Equine-Assisted Coaching Principles & Demonstration
What makes the principles of equine-assisted coaching so powerful when it comes to pursuing personal growth?
Take a few minutes to watch this video for an explanation and demonstration with Teddy, a sweet horse who partners with me in sessions, to learn how human relationship principles can be drawn from this kind of experience.
Teddy certainly makes the process look peaceful and easy, but my first time experience equine-assisted work wasn't so lovely!
I ended up in a round pen with a horse that refused to move. She went on ignoring me. Not a look. Not a glance. Just totally ignoring. Even though I had horse experience, I realized my old techniques were not going to work because I didn't have a halter or lead rope to just go up to her make her connect with me.
She had to choose our relationship connection, and that changed everything.
I was trying my best to get her to connect, only getting more and more discouraged and angry. My pride was hurting. My fear of my own anger erupting was mounting. I turned to my coach for help and he asked a simple but profound question (which is what I'll do for you).
"What do you want to do?"
I told wanted to just quit and run away.
He said, "Is that good for you and for this horse?"
I said, "No, I need to work through this?"
He said, "Work through what?"
With tears flowing, I confessed my struggle with anger and how I've worked the last two decades years to not raise my voice, to not get loud and in my kids' face, but when they push me like this horse is doing by ignoring me, I lose my cool.
At that moment I saw with clarity four profound truths:
- I feel like I often don't have a voice unless I yell, and that's a by-product of my childhood wounds that I thought were all healed up.
- When I don't feel heard, I get angry.
- I don't know how to raise my energy level without being angry.
- When I feel like I might fail, I quit.
As I poured out my heart, right there in the middle of the round pen, I could see how this equine-assisted coaching was about much more than working with a horse.
It was about working on ourselves and our relationships.
So I took a deep breath, relaxed my body, and tried again.
It was worth it, as the connection began to build and this mare began to pay attention to me and follow me by choice and not force.
From that experience, as well as all the ones that have taken place since that time, including Teddy, who you'll see in the video, I've approached my human relationships from a brand new perspective. It has made such a difference in my marriage, motherhood, and work relationships.
I'd love for you to discover this for yourself, too.
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