
Horses expect leadership, decisiveness, and that you take an active and positive interest in them. If you do not lead, vacillate over a decision, or show up distracted when you are around them, they may dismiss you as an insignificant bothersome fly, to be swatted away with an irritated wave of their tail. Does this sound like someone you have worked with?
Horses love it when you praise them, but only sincerely. They know if they completed a task well and appreciate your positive reinforcement, but will shamelessly abuse your flattery.
Horses tune into your body like no other creature I know. Your body is probably the most reliable source of information you have. Horses can help you learn how to turn on your internal hearing aid to listen to important decision-making data your intuition delivers to your brain somatically.
Do you want to learn how to be more in harmony with your world? Let a horse lead you into a world of inner peace and knowing.
Horses are resourceful, humorous, and VERY, VERY clever. Horses will demand that you engage all your faculties if you want to gain and keep their attention. If this sounds exhausting, it’s not. That’s the beauty of coaching with horses. We will simply move away a little from ‘office type’ left brain thinking towards engaging more of your right brain activity. Once you have re-ignited your creativity you will be amazed how resourceful you are becoming to see solutions to problems you did not see before. It’s your work, your brain, and your solution. You had it all the time, but the coaching horse will bring it out in you.
Horses will endure a lot, but they do not like being bullied, being ignored, and they especially do not like showmanship. When you are around horses, you must be AUTHENTIC. If you are scared of the horse before you commence your first coaching session, liberate yourself and do show up as scared. It is not true that you must never show your fear to an animal. A horse is not a wild beast. It has been domesticated over centuries to read and understand our body language. You won’t fool the horse, so you may as well be sincere with it. It will embrace you kindly and encourage you in a way that will move you so much, you may become addicted to its affection! You would not be the first person to get this kind of surprise.
Authenticity is what we long for inside but the noises in our head and the pressures around us often prevent us from showing up as the person we really are. When we get to the place where we no longer want to bluff our way through life, the transition to a more authentic lifestyle is so liberating! Self-awareness is an important first step and coaching with horses brings consciousness to you in the most gentle way you could ever imagine.
Here is how the program unfolds:
- An initial meeting in a natural, green setting where we discuss your needs, wants and objectives
- A personality assessment that will give you some food for thought on your own development
- We build a developmental plan together
- You get to meet your equine coaches
- The sessions begin and endure for about six weeks
- Eventually, the sessions end and you will not be able to leave your horse coach without hugging his huge shoulders and planting a gentle kiss on his nose.
Meet your coaches:
JV (equine) is about 75 years in human years and as wise as the best of them come. He is very gentle and kind. He has beautiful almond eyes, which will tell you much about yourself. With his help, we will explore some of your scripts, beliefs, and worldviews.
V (equine) will make you laugh and bring you to a delightful level of self-awareness, which will affect your relationships in a very meaningful way. He will test your interpretations and challenge how seriously you take yourself! He will put a smile on your face every time you work with him.
A (that’s me - human) - a qualified coach (ACC) with over ten years’ experience. I will give you many tools and techniques you can use to access more of your inner resources. We will unearth the right questions, which will lead to the answers you seek.
I know you want to know: how safe is this?
You will never be safer than in the care of us three.
And no, you don’t have to ride or even go near the horses unless you want to.
In fact, in coaching you don’t have to ANYTHING!
Because coaching, in essence, is about becoming aware of and exercising your choices!
Interested to find out more? Go here: www.irie.co.za or contact me on +27-11-958-5081 or via e-mail at: inspiration at irie.co.za - www.irie.co.za
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