The Questions

• What does and Equine Guided Educator Do?
• Do I have to have experience to be an Equine Guided Educator?
• What are the ethical reasons to become certified?

What does an Equine Guided Educator Do?

The Equine Guided Educator creates an experiential, supportive learning environment for students/clients to learn about themselves and to develop relevant skills grounded in the life they say they are committed to creating. He/she allows the horse to ‘guide’ the process of learning, reflecting and exploration. He/she combines the process of kinesthetic learning and cognitive reflection in relation to the student’s/client’s mental, physical, spiritual, emotional and social well-being. Through the process of evaluating an individual’s current patterns of behavior, perceptions, and performance, the Equine Guided Educator encourages the student/client towards a healthy self-image and supports the exploration of new practices for achieving personal and/or professional goals.

The Equine Guided Educator guides his/her students/clients through a learning process that is centered around their ambitions and goals for the future. He/she assists his/her students/clients in refining their gifts and creating environments in which they can thrive.

The Equine Guided Educator facilitates the student’s/client’s growth and learning through experiential exercises with horses. The horse, in this process, literally ‘guides’ the student/client and the Educator by revealing inner states of mind and physical energetic states of presence. The noun "guide" means "someone who can find paths through unexplored territory." The Equine Guided Educator as ‘Educator’ cultivates the integration of mind/body/spirit through experiential learning and has the competency to draw out a person’s natural gifts and talents. The combination of the Educator and the Equine Guide offers unique, impactful, experiential exercises geared towards developing people’s self knowledge and self-responsibility. Some common learning schemas include:

1. Identifying and developing the student/client ambitions and aspirations
2. Developing the ability to stay focused on goals
3. Enhancing communication and negotiation skills
4. Encouraging self confidence and self-esteem
5. Assisting the process of developing trust with the oneself and others
6. Learning how to listen to and respect one’s intuition and sixth sense
7. Building effective relationship and interactive practices

The Equine Guided Educator understands how to allow the horse to reflect each student’s/client’s unique strategies and presentations in such a way that he/she can receive this often intense feedback in a safe and supportive process. Leveraging the process of ‘learning by doing’ (experiential) integrated with the horse’s natural wisdom and healing presence assists the Educator in encouraging the student/client to accept responsibility for their own learning and behavior. The word "Experience" is defined as the state or extent of being engaged in a particular study or work; developing knowledge, skill or technique resulting from experience; the sum total of the conscious events which compose an individual life as observed facts and events in contrast with what is supplied by thought. Effective learning occurs when the student/client engages in some activity, reflects upon the activity, derives useful insight from the analysis, and incorporates the result through a change in understanding and/or behavior. As Lao Tzu once quoted, "You cannot learn from a good book, because a book will not tell you what you do not want to hear."

Do I have to have horse experience to be an Equine Guided Educator™?

Because of the inherent risks involved with equine activities it is essential that an experienced equine specialist be present at any process in which a student/client is near or around horses. If the Equine Guided Educator is not a horse expert, then he/she needs to partner with someone who is. Even with an equine specialist present the Equine Guided Educator needs to have some experience with horses. He/she needs to be comfortable around horses and understands the basic safety issues associated with horses. Ideally the equine specialist should also be educated as an Equine Guided Educator.

What are the ethical reasons to become certified?

The unique and profound opportunities of bringing horses to people for the sake of growth and learning is both exciting and serious. Horses can become unpredictable around incongruent emotions and energies within their environment. While a person may be competent with horses and/or human development, incorporating the two requires a whole new set of competencies. It is important to respect the horses and humans as sensate beings, each with their own unique perspective. The safety of the horse and human—emotionally, physically and spiritually—is an important and sensitive matter.

To make this amazing process accessible to the public it is important that we collaborate and learn together to develop a consistent industry standard. It is also important to respect what experts in the field who are committed to developing this discourse have already learned. The more that we gather together, learn from each other and share our experiences, the more Equine Guided Education will develop and flourish as a respectable and important part of human learning and growth.

Copyright © 2008 Equine Guided Education Association