Training managers, it's horses for courses
By Pauline Askin | theage.com.au | 12 March
Deep in the Australian bush, leadership trainers Jerry, Fly, Hope, KC and Sultan put a group of managers through their paces.
While lacking formal qualifications, the trainers use good old-fashioned horse sense to teach their students management, leadership and communication skills.
Ranging from a chestnut Arab mare to hardy stock horses, the "trainers" are the star attractions at what is believed to be Australia's first equine leadership course.
Horses have been used for years in various types of therapy, including psychotherapy and helping handicapped children.
The use of horses for management training is a relatively new field but it already has a track record of success.
"Horses are very sensitive to body language therefore they will reflect back to us the body language they see coming towards them," said Beth Duff, a doctorial student who observed the course for her research on learning with horses.
"If someone is authentic and clear about what they want to do, then the horses will follow them and be very responsive to them," she said.
"If they are only saying the words and not actually meaning it or saying it in a way that's not clear, then quite often the horses will simply wander off, or ignore them or simply stand still and do nothing."
Students spend up to seven hours a day with their horses, taking part in both individual and group activities, but they never actually ride them.
Instead, they work in groups of three carrying out seemingly mundane tasks such as persuading the horses to move from one end of a paddock to another without touching the animals.
Peter Harrison, one of 20 managers who signed up for the course, hopes it will help him improve his communication skills and be a more effective manager in his coffee-roasting business.
"The horses don't care who you are, they are giving you their raw feeling.
"Humans have baggage, horses don't," he said.
"I think this course has more potential to change what you do because the horses provide the mirror you don't get elsewhere."
Graeme Phillips, a retired army lieutenant-colonel who runs the course with his wife Annie at their property "Yarrabin" about 200 kilometres west of Sydney, believes horses are great teachers as they react honestly to people's body language and behaviour.
"We don't script the course. We don't train our horses for this. This magical thing happens," he said.
REUTERS
First published by TheAge.com.au on March 12 2008
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