Step into your power as an exceptional EAL facilitator

Two Brown Horses Behind the Fence — Reno, NV — E3A Equine Experiential

It starts with your connection with YOU.

Curious how you can go from being an “OK” facilitator to becoming an exceptional facilitator?

Take a few moments to read this and decide if you are ready to learn from the Horse Masters of Interdependence.

I train E3A members how to become equine-assisted learning (EAL) facilitators. In this work, I partner with an amazing team of master trainers and wise horse partners to provide a strengths-based, experiential equine-assisted learning certification program.

As a master trainer with many years experience, I am always most excited about new EAL facilitators who possess some of the following characteristics:

  • Good sense of humor
  • Willingness to take personal responsibility
  • Flexibility
  • Strengths-based attitude
  • Curiosity
  • Patience
  • Lifelong learner

My list would not be complete without a standout facilitator characteristic: a willingness to trust the horses to show up and create inspiring insights.

Now this might surprise you. All of these desirable facilitator characteristics are based in a willingness to develop a relationship with self.

One of our primary responsibilities as EAL facilitators is to show up to our arena gates having done our own work. Ruthless self-awareness, self-trust and healthy boundaries are necessary to do this work well and with integrity. And an exceptional facilitator cannot give to another being (human and horse) what she has not received from herself.

Our horses are counting on us to do our own work.

For the EAL facilitator, interdependence is a high-level relationship skill based on trust, mutually supportive connection, and a healthy balance of receiving and giving with self and other beings.

Interdependence is a blend of independence and dependence. An essential element in an interdependent mindset is TRUST. With enough thoughtful practice and experience, interdependence becomes a way of being with self and your horses.

The interdependence relationship skill is an essential tool in the exceptional EAL facilitator’s toolbox.

The intrinsic benefits of interdependence for the exceptional facilitator is summed up in six transformational words:

Know. Align. Trust. Self. Horse. Process.

If these powerful words resonate within you and an opportunity to learn from the Horse Masters of Interdependence inspires you – consider this your personal invitation to the E3A Inner World of the Facilitator Arena Experience.

A facilitator and group of participants stand with a brown horse.
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Above: Caspian is a former kids' rodeo horse. He is grounded, good-natured, and has an amazing sense of focus. Master trainer Jennifer Kaplan says, "He's just an all-around good guy, and he uses his strengths to benefit the Nevada herd." Want to supercharge your Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) programs? Here's a game-changer: weave CliftonStrengths into your workshop agenda and watch the magic unfold between your participants and their four-hoofed teachers. Here's what CliftonStengths brings to the arena: Custom-Tailored Self-Awareness: CliftonStrengths helps your participants discover what makes them tick—in! With personalized insights, they'll uncover how to create success in their daily lives, both at work and at home. (Think lightbulb moments galore!) Real-Time Horse Feedback (Yes, Really!) : Horses are incredible mirrors. When your participants show up aligned with their strengths, horses respond with clear, honest feedback—no sugar-coating, just truth with a tail swish. It's powerful, and often magical to watch. Confident, Calm Facilitators = Smooth Ride: Let's not forget you! CliftonStrengths gives E3A Coaching Facilitators a confidence boost, helping you feel more grounded and in sync with your co-facilitators, your equine partners, and your participants. Less stress, more flow. So if you're looking to add more spark, depth, and "aha!" moments to your EAL programs, CliftonStrengths is the secret sauce you've been missing. It's time to let strengths lead the way!
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