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Using equine intelligence to understand ourselves

Posted to the web on: 13 October 2008

As a clinical psychologist, Carlette McLaren noticed a link between the needs of the children she saw and the horses she looked after. A fan of famous American trainer, the “horse whisperer” Monty Roberts, McLaren then came to realise that she could adapt the principles Roberts used working with horses and apply them to help people in the workplace.

McLaren and her business partner, Natalie Wessels, an industrial psychologist, have developed a programme known as HorseSense in which horses are used in the development of leadership and teamwork in companies. I grab the opportunity to spend a chilly spring day with McLaren at Kloofzicht Lodge in the Cradle of Humankind, where the workshops are run.

“The beautiful natural environment and serenity of the area support our philosophy,” McLaren says. “With game roaming freely here, the feeling of being far removed from city life is amplified, even though we’ re only about 40 minutes from Sandton and Pretoria.”

McLaren explains that the concept of therapeutic riding originated with a polio patient from Denmark, Liz Hartel, in 1943. Hartel met a Norwegian physical therapist who began working with her, and the following year she entered the Grand Prix Dressage at the Helsinki Olympics where she won a silver medal, riding in competition with the able-bodied.

After completing her masters degree in health psychology, McLaren worked in clinical practice. In her work she perceived the great need for equine therapy, and in 1998 she started therapy on Saturday mornings in Honeydew, Johannesburg, focusing on helping cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and autistic children. “I soon realised that this kind of therapy would not only benefit disabled children but also mentally challenged children. We started helping children with attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and those with learning and emotional difficulties.”

After helping many children in this way, Wessels and McLaren realised that the therapeutic effect of equine therapy did not need to be restricted to children. They started to consider the benefits that working with horses could have for adults, helping them deal with their everyday challenges in the workplace.

After interacting with horses every day for 20-odd years , McLaren saw how the animals possess a number of attributes humans can strive towards. In order to survive in nature, horses rely on teamwork and strong leadership. But within this herd situation, they also have to consider unique personalities and attitudes, McLaren explains.

“If we look at how they manage to attain peace in this complex situation, we as human beings can learn many valuable lessons.”

For instance, the leader of the herd clearly sets and defends the boundaries. Every member of the herd knows the boundaries and respects them, she says. On the other hand, the leader also accepts the different personalities and respects the different roles that each member has to play within the herd.

McLaren says horses have clear communication channels.

“To be able to survive, each member of the herd must be clear in communicating their needs and be clear in getting across potential threats.”

They have a distinctive nonverbal communication system, where every member of the herd is clear about the message. “Horses deal with true emotions, not a covered-up pretence of what they want others to see.”

McLaren asks whether I would like to see the horses. I am very excited to learn about the application of the psychologists’ new concept, being a holiday rider myself. However, McLaren says that no riding is done in this workshop. “All work is done on the ground.”

The horses that she uses live in a herd on a 100ha farm. She owns six horses, mostly South African “Boerperde”, well-known for their loving nature and good temperament.

“Each horse has a personal history. They come from backgrounds where they had to face different obstacles in order to now live a full and happy life,” McLaren says. Some were abused and had to be rescued.

“There is a one-eyed jock in the herd, Stallone, who thinks he is a stallion. Stallone is the leader,” she says.

The horses do not sleep in stables and have formed a natural herd, like they would if they were in the wild.

We make our way to the farm on foot across the mountains. Soon we reach some of the horses in two enclosed pens . I am introduced to the infamous Stallone, Cleo (a mare), who is a cross Boerperd and Lipizzaner, and Spartikus, an Arabian who is clearly the apple of McLaren’s eye.

McLaren hands me a couple of carrots. I make my way over to Cleo and she greedily munches them up.

“In our programme we work with horses who have different personalities,” McLaren says. “When working with them I handle the horses in different ways. This enables me to get the most out of each horse.”

The programme usually begins with an introduction, where each participant picks up one of the horses’ feet, McLaren says as she climbs into the pen and demonstrates by picking up one of Stallone’s feet.

“For the horse it is a vulnerable position to be in. For most people it is a new experience and they have to overcome their initial fear.” “We also do individual tasks,” she says, “where each member of the team gets the opportunity to work with the horse alone. The horse then gives immediate feedback regarding the individual’s fears, assertiveness, dominance and attitude.” McLaren says this gives the person the opportunity to see the reflection of his or her attitudes and actions. The team also does a leading and blindfolding exercise, where assertiveness and trust are addressed. McLaren calls me into the pen and we do this exercise together using Cleo. A blindfold is placed over my eyes. I can smell the mare and hear her breathing gently next to me. McLaren takes my hand and tells me to place it over the mare’s body . I run my hand ever so gently first over her velvet muzzle and head, making my way over her strong chest and then over her rounded pregnant belly. It is an overpowering experience, as I must place so much trust in this magnificent, powerful animal. McLaren explains that the animal’s tender belly is also a vulnerable spot.

“To demonstrate the setting of boundaries, we follow the example of Monty Roberts, with his join up exercise,” McLaren says. Roberts registered his term for hooking on — the phrase “to join up" — in which a trainer negotiates with an untamed horse to form a voluntary relationship with him.

McLaren says that she will demonstrate using Stallone. In the join-up exercise, the horse is asked to move away from the handler until the horse shows the necessary signs of respecting the boundaries that the handler sets. Through body language, the trainer asks: "Will you pay me the respect due to a herd leader and join and follow me?" The trainer then gives the horse the option to flee or join up. The horse will respond with predictable herd behaviour: by locking an ear on the trainer, then by licking and chewing and dropping his head in a display of trust. Only then is the horse allowed to come towards the handler.

I watch McLaren as she steps into the pen with Stallone. By making movements and noise she begins driving the horse so that it runs away. Stallone starts galloping around the pen. McLaren keeps her shoulder in line with the horse’s body. Amazingly, he locks his ear on her. His head drops. McLaren turns her back on Stallone. He comes toward her and she accepts him by petting and soothing him with a gentle tone.

During the individual tasks —this is one of them — members of the team get the opportunity to observe their team-mates to get an insight into their strong and weak points.

A comprehensive feedback session takes place afterwards during which each member of the team communicates his or her experiences. This allows the facilitators to highlight any problem areas and to search for possible solutions.

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