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Corporate leadership from the horses mouth
from Government of Saskatchewan Agriculture website
(scroll down)
Using horses as teachers is the foundation of the program offered at
the Beaver Creek Ranch and Horse Centre, located near Lumsden. The
ranch provides skills training using an approach called Equine-Assisted
Learning. "Your reaction with the animal is the same in your approach
to people," said owner and instructor Brenda Clemens. "We use horses as
a barometer to tell what a person's energy is like, and then to help
people understand that if they change their approach in handling the
situation, it can lead to a better effect."
Clemens and co-instructor Lisa Larsen are both Certified
Equine-Assisted Learning Specialists, a designation earned through a
course offered at the Cartier Equine Learning Center in Prince Albert,
which is the first of its kind in Canada. The program puts
participants in direct contact with the horses on the ranch, and
through their interaction, the participants learn how they are being
perceived by others.
"Horses are really intuitive," said Clemens. "They are really sensitive
to someone who maybe is approaching them under false pretenses, or who
isn't authentic."
The focus of the Beaver Creek Ranch and Horse Centre is on providing
innovative solutions to enhance team effectiveness in the workplace.
Clients are using the centre to help develop leadership skills.
"Horses look for leadership," said Clemens. "So you could be awfully
nice to the horse, and pat them, and say please do what I ask, but the
horse still won't move. You have to be appropriately assertive. So that
becomes a metaphor for the workplace. If you were nice to everybody in
the office, would they co-operate? You have to be assertive but you
can't be a bully."
The corporate training sessions normally involve two-person teams that
work with an individual horse.
"First we explain that we're going to guide the people through the
exercises, and, after the exercises, we talk about how they reacted to
the horse, how the horse reacted to them, and how they worked as a
team," Brenda Clemens explained. "The beauty of it is that it involves
you in a real-life situation, rather than a lecture."
Team building takes place as participants work together with their
horses to achieve some simple objectives. They are encouraged to do
things like unifying their efforts, working as allies and sharing
available resources to break down the barriers that can prevent people
from working together.
"All of the exercises are team-oriented, and can be as simple as
catching the horse with someone else," said Clemens. "The last exercise
will usually involve the whole team, so everyone is in the arena at the
same time."
Corporate clients that have used the Beaver Creek facility include the
Saskatchewan Communications Network, the law firm McPherson, Leslie and
Tyerman, and Athol Murray College at Notre Dame. The equine-assisted
learning program provides a bonding experience for the groups, which
usually consist of no more than 16 people.
"At the end of the day, we'll have supper, or sit around the campfire
and have a round-table discussion about what they think they learned
from the horse, and how they can apply those lessons to the workplace,"
said Clemens.
The Beaver Creek Ranch and Horse Centre also operates a
bed-and-breakfast, and holds western-themed group dinners on their
property. As well, Brenda Clemens and husband Barry are working
ranchers, running about 150 head of cattle.
Complete information on the Beaver Creek Ranch learning programs is
available on their website, at
http://www.beavercreekranch.ca/.
For more information, contact:
Brenda Clemens, Certified Equine-Assisted Learning Specialist
Beaver Creek Ranch and Horse Centre
Phone: (306) 731-2943
E-mail: bbclemens@beavercreekranch.ca
Website:
http://www.beavercreekranch.ca/
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