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Horse Sense - Pioneer Press Article
June 1, 2003
Horse sense
BY KAY HARVEY
Pioneer Press
Mari Harris can't tell you a lot about horses. But that
isn't stopping her from leading a horse named Luca around a
Stillwater barnyard with hopes the horse will tell her
something about herself.
Harris' barnyard adventure moves along smoothly until the
horse decides to take charge. He stops. He munches on
grass. He doesn't seem to want to budge. "I think he's
walking me," Harris says.
Hmmm. "What do you want the horse to do?" asks Harris'
life coach Lynn Baskfield. "You can decide what you want
and don't want."
Equine-assisted coaching sessions of this sort reflect a
trend in the self-growth arena. The trend is built on the
burgeoning recognition of a horse's ability to reflect
people's behaviors and emotions — some they're not aware of
themselves.
With self-interpretation and a trained coach or counselor's
guidance, the result can lend insights into what works for
individuals and what doesn't — in business, relationships
or anyplace they want to hit their stride. Equine therapy
is being used in leadership trainings, psychotherapy,
chemical-dependency treatment and other settings, some even
designed for children. Some participants sign up in pairs —
a mother and her adolescent son wanting to improve
communication, for example. Others, such as workplace
teams, work in groups.
"It's so much less difficult to accept feedback from a
horse than a human," says Ann Romberg, Baskfield's coaching
partner for Harris' equine-assisted session. "You know the
horse doesn't have an agenda."
FOUR-LEGGED REFLECTOR
Not everyone instantly jumps on the idea of a horse leading
humans to brilliance. But many skeptics become believers
as they observe horses' natural ability to mirror how
people show up for a challenge. Sometimes, the lesson
emerges as metaphor for a real-life situation.
Peter Vollmer admits to some skepticism at first. That was
before he participated in a leadership-training seminar in
the Twin Cities last month led by Ariana Strozzi, founder
of California-based Leadership and Horses. Strozzi takes
equine-assisted learning into corporate America.
Vollmer attached a lead rope and got his horse to walk
nicely beside him at first. Then, the animal sped up and
took over. "It was pulling me along and almost wiped out
all the chairs and people sitting in them," he says. "It
was running roughshod over people." Strozzi asked him this
question: Did the horse's antics represent Vollmer or his
business? "It got me thinking," he says. "What came to
light was I let the business lead me." The insight led him
to commit to better balance between his work and family
life. "That was what I needed to ground me," he says. The
next time he led the horse, it walked calmly alongside him.
"The change was the oddest thing to see," says Vollmer, who
runs a vehicle dent-repair business based in Savage. He
now subscribes to the equine-assisted phenomenon. "I think
the FBI is using the wrong lie detector," he says.
Larry Freeborg's metaphor came in an earlier leadership
training with Strozzi in California. As he was leading a
horse, a coach asked how he was doing. Freeborg took the
question as an indication he wasn't making the grade. "I
froze, and the horse froze," says Freeborg, of Hastings, a
life and business coach. It was the first time he
identified his tendency to clutch under pressure. The
experience led to a solution to help him keep going in
times of stress. "I have an exercise now," he says. "It
helps let the energy flow."
TWO-LEGGED LEADER
Back at the Stillwater barnyard, Mari Harris is still
trying to figure out what she can learn today. She came
here because she wants insight into how she can attain her
goal of becoming a world-class singer. But Luca the horse
is still stuck. What will Harris do now? Her coach steps
in to help. "What are you feeling?" the coach asks. "I
want to do well with the horse," Harris says.
Seeming to get it, Luca nuzzles her neck and nibbles at her
colorful beaded earrings. "That's a kiss," Baskfield
explains. It also means Luca has quit munching grass and
is focusing his attention on Harris.
She thinks for a moment, then coaxes the horse. "C'mon,
honey," she says, tugging on the lead rope and making a
clicking noise with her mouth. "Cmon, you're walkin'," she
persists. "I decided where I want to go. And I'm doin' it."
Luca starts to walk beside her. She picks up the pace, and
he does, too. Then, Harris' rich alto voice bursts into
song." We all are aflicker from the same flame," she
sings, from a song her brother wrote. Next comes a song for
the horse. "Camptown ladies sing their song. Doo-dah,
doo-dah." "Do you like horse songs?" she asks Luca.
Harris successfully leads Luca back to the barn, calling
her session "a big accomplishment." What did she learn?
"I'm being intentional about being intentional," she says.
"There's a clarity that comes with being intentional."
Next steps for the 49-year-old singer of jazz, pop, gospel
and R&B are a move to Los Angeles and then a performance on
Broadway, she says.
"When I get my Grammy," she adds, "I'll need to thank the
horses, too."
Beyond the barn
These books, Web sites and other resources can provide
information about equine-assisted learning:
• "The Tao of Equus" by Linda Kohanov (New World Library,
2001); Kohanov's workshops posted at www.taoofequus.com.
• "It's Not the Horse — It's About Overcoming Fear and
Self-Doubt" by Wyatt Webb and Cindy Pearlman (Hay House,
2003)
• Life coaches: Lynn Baskfield, (612) 823-7022, and Ann
Romberg, (651) 766-8920, Twin Cities coaches who offer
equine-assisted coaching.
• Leadership and Horses, Ariana Strozzi's California-based
and traveling seminars, www.leadershipandhorses.com.
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Kay Harvey can be reached at kharvey@pioneerpress.com or
(651) 228-5468.
Wisdom Horse Coaching: transforming the workplace and the world!
Wisdom Horse ® Coaching is based in Minneapolis, MN USA
We can be contacted by Phone 612-823-7022 (Lynn Baskfield)
or by email Info@WisdomHorseCoaching.com
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Wisdom Horse ® Coaching, LLC
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