“What do you think the black horse’s personality is? What about the mini horse’s?”
“How did the black horse, Molly, react when the mini horse, Jethro, was brought into the arena?”
Narrow Gate’s facilitator, Heather Lawson, directs these questions to the Executive Team from Farm Bureau’s corporate office during a herd observation. Pausing between horses, Heather brings five horses in one at a time allowing the horses to establish a “pecking order” as the onlookers try to decide what order is being established right before their eyes.
Soon Molly drops to the soft sand in the indoor arena enjoying the opportunity to roll from side to side until the ever playful mini decides it is time to invite Molly into his game.
“Isn’t that funny...look at that little guy nipping at the big black horse trying to get a reaction. Wait…is he playing? He’s still biting the big black horse while she’s down!”
As is typical, Heather allows the scene to unfold “trusting the process” so long as the interaction is safe. The Farm Bureau clients AND the Narrow Gate team hold their breath watching and waiting as Jethro continues to bite and bite until, at last, a loud SHREEEK is heard signaling Molly’s cry to stop. The mini horse is no longer playing. He is taking advantage of the large horse while she is down. Heather intervenes and moves the mini horse away giving Molly room to eventually get to her feet. WOW!
It took Molly, our naturally anxiety-prone horse, a couple minutes to rebound from this unexpected interaction and eventually become “grounded” again. But, the impact it had on the Farm Bureau team didn’t wane quite so quickly. Rather, it opened the door for reflection and conversation.
The Holy Spirit knows exactly what the observers need and the horses always seem to respond accordingly.
This time was no exception. Once Heather returns to her position as facilitator, she calmly asks the executives, “Does this scene mean anything to you? Has anything like this ever happened with your team?”
Their immediate resounding response was, “Yes!” The scene with the horses stirred up emotions that were still raw from something very similar that happened within their organization months earlier. This activity provided a safe environment for them to process and share their experience with the facilitator and each other while they worked through their emotions. It also set the stage for the activities to follow in which they had to work together as a team to overcome self-identified obstacles in their workplace.
The same equine assisted learning activities that we use with children work with adults alike. Team Building and/or Leadership sessions are now being offered for businesses and churches for a fee at Narrow Gate Horse Ranch. The proceeds will not only allow us to continue to provide services FREE of charge for every child but also help our clients overcome obstacles in their business teams.
To hear what Farm Bureau’s CFO had to say about this Team Building/Leadership experience, visit the LTP tab on our website: NarrowGateHorseRanch.com.
We invite you to consider hosting an experience for your business or ministry team with us!
—Susan Zody
“Great leaders
are always great learners.”
- John C. Maxwell