Raising the Bar of Equine Assisted Coaching
(formerly known as EAPD - Equine Assisted Personal Development)
Change. We are feeling the vulnerability of uncertainty. There is no map. We must learn how to connect with our intuition, our inner compass, for navigating the unknown.
When the way forward is not clear we must connect with our unconscious mind and listen to our primal wisdom so we can embrace our vulnerability with confidence and enthusiasm.
Sigmund Freud said that the human ego merges with the unconscious mind like a rider with a horse. This is the ride of our lives!
Enter the emerging field of Equine Assisted programs. Interactive exercises with horses used in personal development, executive coaching and many different modalities of therapy. But of course, not all EA programs are alike.
The majority of clients attracted to an EA experience are not well versed in the language of horses and this adds cause for concern when added to the fact that so many facilitators of equine assisted programs are not truly able to connect with horses. Consequently, because the people do not know how to relate with them, the horses often become confused, shutdown, sad or angry.
Irwin Insights raises the bar of EA programs by recognizing horses as sentient beings. Respect, focus, trust and willingness from horses are earned by the integrity of our actions. We align to the nature of the horse by balancing self-awareness with relationship focus, patience with decisiveness, sensitivity with assertiveness, and boundaries with receptivity, all building upon a foundation of consistent clear communication. To be willing to give the horses what they need to see as a fundamental change in human behaviour is to put into practice genuine respect and empathy.
As we lead our horses we lead ourselves.