Horse as Coach
An eloquent article by Brenda Sexton of the Enumclaw (Washington) Courier Herald, articulates many of the themes that recur with frequent interactions with horses. She profiles Peggy Gilmer, a successful executive coach in her own right, who came to even greater success when joined by her horses in coaching sessions. Peggy has taught both corporate executives, and young children, with equal success.
One of her students, Sarah, has learned the universal truth of horses: that you can never muscle them into cooperating. They choose to cooperate and assist humans by recognizing the leadership of the human and agreeing to it.
Sarah is a petite, soft-spoken 10 year old, but when she’s in the arena with a 16-hands high, 1,100-pound, full-of-life Tennessee walking horse she’s assertive and confident.As the horse paces the rail of the enclosure, Sarah, poised and strong, commands respect. Without the use of reins or a harness, Sarah brings the horse to her side. She is strong, yet respectful.
“I’ve learned even though the horse is 10 times bigger than I am I can still be an authority over it,” Sarah said. “If I can control something so much bigger than I am. I can control them when they’re not being nice.”
I daresay there’s more than a few executives who could stand to learn this basic lesson. And yet the horse offers this lesson for free, daily.
“Horses teach us to be resonant leaders,” Gilmer said. “A horse’s survival depends on being attuned to others. They live in the moment and are incapable of being anything but authentic.
“Horses, she discovered, show a leader when they are present, intentional, authentic and connected, the four attributes of good leadership.
“Horses are awesome at all these things,” she said. “Horse doesn’t want to be a leader.” But, they know what they want in a leader.
If only major corporations could know what they want in a leader and articulate it as well.