What is a leader?  Someone with a vision... who can communicate that vision to others... and motivate or inspire them to join with and act upon that vision. A leader holds a position of respect earned by actions.

How do you get a horse to follow your lead? You get a clear vision of what you want the horse to do, and you communicate this with congruent directions. If your communication is clear and congruent, you earn the horse's respect, and they are willing to follow your lead.

Horses – like people – can be made to do things through force. And like people, they will not like it, and they may rebel against it, and you will lose their trust.

Working with our horses will allow you to experience what it is like to motivate another intelligent being to join with your vision and act on it. You will learn the difference between force and real motivation. You will also experience the difference that happens when you are congruent about your message, and the motivating impact of being congruent.

With our horses, we work with the concept of Consensual Leadership. When you earn a horse's respect and build a level of mutual trust, you can become the kind of team where you listen with respect to the horse's communications, as well as giving direction to the horse.

In working with our horses, you will also learn different styles of leadership, as well as skills related to delegation of authority. In horse herds, there are leaders who lead from the front – usually the lead mare – and horses who lead by pushing from behind: the stallion’s role. Lead horses will also allow another horse to lead in particular situations. Working with the horses you can experience leadership from behind, leadership in front, leadership side-by-side. And you can also experience a level of trust where you allow the horse to take the lead.

To create and schedule a Leadership experience for your organization, contact Karen Head or Mark Langner. Email info@equinection.org or call 828-682-9157.

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