As we settle into budgeting and planning season, many organizations are considering training options for next year. As Equine Facilitated Experiential Learning (EFEL) programs continue to gain in popularity, the nuances and differences that exist between the various approaches must be kept in mind. The importance of approach and philosophy cannot be overstated as it speaks directly to the effectiveness of the program. Since these workshops and programs are new to many people, I thought I’d share seven questions that everyone contemplating an EFEL program should ask themselves to ensure they achieve their training goals.
1.) Is the approach behavior-based or relationship-based? The importance of this difference cannot be overstated. Behavior-based approaches target the horse, relegating the horse to being nothing more than an apparatus. The exercises are usually oblique, based simply on placing the participants in an unknown circumstance, without any framework or clear learning objectives. Many of these types of programs grew out of therapeutic applications for people with emotional challenges and have little to do with professional development. The exercises are often overbearing and abusive to highly sensitive horses, driving them into a fear response. Unfortunately, this reinforces pervasive workplace behaviors that erode teamwork and employee engagement and work against career growth and development.
Relationship-based approaches are significantly more mindful. Programs that follow this philosophy focus on the learning opportunities offered by the horse/human relationship. As horses mirror human emotions, it allows participants to experience for themselves how they connect, engage and motivate the horse, without domineering or coercive behavior. This is a direct metaphor for how people connect, engage, and motivate their co-workers, subordinates, and prospects. By allowing the participant to experience this first-hand, you create a memorable learning experience that they will never forget. Relationship-based exercises are structured, with clear goals that are aligned with clearly present business and development goals. These programs are also significantly more conscious in their philosophy of camaraderie with the horse, ensuring at all times adequate emotional, psychological and physical care.
2.) How complete was the training of the facilitators? Like any growing industry, training and certificate Programs flock to any opportunity to capture quick money. Unfortunately, in the case of working with horses for professional development, this can be disastrous. It is very common for behavior-based approaches to require a minimum level of training. For example, programs like EAGALA require a three-day workshop to be level one. certificate. By comparison, I studied a relationship-based approach that required more than twelve weeks of on-site study, with additional off-site study spread out over the course of an entire year. The educational difference between a dozen hours of studio contact with horses and more than three hundred hours of contact with horses speaks for itself.
3.) Is the approach framed in scientific research that cultivates competencies in emotional intelligence? Programs that lack any reference to research in the neurosciences, performance psychology, basic mammalian emotional systems, applied behavioral economics, Kolb’s Adult Learning Style Inventory, or quantum physics may border on psychology. popular and unfounded and baseless opinions. Indeed, programs that lack solid scientific evidence to justify the approach are no more effective than tiresome ropes courses, paintball outings, or paper boat-building competitions in a resort pool. Programs that are based on and aligned with peer-reviewed research are significantly more accessible to participants. It establishes a direct correlation between cognitive learning and deeper emotional learning…providing lessons that last a lifetime.
4.) What is the professional background of the facilitator? Again, like any growing industry, people will flock to the opportunity to earn a dollar, whether they are qualified or not. That’s why we see so many certificate programs that, to the letter of the law, are not truly certification programs. Ask about the facilitator’s professional background. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve seen in this industry speed through a quick and dirty certification program to undertake leadership development programs without ever having held a leadership position in their lives. Leaders bear the battle scars of leadership and have their own experiential learning to their credit from real-world engagements. Ask about the depth and breadth of the facilitator’s actual leadership experience in business settings. Were they sales managers responsible for eight people for two or three years, or do they have more than a decade of multi-cultural, multi-generational experience managing hundreds of associates? Have you ever worn the mantle of leadership?
5.) What is the facilitator’s horse training philosophy? This is just as critical as the difference between behavior-based and relationship-based approaches. Be on the lookout for enablers who claim Natural Horsemanshipexpertise. The prime example of this is an approach called Pirelli. So-called, Natural Horsemanship The philosophies reflect the same approach as industrial-age transactional leadership. They try to coerce the horse with Pressure, adding incremental discomfort to the horse until the horse does what it wants. they then reward the horse releasing the pressure. Punishment and reward are classic behavior-based approaches to dominating people, or even horses, to get what the transactional leader wants. It is the proven cause of the employee termination crisis we are experiencing today.
The more mindful, relationship-based approaches to horsemanship focus on communicating with the horse in a way they can understand and inviting the horse to engage. Approaches like Carolyn Resnick’s Rituals of the Water Well™Barbara Rector Adventures in Consciousness™Lisa Walter’s work onEquiSatori™and an approach called Transformational Riding™ all reflect this philosophy. It models transformational leadership, of leading from a place of service to the horse that is attuned to the real dynamics of the herd and leadership of the horse in the wild. Keep in mind that in predatory packs, the leader is the one who dominates. In horse herds, the leader is the one who watches over the safety and well-being of the herd and is watched over by the herd. Diametrically different approaches resonate throughout the EFEL workshop and will deliver very different results.
6.) Does the program have additional education-based guidance and support tools to embed the work over time? Change is driven by processes, not events. A mindful EFEL workshop will impart a powerful perspective shift, opening participants to see their world from a different orientation. This is critical to cultivating adaptability and creative problem solving in today’s rapidly changing world. But tools that can be easily accessed and used in the workplace must also be provided to support the shift in perspective. Education-based coaching should also be available to further support professional growth and ensure lasting results.
7.) Is the program aligned with tangible business goals that can be measured for return on investment? This is exceptionally rare. In fact, our firm is the only professional development company with EFEL programs that I know of that does this with every engagement. Why is it so rare? This lack of accountability grew out of the old team building and leadership events of the past. Why didn’t string courses try to introduce metrics? Probably because they delivered little to no tangible business value than a company picnic. Don’t get me wrong, company departures can strengthen relationships, but they are not developmental events. Ask if the program conducts benchmark assessments, both with participants and with the current state of the business. Is there an exploration of immediate business objectives? Is a gap analysis provided? Is this documented? Finally, does the company set performance metrics for both individual participants and the business? Are follow-up evaluations carried out? Without these critical measures in place, it is very difficult to measure the results and the value you are receiving from your investment.
Equine Facilitate Experiential Learning can be a powerful, innovative, and enjoyable tool for professional development. Like everything, quality comes down to the details.
© 2012 Terry Murray.