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.
Tout cela, quand on est cavalier, on le sait instinctivement. Et pourtant, qui prend ce temps d’échange et de connexion avant de monter ? D’ailleurs à quel moment apprend-on ce langage en école d’équitation ?
Lors de cette formation avec Alter Horse Equicoaching, j’ai pris le temps d’observer ce Cheval que je côtoie pourtant depuis près de 40 ans. J’ai pris le temps de réfléchir à ce que je voulais lui demander et comment le demander dans un langage clair, sincère, authentique ; un langage que l’on partagerait. Enfin j’ai essayé. J’ai pris le temps d’écouter sa réponse également, ses signaux faibles qui sont son mode de communication.
En tant que co-dirigeante de la société ESC Laboratoire, cette démarche résonne fortement. Nous adhérons en effet pleinement aux valeurs fondatrices de l’Equicoaching ainsi qu’à celles du Horsemanship. Aussi nous avons à cœur au sein de notre entreprise d’être à l’écoute des besoins des chevaux et d’œuvrer pour leur bien-être grâce à des solutions naturelles à base de plantes médicinales. Nous avons également conscience du bien-être que le cheval – en particulier et les animaux en général – apporte à l’homme. Prendre soin du vivant est notre première mission. Nous en sommes fiers et elle nous passionne au quotidien. Je remercie Renaud Subra pour son invitation et sa démonstration. L’equicoaching est une discipline porteuse de sens qui éclaire les managers mais pas que…
Caroline Donin de Rosière
Co-dirigeante ESC Laboratoire
