‘Horseplay’ is all
about understanding your approach and attitude to leadership, tasks and people's
needs. We offer group and individual coaching using horses.
The experience is safe, fun, memorable - and very profound insights
can be made. For taking a 600lb horse through a simple task has many parallels
with motivating and leading a team of individuals to achieve corporate objectives.
For instance, the horse is oblivious to status - he doesn’t care who
thinks they're the boss. He responds best to who he respects and feels comfortable
with. So status, authority and control is less effective than empathy and clear,
sincere communication.
Unlike humans, the horse does not pay lip service
to you. He responds precisely to the messages you send out. You need to be clear
in your intentions, and quick to notice whether praise, reassurance or firm direction
are needed at any one moment. The horse's reactions to the handler are direct
and specific. Our clients always want to work with them again.
Key
Benefits
The learnings and skills that ‘horseplay’
offers includes the importance of:
Thinking and planning rather than just high energy action - with low results
Understanding
the boundaries of relationships
Taking responsibility for your own actions
For
some, overcoming a fear of horses in a supportive environment is an key part of
the experience – which may relate to other areas of their life too.
The group sessions include an orientation to the horse's language and behaviour
responses from a specialist in the area. The horses we use are well kept and gently
mannered so that they relate happily to strangers. Yet they are also large powerful
animals, in touch with their senses and emotions, so that this is also a very
dynamic experience. Most of the work is done on the ground, using a combination
of team exercises and individual coaching.
Liz
Morrison leads this area, usually using two of her own horses. She is well qualified,
professionally insured and highly experienced and has also written a best selling
book on sports psychology for riders. She ensures that this is a safe activity
which is also fun and a very powerful learning experience, as the following quotes
indicate:
So different to the normal powerpoint rich training courses, and therefore so
much more powerful! I am taking away some very tangible, specific, useful ‘tools’
that I will actually use tomorrow. (Smiths
Industries)
Very insightful course superbly well run. Very productive to be able to explore
our own needs and issues. Learnt so much from the interaction with Oskar &
Todd, very rewarding, challenging and productive. (Servier
Laboratories)
Excellent Course – very thought provoking and potentially life changing.
Felt like I was learning constantly throughout the two days. (Servier
Laboratories)
There was a richness to role-playing with the horses that made the exercise
a lot more real - the horses responded with their own personalities and there
was a real dialogue, I was able to understand the effects of my own behaviour
and adapt it, trying out new ways of being and interacting with others and still
be in a safe environment. (Senior Manager WWF)
I realised that we carry our stories wherever we go; the way we relate to other
people, it seems to me that there are patterns that we repeat…there is
no place to hide when you are with “playing” with the horses, and
through good facilitation and stopping to observe one’s own behaviour, these
patterns come to light and it is possible to make sense of them…and start
practicing new ways of behaving, that may be more compassionate to oneself and
to others. (CARPP PhD Student)
Clear, confident
communication
Liz
Morrison leads this area, usually using two of her own horses. She is well qualified,
professionally insured and highly experienced and has also written a best selling
book on sports psychology for riders. She ensures that this is a safe activity
which is also fun and a very powerful learning experience, as the following quotes
indicate:
For
some, overcoming a fear of horses in a supportive environment is an key part of
the experience – which may relate to other areas of their life too.
