On Tuesday 17 June, I participated in a discovery session of Equicoaching, organized by Renaud Subra the founder of Alter Horse Equicoaching.
We all heard a little about it. It is a method of personal or professional support and development based on the relationship between human and horse. It is a learning experience in which the horse acts as a mirror of human behavior, allowing to better understand his modes of communication, his emotions, his leadership or more generally his relational posture. This method is inspired as much by the Horsemanship approach as by the ethology and ecology of the horse as an inspirational model.
My first feeling is that much of the interest of the approach depends on the talent of the trainer. The horse does not lend itself to any role but just be "himself", an animal responding to a behavior that remains instinctive despite its domestication. Among the typical primitive signals that the horse has preserved is its subtle mode of communication based on fine body signals (look, posture, ears, breathing). The trainer is therefore first and foremost a horseman who can decipher these signals and poses himself as an enlightened translator.
So during this session, I discovered the Equicoaching and the talent of Renaud, a great mediator between animal and man. Renaud chose to focus on professional development or how to become a good manager thanks to the horse. According to the definition, being a good manager is to master the methods, practices and skills used to organize, direct, coordinate and motivate the human, material and financial resources of an organisation in order to achieve its objectives. And according to Renaud, the horse has keys to pass on to us for that.
Equicoaching applied to management allows you to understand the language of motivation, commitment and cooperation. As you don't force a donkey that doesn't thirst to drink, you don't force – or not long – a horse to walk perfectly in a circle without a loin if it has never learned and repeated it. The guidelines must be clear and ambitious and achievable, so as not to cause boredom, flight or even defence. "Ask a lot, settle for little, reward often". And here's how riding inspires Managers 3.0. Besides management / to manage in English has the same etymology as ridege and would be a drift of the Italian verb maneggiare, itself from the Latin manus which means control, handle, have in hand. The loop is closed: the ride is today the temple of management!
But it is a deeper aspect to the Equicaching. The horse gives us much more to acquire than managerial skills, if we take the time to observe and listen actively. Last Tuesday in the Dauphine Manège, these two horses gave us a lesson of humanity. What if the animal allowed man to be more human? It is no longer just a question of coaching and management but of a quest for meaning, inseparable from existence.
Equicoaching therefore learns listening and empathy, and requires to connect with the horse in order to obtain from him the realization of an exercise a priori against nature.
All this, when you're a horseman, you know it instinctively. And yet, who takes this time to exchange and connect before going up? Besides, when do you learn this language in riding school?
During this training with Alter Horse Equicoaching, I took the time to observe this Horse that I have been around for nearly 40 years. I took the time to think about what I wanted to ask him and how to ask him in clear, sincere, authentic language; A language we would share. I mean, I tried. I took the time to listen to his answer too, his weak signals which are his mode of communication.
As a co-leader of ESC Laboratoire, this approach resonates strongly. We fully adhere to the founding values of Equicoaching as well as those of Horsemanship. We also have at heart within our company to listen to the needs of horses and work for their well-being through natural herbal solutions. We are also aware of the well-being that the horse – especially and animals in general – brings to man. Taking care of the living is our first mission. We are proud of it and we are passionate about it every day. I thank Renaud Subra for his invitation and his demonstration. Equicoaching is a meaningful discipline that enlightens managers but not that...
Caroline Donin de Rosière
Co-leader ESC Laboratory
