The tranquil countryside together with the wisdom of the horses created the perfect space for a small group women to come together to relax, restore and reconnect with themselves. 

The Biggest Loser Transformed! Yes I was thrilled to be invited to facilitate an Equine Assisted Learning segment for the nine contestants. 

Gordon feels most at home in corporate boardrooms and city wine bars. It was a big leap of faith for him to try out my Equine Assisted Learning Executive Coaching program. And here he now was standing in a field in Byron Bay surrounded by four horses who were completely ignoring him.

I was talking today with Holly, who came along to a group Equine Assisted Learning session specifically for women that I co-facilitated last year in Byron Bay. I asked what she remembered about the day and if it had bearing on her life since.

Trust lies at the heart of a functioning, cohesive team and only happens when team members are willing to be present and authentic with one another. In this case, it didn’t happen ... so there were valuable lessons to be learned by everyone.

It was “Kate’s” first Equine Assisted Learning experience and she had little previous contact with horses. During the safety briefing she admitted she was feeling a little uncertain but wanted to use the session to explore a theme in her life: she was saying yes but meaning no.

Being present is the greatest gift you can give yourself and those around you. Yet research shows that for the majority of our day we are not focussed in the present moment. Our mind wanders. We get distracted by things happening around us and by our thoughts and feelings about the past or future.

I’ve just returned from the most amazing working holiday in France, travelling with a herd of 50 semi-wild horses through the Pyrenees mountains. It was a personal journey of self discovery, of trust, of deep listening and curiosity. 

In my last post I began the story of Inga and Alhandro. Inga, with whom I had my first individual session, is an experienced horse person. But for people inexperienced or fearful of horses, I would normally take time to familiarise them with horse behaviour and safety guidelines.

During my training at the Equine Psychotherapy Institute, I discovered that the horse will teach us what we need to learn in that moment, regardless what expectation or hopes the client or I had beforehand.