Horses help impart leadership skills at inaugural workshop |
| April 11, 2004, Ravenna – Barn stalls, hay and hooves are not usually equated with leadership seminars. But an upcoming leadership workshop is aimed at fostering skills through interaction with horses.
The Leadership Equine Assisted Development workshop, designed to develop leadership skills in the business world, will take place April 15 and 16 at Edge of Freedom Farms, a non-profit organization in Ravenna. Though participants will work one-on-one with the animals, they will not ride the horses, said Sue Thomas, president of LEAD, who added no previous horse experience is required to participate. Horses, which are perceptive animals but take no heed of status or rank, serve as an appropriate prototype for business relationships, said Thomas. "With a horse, you have to build up trust and respect or they will pretty much not do anything for you," she said. As prey animals in the wild, horses are attuned to their surroundings and can detect if a person's actions are not congruent to how they feel inside, Thomas added. The leadership workshop is inaugural, but equine therapy has been employed for a number of uses, from physical therapy to building life skills for at-risk youth, said Thomas, who is the founder of consulting company Managing Asset Potential. She said the LEAD workshop combines two of her passions: horses and working with organizational leaders. "I've been around horses since I was 5 years old," she added. "This is a natural way to go for me." About 15 percent of the revenue generated from the workshop supports the horses and programs at Edge of Freedom Farms. To register, or for more information, call 330-274-2693 or visit www.L-E-A-D.com. Reprinted from the Stow Sentry with permission from Record Publishing Co. |
