Equine Assisted Learning

This "Musing" is by guest blogger, Keith Bishop, Director of Operations at Q&A Associates.  We work with young adults and their families and the similarities between that mission and working with horses is amazing.  It is definitely a graceful dance and we learn something new everyday!!  Thanks, Keith for a great post!

            Equine Assisted Learning at Timberline Stables

As clients enroll in a Q&A program, we treat them as adults, with the ultimate goal to launch them into independence.  However, independence will never be achieved if we consistently put controls on what choices they can make.

Learning how to work with the clients and guide them is much like working with our horses.  Angie (our CEO) and her husband Matt teach the clients that their energy and attitude affect the horse instantly, and you can’t put your map on the horse.  Many people get on the horse and immediately pull back hard on the reigns in an effort to keep the horse under “control,” an interesting reaction when the horse has just allowed the rider to climb on its back without jumping or bucking.  The rider is trying to exert control when there is no need to control anything.  Pulling on the reigns when riding a horse actually tells the horse to stop or back up, neither of which are good choices when you are trying to ride a horse forward!

Buck Brannaman, a very gifted horseman and human being, helps people learn to ride better by teaching them that control is really about pressure, and the more pressure you use, the less the horse will respond which actually reduces the amount of control the rider has.  If the pressure becomes too great, the horse will actually misbehave and act out to escape the pressure.

Working with young adults and their families parallels working with horses.  The fight or flight instinct of the horse is engaged as soon as the rider gets on and tries to control the horse.  The rider is not working with the horse, he is trying to control the horse and eventually, the result will be an ill-mannered horse and a frustrated rider.  Taking the control mechanism out of the learning process and choosing to walk along beside the client produces greater, more authentic gains.  As adults, their outcomes are based on their choices and the more we can allow them to experience and try, the more wisdom and insight they will gain.  Parents have to allow their children to grow safely, without having all the controls.  Yes, there will be mistakes, but that is where growth and wisdom come from.  None of us can be successful and happy all the time.  Failure is inevitable, and if we can learn from the failures and the successes, our lives will be richer and fuller.