/Harnessing Equine Insights to Enhance Management Skills
– Horses offer immediate, honest feedback in leadership development.
– Workshops focus on communication, teamwork, and self-awareness through equine interactions.
– Participants experience real-time behavioral adjustments with their equine partners.
– Successful case studies highlight the effectiveness of this unique training method.
– Zara Myers combines equine knowledge with management expertise to foster organizational growth.
What can horses teach us about communication and leadership? More than you’d think, suggests Zara Myers, who leads Equine Facilitated Learning Workshops in the Lake District. According to Myers, “Working with horses is an incredibly effective training tool because the feedback they give you is genuine, immediate and non judgemental.”
Unlike traditional assessment methods such as peer reviews or psychometric testing, which can be subjective, horse interactions reflect immediate responses to a person’s body language and energy. Myers explains, “Horses are sensitive prey animals and when you interact with a horse you can see immediately how they respond to subtle cues in your body language, breathing and energy that you might not be aware of.”
Zara Myers serves as CEO of Harness Change, a Community Interest Company at the Cumbria Rural Academy that offers Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL) courses along with alternative education. With experience in management consultancy and competing in dressage at the Prix St Georges level, she has crafted tailored training packages designed to improve company performance in communication, teamwork, and overcoming departmental silos.
Previously, Myers implemented EFL methodologies to drive behavioral changes in primary schools across Cumbria, illustrating how working with horses can alleviate anxiety, enhance self-confidence, and promote mindfulness. She soon recognized that the principles beneficial for students could also serve organizations by teaching effective verbal and non-verbal communication to foster stronger teamwork and leadership.
Participants in her workshops work alongside Gaia, a grey Lusitano mare, engaging in groundwork exercises individually or in groups. These activities often begin with straightforward tasks, like leading Gaia through obstacles.
“Every workshop will be tailor-made, depending how participants present themselves on the day,” Myers notes. “Based on their interactions with Gaia, I’m able to identify the blockages between where they are at the present time and the outcomes they want to achieve.”
Myers emphasizes the adaptability of her approach: “I’ve chosen Gaia to work with because she’s very good at connecting when you need to connect and disengaging when things go a bit wrong. But depending on what the group wants to achieve, I might choose another horse.”
Jacqui Gale, MBE, CEO of Reframe Cancer, found her recent experience at a Harness Change workshop to be especially valuable during a significant transitional phase for her organization. “We’re going through a significant period of change at Reframe, and I wanted to give some of our team the opportunity to step away from the day-to-day pressures and think about how we communicate, build trust and work together,” she described.
Gale recognized the transformative nature of the equine workshops: “Yet working with Gaia brought all of that to life in minutes. There was no hiding behind words or explanations. You could see and feel the reaction to your behaviour almost immediately, make a small adjustment and see the difference.”
The immediate feedback provided by the horse serves as a powerful tool for personal growth. “What surprised me most was just how sensitive Gaia was to the smallest changes in my behaviour and approach,” Gale said.
The experience also fosters deeper team connections. “It gave us the opportunity to see one another in a completely different setting, understand how our individual behaviours affect those around us and learn together in real time.” Her hope is to translate this newfound awareness into the team’s everyday interactions, especially during busy or challenging periods.
“The real value for me is the speed and impact of the learning. In business, time is precious, and we need development experiences that genuinely make a difference,” Gale concluded. “I would absolutely recommend the experience to other leaders and teams. It is different, memorable, great fun and, most importantly, incredibly effective.”
