WHY HORSES?

I grew up riding and training horses on an acreage outside of Airdrie, Alberta. When I reached my late teens, I moved to Calgary and began to build a career inviting individuals and families to construct their preferred lives. After over 20 years of working in an office finding new and different ways to explore client experiences through questions and exercises, I realized that perhaps the horses in my life could help foster further powerful way to augment this exploration. What is it about these animals that makes them a strong addition to my work? How can we use our similarities and differences with horses to challenge us to make sense of the world through an alternative lens and accomplish desired change?

PARALLEL SOCIAL WORLD

Horses bring a familiar way of interacting and connecting that invites us to reflect on our own relationships and find helpful ways forward. I have experience in navigating change making dialogue and a keen eye for these “conversational openers” in my horses’ social behaviour. As we witness the often seemingly parallel social world of horses we can build and learn from the similarities.

HEIGHTENED AWARENESS OF THE WORLD AROUND THEM

Horses offer something a little different in how they interact with each other and with us. There are key differences in the way they perceive and respond in their environment steeped in their role as prey animals who must be tuned into the moment for their survival. From this “grounded place”, horses have an uncanny ability to challenge our disconnected tendencies and invite us to build bonds, connect and feel safe. Ultimately, these connected experiences seem to invite us to join our own interactions differently.