Horses Have a Lot to Teach Us
Times Colonist
British Columbia
April 6, 2008

Horse trainers approach a young horse as a teacher would a student, but what about turning the tables and considering the horse as teacher?

If you have ever watched a stallion with a herd of mares, you will have observed a leader who is not only acutely aware of his environment, both the dangers (predators) and the opportunities (good grazing), but is also aware of the needs of each of the members of his herd.

An intelligent horse knows which members of the group can help him when danger threatens, which ones are the most vulnerable and need to be protected, and which ones need to be educated about herd etiquette. Imagine a manager with those skills.

Horses and Authentic Leadership is the name of a workshop that has been offered by Oriane Lee Johnston in partnership with Royal Roads University (and will be offered again this summer).

The former program director for Hollyhock Holistic Learning Centre, an expert in experiential learning, focuses on positive change in both personal and professional development. For the past few years, she has used horses as facilitators in her workshops on meditation and leadership.

Johnson says she used to be afraid of horses, but after riding in Ecuador in 2002, she returned to her home on Cortes Island determined to learn to ride.

Through clinics on natural horsemanship she took with Jonathan Field, she began to understand how much horses could teach their riders. Horses are able to pick up on the subtlest of communications with their riders as well as each other.

Experienced riders know that a slight shift of position in the saddle can result in a lead change during a canter -- wanted or not. Or simply dropping your eyes to look at the jump you are approaching, rather than looking beyond the jump, can cue the horse to slide to a stop in front of the jump, or even run through the jump, as the horse picks up on your hesitation.

In her meditation workshops, Johnston teaches people to slow down to horse time to enhance their own self-awareness.

In leadership workshops, which have included business people, administrators, community college employees, human resource people and others who just wanted the experience, participants are guided to observe and understand the horses' behaviour in a herd.

They learn inner ways of being a leader and gain insight as they draw parallels to their own relationships and interactions.

Johnston explains, "It is about the quality of your presence; it is not a strategy."

Johnston does not own her own horses, but instead uses the herd at Mary's Therapeutic Farm and horses at a friend's farm on Cortes Island; she also joins Spirit Gate Farm owner and fellow equine experiential learning teacher Michelle Atterby with the herd of horses at Spirit Gate.

Atterby is an acupuncturist and energy healer who started riding at the age of five, but after years of riding and competing, she left the horse world to explore body-mind healing.

When she began riding again, she had what she called an "Aha" moment, as she realized what horses could offer, and how they fit in with the work she was doing.

Although she has no time to ride, her herd of 11 horses includes three miniature horses, an adopted Trakehner and a black Arabian stallion. When I asked Atterby for an example of a client or a group who could benefit from equine experiential learning, she described her recent workshop with acquired-brain injury society members.

A group of fathers, who each had acquired brain injuries, brought their wives and children to Spirit Gate Farm.

Atterby asked the dads and their kids to take a halter and lead rope, catch one of the miniature horses, and then lead the mini through an obstacle course. She did not tell these non-horse people how to do it.

One pair tried, but the mini kept running away from them. Atterby suggested to the pair, "What if you stopped, and invited the pony into your space? Let go of your intent." The little horse came up to them.

Atterby explained that instead of trying to control the mini, the pair shifted their perception and found success. The parallel with these men's lives was that they were struggling at things that were formerly easy to do, before their brain injuries.

If this sounds simple, it is. That's the point. In this highly technical fast-paced world, when you slow down to horse time and tune in to the horse, the horse will reflect for you, allowing you to tune into yourself.

THE HORSE BOX

April 6 -- Elk/Beaver Lake Equestrian Society Poker Ride. Beaver Lake Riding Ring. Information: Val at 544-6111.

April 12, 13 -- Arbutus Jumpers Winter Series at Arbutus Meadows, Nanoose Bay. Information: www.arbutusjumpers.com for more information

April 23-27 -- Saanich Shows in the Sun. Saanich Fairgrounds. Information: 818-4330 or scrystalclear@hotmail.com.

WORKSHOPS

Upcoming Equine Guided Learning Workshops by Mary Rostad, Michelle Atterby and Oriane Lee Johnston

April 11-12 -- Tending Your Heart with Horses. Royal Roads University.

April 16 - May 7 -- The Equine Way. Wednesday evenings. Mary's Therapeutic Farm.

May 2-4 -- Equine Guided Learning. Shamanic Dream Weaving. Spirit Gate Farm. See the websites for more information and workshops: www.spiritgate.com and www.orianelee.com.