This past week I was introduced to something I did not know existed. The concept is working with horses in order to better understand yourself through a method called “Horse Coaching”. Never had I thought you could learn so much about yourself, your peers, and how you will fit into, and interact in a company.

With my class we traveled to an equestrian club in Dijon, and at this specific club, the art of “Horse Coaching” takes place. At first I was extremely skeptical about the idea. I thought to myself “how is a horse going to teach me anything I don’t already know about myself?”. Never the less, I kept an open mind, and brought a good attitude. It doesn’t hurt to give it a try, and see what happens.

The first task we had was to familiarize ourselves with the horse. We began by attempting to get his attention, by getting him to come towards us. This job was rather complicated, took much resolve, and many different strategies to get the horse to move.

The next assignment was to see if you could get the horse to move in a straight line towards you. This was very difficult because you had to be very assertive, but motivating at the same time in order to succeed. This is also very true in real life, when you are a manager working at a firm, and you need to communicate to your employees to get them to work.

Thirdly, we had to try and get the horse to walk, and trot a lap. I had assumed this would be quite easy, because I reckoned horses love to get the opportunity to get out of their stable, and run. I was wrong. Getting the horse to jog was a task no one could accomplish. So we decided to team up into groups of three, with the hope of triumph. I personally paired myself with two people I know well, trust, and like very much. My hope was as a unit we would be able to get the horse to gallop. We were the first group to succeed. Our unified teamwork, along with determination, perseverance, and reinforced positive energy allowed us to gain the trust of the horse, and motivate him to run. These techniques can all be used in a company, because teamwork, communication, dedication, and perseverance are keys to being successful leaders in a business.

Lastly, we were tasked with guiding the horse around a circuit. The goal of this was to show we can direct the horse, somewhat in the same way a manager must lead their staff.

All in all, throughout this experience, I have discovered, realized, and unearth previously hidden knowledge about myself during this coaching session. During the day I learned what it takes to be a good and effective leader. You need confidence and self-belief in order to accomplish missions, and if you think you can do it, so will those who work for or with you. All of these attributes will serve me later in life because I hope to one day run my own business, and having this knowledge about myself will benefit me greatly if I ever have to take charge and manage a team of my own.