Archive for … the way of the Horse…
Woody Speaks About Spirit and Power
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It was the sixth and last day of the Level Two Apprenticeship week. During the previous five days I had watched as each woman unraveled conclusions and preconceived notions of power so that she could step into a heart-based leadership that felt authentic and real. I repeatedly found myself saying to each apprentice, “You know. What is your truth?” Throughout the week the concept of “I know” flowed through the sessions and conversations. Sharon, my co-facilitator, and I coached each apprentice to trust their intuition, inner knowing and to follow their gut and guidance as they practiced coaching active round pen sessions. The last day, each session with horse and human flowed with ease and harmony. Each apprentice had gained greater clarity, congruence and inner strength.
We had started the closing ceremony at the last hour of the week. The ritual invites the spirit of horse to interact with each Read More→
What is an Equine Facilitated Learning Experience?
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I had the privilege of working with a wonderful Percheron by the name of Kairos during an Equine Faciliated Learning workshop in Tucson this last February. Karios is the largest horse I have ever seen. He is well over 17 and the weight of his physical body is grounding and calming. His gentle nature makes time stand still. His slow moving, solid black muscular mass calls you to him and pulls you back in time.
Kairos offered the participants at this workshop an equine learning experience that was based on ‘being’ verses ‘doing.’ By simply being near Kairos several people reported a deep sense of communion and connection to something that was beyond words. Kairos complete focus and slow gentle gestures moved people to the depths of their consciousness. While facilitating one woman in a reflective round pen session, I shared the same experience. Read More→
Exploring Boundaries With Horses
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Boundary setting is an area of growth that I focus on in my Equine Experiential Learning and Coaching sessions. Boundary setting teaches us about our power and how we define our personal space.
Horses provide perfect opportunities to strengthen boundary-setting skills. It is a natural tendency for most horses to test boundaries. A horse feels secure when she knows where she stands in the pecking order of the herd. She achieves this understanding by testing boundaries and outsmarting other herd members. When a new horse arrives into the herd she establishes herself in the pecking order by her ability to hold her boundaries and stand up to others. When we engage with horses we enter into the herd. Naturally the horse wants to know who will be in charge of the herd of two. Read More→
Cajun’s Recovery
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Cajun the wildly spotted appaloosa featured in the chapter titled, Come Together, of my most recent book, Hope from the Heart of Horses tore his digital tendon in his rear right leg in July. His owner cared for him after the surgery but unfortunately he injury became infected. He came to my ranch September 4th. We became the “last chance ranch.” If he could not heal here he would be put down.
Reticent to put any weight on his injured leg he stood on three legs. It had been two months of this posture. He was tired, had lost weight, and was showing signs of atrophy in both his leg and his neck. For two months the human conversation around him was filled with thoughts such as: shall we put him down, he is not getting any better, he doesn’t want to live, I don’t know what to do, what will become of him. Read More→