Setting Intention

Throughout history we have had the opportunity to learn from horses, typically we have simply recognized the horse as a means to getting things done. This blog is about acknowledging them as teachers.

Thank you to all those who have made this effort possible. My hope is that what I have shared on the following posts offers new possibilities in your work.

This is not a how to guide but rather another way to ask questions. Whether your work is with individuals or organizations, your experience and intention determines the outcome. The work is continually evolving, each task having been modified and adapted over time, consider it documented learning. There are as many ways to work with horses as there are people, we believe, there are just as many ways to interpret this work.

The activities I will discuss are about recognizing concepts: about how we acknowledge our actions, how we learn, communicate and interact with others. One activity may have many outcomes in our experience it depends on the objectives and about being able to adapt to what shows up. Horses don’t wear watches so time is relative to the
participant, the facilitator, the horse and the moment.

It is important to note that the activities in and of themselves may seem simple, as there are only a limited number of expectations one can have of a horse, we can observe, herd or drive, lead, groom or ride a horse. How the experience is facilitated is what allows learning to happen. It is our role as facilitators and educators to manage the interaction and to see that what may be obvious to us becomes obvious to the participants.

The constant pursuit of learning is the common thread between those who practice this work around the world. A passion for horses as partners and a desire to share is what drives those who have provided content for this guide.

We would like to thank everyone we have had the opportunity to meet and work with as they have been an integral to the creation, development and execution of the work described here.