The Power of Horse-Assisted Learning
By Razelle Janice Drescher 
On Sunday, July 9th, 2023, Intentional Leaders hosted an Open House about “The Power of Horse-Assisted Learning at Deerhorn Ranch in Felton, CA. During the first hour of our Open House, my team of 2 thoroughbred mares hung out in a small pasture where our guests could see their interaction and hear about the way the horses help us reduce stress, increase well-being and understand the leadership qualities that inspire both horses and people.
During the second hour, we adjourned to the round pen for several brief experiences with Ginger Snap for the 4 guests who signed up for the free sessions. In the round pen setting, the horses reflect issues back to the client that are in the way of connecting and engaging. Clients often recognize these reflections and already understand how they are in the way of establishing and maintaining healthy relationships. Experiencing the horse’s reflection is powerful because the horse is objective and does not have any hidden agenda. Then the opportunity is to try on different behaviors that are inviting and engaging in the moment with the horse. This experience has the potential to open the door to more possibilities in the client’s life.
A Challenge and an Opportunity
One of the guests who had a brief session had a challenge connecting with the horse, Ginni in this case. It was obvious that the horse wanted to connect with the guest because she kept moving her head tentatively in the guest’s direction, but the exercise called for the horse to engage more fully, and that wasn’t happening.
Ginni was showing the guest something about the way that person has of engaging with others. There was something in the way. That moment provided an opportunity for the participant to explore, in the moment, what the roadblock might be. My job as co-facilitator with the horse is to ask the participant questions that might uncover what was in the way. There was something about the energy of the guest that did not speak of “invitation” to the horse. What was it?
If a person is a ‘go-getter’ with a lot of driving energy, that energy can push others away. The opportunity here was to invite the horse into the guest’s space. This takes intention on the part of the person, along with slowing down and perhaps a shift in focus from ‘driving’ to ‘inviting.’ How do you make this shift? It can be as simple as focusing on someone you love or something that brings you joy. The horse instantly feels that shift as an invitation and that shift opens the door to connecting and engaging with the horse.
One of the other guests connected well with Ginni, but she admitted that she was a bit intimidated by the size of the horse. There is often amazement on the part of the participant that an animal that is so big is willing to follow them without force or control, i.e. no halter and lead rope. The horse is free to choose. They had a beautiful connection! The horse’s willingness to follow a leader with clear intention makes horses perfect teachers for us. This is how they live and survive in their herd. And this is how they teach us about the potential of our relationships.
Here are some of the highlights of my talk that day.
Horses need strong leadership to survive since they are prey animals. Some of the leadership qualities that they respond to as a herd are true presence, intention, and focus. They respond to those same leadership qualities when they interact with us, and if they sense we are authentic, they will respond to our invitation to engage with them without any force. This ‘Authentic Leadership’ model transfers well to the workplace. It is based on invitation and promotes well-being and community. It is the antidote to a leadership model based on force and control.
Another thing horses show us is how to strengthen our sensing ability; something we also have, but don’t always fully develop. Horses’ sensing ability is a key element that helps them survive as prey animals. Since we are not prey, our sensing mechanism helps us navigate life safely. Their physiology allows them to go from flight back to calm quickly. This is one of the skills they teach us when we are in their presence. When we are near horses who are not threatened, we benefit from their state of coherence; a state of well-being that is known to us as a peak performance state that we commonly hear about in athletes. When we are in their electromagnetic field, they pull us into this state of coherence and this explains why it has often been said that it feels good to be in the presence of a horse.
This work with the horses can be life-changing and provide support from an unexpected source. If you would like to learn more, go to intentionalleaders.com, or call 707-326-5681 to schedule a session. Here are some of the photos from the Open House.