EGE Conference Valley Ford CA Jan 26-28

"Blink" and your very thought is conveyed, the message in Malcolm Gladwell's latest book of the same name. Gladwell explores facets of human emotion as they are disclosed by our non-conscious actions. Through a tapestry of stories, he quotes the work of psychologist, Silvan Tomkin's, who "believed that faces - even the faces of horses - held valuable clues to inner emotions and motivations"

To further investigate this thinking as it related to an emerging field of practice, I went to Valley Ford, California. I was joining in on the second annual Equine Guided Education (EGE) conference, the objective to reflect and share the thoughts, expression and work of experts from 4 continents and 10 countries.

Horses intuitively know that faces tell a story; they read our fear, our anger and our hesitation. Humans on the other hand, have to recognize, then learn and practice that skill. As we develop the ability we become better people, communicators and ultimately better leaders, the premise behind the growing number of individuals and institutions embracing the subject of EGE. The true value, and the key difference from other experiential activities, is we must step into the horse's realm of understanding. Horses are acutely perceptive, highly sensitive and their reactions reflect the approach and attitude of the humans they meet.

Horse whisperers have long recognized this sensitivity. EGE opens the philosophy of horse whispering to the corporate sector through facilitated group sessions or one-on-one coaching. We participated in, observed and discussed numerous ways to connect people and horses through the techniques of the horse whisperer. Those in attendance were all intrigued with the profound learning we gain by stepping into the realm of the horse and seeking their wisdom.

While a blink can be the gut feeling that leads us down the right path – it can also be that built in prejudice when we listen with our eyes alone. Listening involves all of our senses our eyes, ears and our heart. The beauty in an equine encounter is a horse doesn’t possess the cognitive aspects of ego or judgment so they are neither affected nor impressed by corporate title or position. A horse embodies the saying “They don’t care how much you know, until you show how much you care.”