Jessie's Story - A Youth Perspective
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I learned that horses are like the mirror which humans can reflect in. They are listening creatures.”
Participant Vision YOU youth workshop
Participant Vision YOU youth workshop
I have had the great fortune to work with the horse-youth dynamic for a number of years and have seen the lessons a youth can gain from spending time in their presence. Not just the technicalities but the life lessons that will assist them in navigating the teen years with self awareness, critical thinking and relationship smarts. Leading them to being able to live authentic, heart-based lives in their teen years and on into adulthood.
Let me start with our story. Jessie’s story: This young lady was a participant in a workshop that involved a group of teens that had just come together as a team. They were to be heading overseas on an international volunteer trip together. They didn’t know each other well and our aim over the 2 days we worked with them was to grow their relationship and give them tools they could use to support each other and make the most of their time together. Jessie was tasked with an activity of spending time with a horse in a round pen. The intent of the activity for her was to ask the horse to move around the pen, first one way then the other. No force, no coercion just intent and energy and a true heart connection between her and the horse. Well, when Jessie entered the ring (the horse was already in there) and positioned herself at the centre of the ring (the safest place to be) the horse began moving briskly around the outside of the pen. Before Jessie even asked her too. Jessie was bewildered and anxious and the horse mirrored those exact emotions. What to do? Well, a short quiet conversation with Jessie had her starting to focus on her breath. Slow it down, focus on herself and what her body was saying. The moment and I mean the moment she did that the horse stopped, walked over to her and laid her soft nose on Jessie’s heart. It was a beautiful moment in time and Jessie knew in that short bit that she had learned a huge lesson. In her debrief Jessie summed up her ‘nugget’ of learning with this short statement. “I never knew how much my energy affected other people.” Right then we knew that Jessie had learned an integral life lesson and was going to be a great team player on their trip.
Teens are so often looking for a safe place free of judgement where they can speak their truth and be genuinely heard. Interacting with horses and experiencing the wisdom that ensues during Equine Facilitated Learning provides that safe space. They can experiment with life in the moment and look into a mirror that will reflect their emotions, thoughts, and actions in a non-judgmental and authentic way. They can have a quick non-verbal conversation with a horse and come out of an activity with lifelong lessons that they can apply to their everyday relationships. With their peers, their parents, and so on but most importantly with themselves.
Washington State University recently conducted a research study concerning the levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) in youth and how it was influenced when they interacted with a horse. (https://news.wsu.edu/2014/04/24/horsing-around-reduces-stress-hormones-in-youth/) The research found that: ‘children who had participated in the 12-week program had significantly lower stress hormone levels’ than those that did not participate. This is exciting research that is showing us just how powerful working with horses can be for youth.
Spending time with horses has also shown to lower heart and breath rate as well as generally calm a participant simply by being beside them. When a youth becomes aware of what is going on in their body they are able to self regulate and manage their own thoughts and emotions. Their reactions to the world around them.
A common activity that we have the youth participate in is an obstacle course. (Not the kind you did in elementary school). A ‘simple’ exercise that has the youth decide on a goal and 2 obstacles that might prevent them from achieving that goal. The obstacles and goals can be represented by something as simple as a ball or a pole on the ground. The fun part comes when they head out with a horse to lead it over or around the obstacles and onwards to the goal. Now a horse is like a giant biofeedback machine. If one gets to a goal and there is a change in their physiology the horse is going to react to that. Here comes the critical thinking. If a horse stops at an obstacle and refuses to move the first reaction might be to ‘blame’ the horse. Why aren’t they listening? The horse is having a natural reaction to a change in the participant’s body. It might be a very subtle change but it is a change that the ever vigilant horse takes into serious consideration for their safety. So what is a youth to do in this situation? Instead of laying blame or looking to another to rest the outcome on they are asked to look inside. What am I doing in this situation and how can I make a change? They look within their body, make a change; that could be grounding themselves or as Jessie did, slowing the breath. It is up to them to look within and find where a change might need to be made, make that change and then move on towards their goals. Now that is a skill that can be applied to many different situations in a young person’s life.
We often, as adults, spend the time and dollars on personal growth workshops and courses. Imagine what the next generation will be like if we take time and resources for their personal growth. Youth co-creating an environment that build their skills to navigate this world we call home and live authentic, heart based lives. EFL workshops and programs for youth, whether team building, working with mental health issues, trauma or personal growth, are proving to be integral in creating a world where youth can find their voice, speak their truth, and in the words of a recent youth participant: ‘be authentic and support others with all of your heart.’
Let me start with our story. Jessie’s story: This young lady was a participant in a workshop that involved a group of teens that had just come together as a team. They were to be heading overseas on an international volunteer trip together. They didn’t know each other well and our aim over the 2 days we worked with them was to grow their relationship and give them tools they could use to support each other and make the most of their time together. Jessie was tasked with an activity of spending time with a horse in a round pen. The intent of the activity for her was to ask the horse to move around the pen, first one way then the other. No force, no coercion just intent and energy and a true heart connection between her and the horse. Well, when Jessie entered the ring (the horse was already in there) and positioned herself at the centre of the ring (the safest place to be) the horse began moving briskly around the outside of the pen. Before Jessie even asked her too. Jessie was bewildered and anxious and the horse mirrored those exact emotions. What to do? Well, a short quiet conversation with Jessie had her starting to focus on her breath. Slow it down, focus on herself and what her body was saying. The moment and I mean the moment she did that the horse stopped, walked over to her and laid her soft nose on Jessie’s heart. It was a beautiful moment in time and Jessie knew in that short bit that she had learned a huge lesson. In her debrief Jessie summed up her ‘nugget’ of learning with this short statement. “I never knew how much my energy affected other people.” Right then we knew that Jessie had learned an integral life lesson and was going to be a great team player on their trip.
Teens are so often looking for a safe place free of judgement where they can speak their truth and be genuinely heard. Interacting with horses and experiencing the wisdom that ensues during Equine Facilitated Learning provides that safe space. They can experiment with life in the moment and look into a mirror that will reflect their emotions, thoughts, and actions in a non-judgmental and authentic way. They can have a quick non-verbal conversation with a horse and come out of an activity with lifelong lessons that they can apply to their everyday relationships. With their peers, their parents, and so on but most importantly with themselves.
Washington State University recently conducted a research study concerning the levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) in youth and how it was influenced when they interacted with a horse. (https://news.wsu.edu/2014/04/24/horsing-around-reduces-stress-hormones-in-youth/) The research found that: ‘children who had participated in the 12-week program had significantly lower stress hormone levels’ than those that did not participate. This is exciting research that is showing us just how powerful working with horses can be for youth.
Spending time with horses has also shown to lower heart and breath rate as well as generally calm a participant simply by being beside them. When a youth becomes aware of what is going on in their body they are able to self regulate and manage their own thoughts and emotions. Their reactions to the world around them.
A common activity that we have the youth participate in is an obstacle course. (Not the kind you did in elementary school). A ‘simple’ exercise that has the youth decide on a goal and 2 obstacles that might prevent them from achieving that goal. The obstacles and goals can be represented by something as simple as a ball or a pole on the ground. The fun part comes when they head out with a horse to lead it over or around the obstacles and onwards to the goal. Now a horse is like a giant biofeedback machine. If one gets to a goal and there is a change in their physiology the horse is going to react to that. Here comes the critical thinking. If a horse stops at an obstacle and refuses to move the first reaction might be to ‘blame’ the horse. Why aren’t they listening? The horse is having a natural reaction to a change in the participant’s body. It might be a very subtle change but it is a change that the ever vigilant horse takes into serious consideration for their safety. So what is a youth to do in this situation? Instead of laying blame or looking to another to rest the outcome on they are asked to look inside. What am I doing in this situation and how can I make a change? They look within their body, make a change; that could be grounding themselves or as Jessie did, slowing the breath. It is up to them to look within and find where a change might need to be made, make that change and then move on towards their goals. Now that is a skill that can be applied to many different situations in a young person’s life.
We often, as adults, spend the time and dollars on personal growth workshops and courses. Imagine what the next generation will be like if we take time and resources for their personal growth. Youth co-creating an environment that build their skills to navigate this world we call home and live authentic, heart based lives. EFL workshops and programs for youth, whether team building, working with mental health issues, trauma or personal growth, are proving to be integral in creating a world where youth can find their voice, speak their truth, and in the words of a recent youth participant: ‘be authentic and support others with all of your heart.’
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