CHAOS
We, my co-facilitator Stacie, and I begin each EAL experience with a “meet and greet” of people and horses. The horses start the day by settling into my indoor arena, where we let them loose to sniff, roll, and get comfortable. While the horses do their thing, the humans were invited to a continental breakfast and given the opportunity to observe the four-legged facilitators they’ll be partnering with throughout the program. This turn-out routine is usually pretty uneventful as we do it every time we bring horses and humans together. For the humans, on the other hand, this is typically a new experience and their first introduction to a horse herd at liberty interacting with each other and their space.
While drinking coffee and munching on apple strudel, this group of fourteen adult educators curiously looked through the large conference room windows into the indoor arena where Stacie and I are releasing our herd. Kaleidoscope was contracted by the Gerstacker Fellowship program to deliver a day and half equine-assisted learning experience (EAL). “Gerstackers” are Michigan educators who apply to be part of a select group of premier teachers and administrators for a leadership development program.
Just outside the conference room in the arena we’ve created a space that separates the horses from the full arena (66 x 144 arena) by using a portion of my roundpen. This configuration allows participants the option of participating without requiring physical contact with the horses. Picture a “U” of brown aluminum 6’ panels chained together with horses on one side of the panels, separating where humans can stand safely on the other side and a gate to allow access into the horses’ space.
We first released Tigger, our beautiful flea-flicked, 18-hand draft mare. Next, Diva or “D”, a stunning black former show quarter horse. The two girls trot around appreciating the freshly dragged arena footing. Athletic D added a few bucks for good measure. Next, we brought out our miniature hinney (donkey mom and horse dad) named C-Red, who joins Diva in the dirt-kicking excitement. Then, we dropped into the mix the two newest members of the herd, Poncho and Cisco. These two miniature horses have shared large open pastures with our other horses, though they have not yet experienced the indoor arena together. The newbies decide it’s best to be at one end of the arena, while the other three (Tigger, D, and C-Red) clump at the opposite end.
Last in are our other two miniature horses, Mickey and Minnie. Mick & Minn are part of the original herd with Tiggs, D, and C-Red. The original herd has been together in this space countless times helping humans. With the addition of Mickey and Minnie, a new sorting started taking place and quickly turned ugly. The horses’ excitement turns to something darker as the herd began biting, intentionally kicking at each other, their frenzied running stirred up a lot of dust and dirt. The energy was intense!
I quickly looked at Stacie with surprise and concern. She was calmly evaluating the situation. Then, she and I both turned to the conference room windows, finding our educators wide-eyed, with mouths gaping. This was their first introduction to equine-assisted learning and clearly not what they (or we) were expecting! We could feel their fear; they must be asking themselves, “what, in holy hell, did I get myself into today?”
Stace and I watched the horses intently for several minutes assessing the best change to make. My first thought was to remove the last ones in, Mickey and Minnie. Things didn’t get crazy until we added them. Additionally, they were the ones being the most aggressive, especially towards C-Red. Stacie, with her decades of equine experience, recognized this would be the wrong choice. The right decision was to remove Poncho and Cisco because the other five have an established community. The chaos we were witnessing was a result of the smaller arena space (as opposed to the pasture) combined with two new additions to the herd.
You see, horses create a hierarchy, with a lead and then a ranking that follows. When new herd members are introduced – in this case to the arena – there was a new sorting of their social order. It would not be safe to invite humans into this space, unless the herd figured themselves out and quieted down, which it appeared they are not going to do quickly.
After calmly consulting with each other on what to do, Stacie and I agreed on removing Poncho and Cisco. We carefully went into the area behind the roundpen panels to catch and halter our newest herd members. As we led them out of the arena, the rest of the herd instantly settled down. One could sense a collective sigh of relief from the conference room; because the five remaining horses were now just standing, heads lowered, patiently waiting to meet their human companions.
Once we put Poncho and Cisco out in the pasture, we turned our attention to the Gerstackers. We invited our educators to join us outside the roundpen in the arena, to bring them closer to the horses physically. I started by asking if what they just witnessed with the horses reminded them of anything similar in their classrooms or buildings?
Stacie followed up with, “I’ve had the experience of creating an alternative education program and this scenario reminds me of when a new kid joins the class.”
Heads started nodding in the affirmative. One of the participants asked “why didn’t’ you remove the last two horses? Things seemed pretty calm until you added them.”
Stacie explained she had witnessed this sorting of herds many times. She knew from experience that the established herd would calmly settle once the newbies were removed from the mix.
Our choice to remove ANY horses was still a choice. We made the decision to remove Poncho and Cisco based on clear program goals. It would not have been “wrong” to let the herd sort themselves out in real-time. There’s a possibility the lessons from witnessing those interactions could have been profound. We decided that the goals for the day would be better served by partnering with the established herd.
A tall well-groomed man confidently added, “So because you understood horse herds, you were able to see the simplest solution to what appeared to the non-educated as a very chaotic and dangerous situation.”
“Yup.” I replied. Just as someone who is familiar with the context of an exchange has deeper insight into the root cause of the problem. A person is more likely to pull the right switch to solve the problem if they have past experience coupled with clear goals. A third element to consider is my trust of Stace as the equine specialist, without that, I could have made the wrong choice leading to a very different outcome.”
So, in the first 20 minutes of a day and half program, our participants were offered the opportunity to become self-aware by reflecting on what they would have done had the chaotic situation been in their classroom or building. They increased their connection with each other through this shared experience, moving from fear to relief. Their trust and confidence in the facilitators increased significantly. Lastly, we provided them with an experientially engaging learning experience, which thankfully, continued throughout our time together!
Walking into the conference room to grab my last cup of coffee and Stacie her diet Mountain Dew, we turned to each other with knowing smiles. In unison we whispered to each other, “you can’t make this shit up!”
Recall a time where you were in a chaotic situation. How did you respond? How did others respond?
What is the lesson you from that situation that you can apply to your life today? Where are you putting that lesson into practice?
Can you envision a future where you’ve applied this lesson to the point that it has shifted your paradigm and become your “new normal”?
What will you do, think, feel, or believe in order to create less chaos in your life?