The other day, we had one of those moments that reminded us exactly why we do what we do — and why Equine Assisted Learning really isn’t about the obstacles in the arena.

We were expecting a new group of guys from the Calgary Dream Centre to arrive, so our plan for the day was Orientation. We were ready to introduce them to the horses, talk about safety, herd behaviour, communication and start building that foundation.

Except… when the bus pulled up, out came the same guys we had worked with last time.

Well then. 😂

We had nothing set up in the arena for them because we genuinely thought we were starting from the beginning with a brand-new group.

And that’s when we decided — maybe we didn’t need anything set up at all.

The Objective: Just Be

We have always said that Equine Assisted Learning isn’t about the obstacles.

The obstacles are simply tools.

What really matters is the objective.

If you know what your objective is, there are a million different ways you can facilitate learning with horses. You don’t need a perfectly designed obstacle. You don’t need a complicated setup. Sometimes, you really don’t need anything at all.

So that day, our objective became incredibly simple:

Just Be.

Slow down.

Be with the horses.

Be with yourself.

Be aware of what is happening around you.

And most importantly, be in the present moment.

There was no big task to accomplish. No obstacle to conquer. No pressure to get something "right."

We simply created the space for the guys to spend time with the horses and see what happened.

And what happened was pretty amazing.

When We Slow Down, We Notice More

Life is busy. Our minds are busy. We are constantly thinking about what happened yesterday, what we have to do tomorrow, what we should be doing right now or what we wish we had done differently.

Sometimes we forget how to simply be where our feet are.

Horses are incredibly good at bringing us back there.

They don't care about what happened yesterday. They aren't worried about the meeting you have tomorrow or the list of things waiting for you when you get home.

They are right here.

And when we spend time with them without an agenda, we get the opportunity to practise doing the same.

What really hit us was reading the guys' journals afterward.

They talked about being mindful.

About slowing down.

About being more in touch with themselves.

About recognizing that they can slow their minds down and simply be.

They talked about being present and noticing what was happening in that moment rather than worrying about everything outside of it.

Those are some pretty big lessons from a program where we technically had "nothing" set up.

The Horses Were Enough

This day was such a great reminder for us as facilitators, too.

We can sometimes get caught up in thinking we need the perfect exercise, the perfect obstacle or the perfect plan to create meaningful learning.

But the magic isn't in the obstacle.

It's in knowing your objective, understanding your horses, watching what is happening and knowing how to facilitate the learning that's already unfolding in front of you.

That day, we didn't need poles, pylons or an elaborate arena setup.

We needed an objective.

We needed the horses.

And we needed to give the guys permission to slow down long enough to see what came up.

What started as a little bit of a "Well... now what do we do?" moment turned into one of those programs that sticks with you.

Maybe there was a lesson in that for all of us.

Sometimes we are so busy trying to figure out what we are supposed to do next that we forget there is value in simply allowing ourselves to be.

And sometimes, that's exactly where the learning begins.