Archive for Equine Experiential Learning
Equine Facilitated Leadership Programs – The Power of Thoughts and Feelings
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Last week during and Equine Facilitated Leadership program for a corporate group. Once again the horses and participants warmed my heart. We spent the morning meeting the horses and preparing for the afternoon sessions. During the afternoon we engaged with four different horses. A horse named Gypsy shined as a teacher.
Gypsy is the head mare of the Medicine Horse Program herd (located in Boulder). On this day she worked with two men and one woman. The sessions focused on establishing boundaries and respect in the relationship, and then asking the horse for movement and cooperation. Read More→
Integrative Riding – Another Way that Horses Help Humans to Heal
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In my last article I talked about how horses are teachers for humans in areas of personal, emotional and spiritual growth. What a person holds emotionally in the body, and mentally in the mind, affects how a horse responds to them. Interacting with a horse on the ground can teach a person a tremendous amount about them selves (if one is willing to listen).
Horses also serve humans when they are ridden. For years now therapeutic riding centers have employed horses to carry mentally, developmentally or physically disabled children and adults on their backs as a method for healing. The power of the horse to heal is not mystical, but is directly connected to the motion created when a rider sits on a horse’s back. The rider benefits as their hip and pelvic area begins to follow the flow of the horse, moving side to side. With each of the horse’s stride the rider’s hips shift back and forth pumping spinal fluid through the spinal column. The spinal fluid then flows through the nervous system and stimulates the brain and all of the nerve endings of the limbs of the rider. Read More→
What Do I Do After an Equine Learning Workshop?
Posted by: | CommentsDuring a week long Equine Facilitated Learning workshop here in Colorado, that focused on exploring one’s authenticity and emotional agility with horses, a participant asked one question several times. The question she asked was: “How do I know what to do if I don’t know my final vision?” This questioned plagued her. She felt stuck about taking any action in her life.
I suggested she listen to and take action towards the next thing that would bring her happiness. I suggested she listen to her heart and inner guidance. Each time she follows what feels best to her and takes inspired action she will naturally be able to see a more vivid picture of her passion and purpose unfolding. It is the accumulation of the smaller steps that bring her down the road to her destination. Even for those people who know what they do want, taking the actions steps that are based in inspiration brings them more quickly to their dreams and goals. Read More→
Little Horse, Big Heart
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Corazon de la Montana taught his first group of students in EFLC work. Corazon, black and brown in color, small in size and BIG in energy and heart touched each person. Before the group arrived I placed Corazon in the round pen. He stood and watched as the cars slowly drove down the long driveway.
Once all of the participants were seated outside of the round pen Corazon walked over to them and stood silently. Slowly his eyes gazed upon each person blinking occasionally. I asked the group what they were experiencing with Corazon; no one spoke. They all continued to stare at Corazon as if they were in a trance. I waited another few minutes and asked again, a few people offered a few words such as powerful, intense, heart warming, penetrating and big. Read More→