Equine Specialist
June 08, 2010
Who's Training You?
A Commentary on the Dizzying Array of Train the Trainers
It seems I can't go a week without hearing about another new Train the Trainer program. Whether it's an apprenticeship, mentorship, or certification, there's a training to suit your needs (or one coming shortly!). In the midst of what seems to be an overwhelming number of such programs cropping up, I've begun to wonder: How much actual field experience does the person offering the training have?
By field experience I mean direct client contact, time spent in the barn with horses & “real” clients. My experience has been that it is much easier to just train other people to do what we do, rather than actually serving clients.
I'm a perennial student. I love to hear about different theoretical approaches & variations to how we can follow our passion, which is why we host events likethe Horses & At-Risk Youth Symposium at the farm. But I've let go of attending all the trainings out there, preferring instead to focus on serving clients in our little section of Western North Carolina, doing all the daily work of helping individuals, families & groups, session after session, one day after another.
I also found that while the theory at these many Train-the-Trainers was interesting, there was very little in the way of practical application that had been “tried & true” in what I was observing. I love theory, but I also really love practice as well, the practice of helping real clients.
So, as you consider the latest “flavor” of training, I encourage you to ask the question: How much actual field experience does your trainer actually have?
February 12, 2008
Me and My Horse!
Hey guys!
Well, day one of my Fluidity 1 course at the Parelli Center in Ocala Florida is behind me, and I'm just as excited as I can be!
I arrived here on Sunday morning and, for those of you on the "Where's Shannon?" hunt, that was more than 24 hours after landing from the Prescott workshop in Arizona! All my travels in the past few months have been leading up to this big getaway in February, just me and my horse for two solid weeks!
I've met folks from previous visits who came to know EAP/EAL through interaction with me, and have put a face to a name from a woman in Australia who had emailed me a while back for information on getting an EAP/EAL biz started!
I've also had time to play with Dreamer, my 12-year old
Palomino, who loves water and the great big pond here, as evidenced by the mud
on him in the photo. We've been playing a lot of "Me and My Shadow,"
and the difference in his "Horsenality" from 2006 (when I took my
first course with the new Parelli format) to now is striking! He's grown a lot
more confident and curious in the past two years, and I'm delighted to see him
grow and flourish.
Being able to mark progression in me, in my horse and in my
business during my Parelli visits is one of the things I
cherish most about this time away from the farm and the business. Dreamer has
come a long way, but so has Horse Sense and the field of EAP as a whole. I
can't imagine where we'll all be this time next year, when I plan to be doing
exactly what I'm doing tonight: sitting in my horse trailer, typing another
blog to all of you! There's so much I've planned for this year to help support
other EAP/EAL businesses, and for Horse Sense's growth and development. It's
mind-boggling sometimes to think about the growth of Horse Sense in a few short
years.
But it all begins here, whether you are at a
2-week Parelli course, or at a one-day horse expo, or in your backyard offering
EAP to at-risk youth. Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, we're all
building stronger relationships between people and horses. In the process, we
get to work incredibly hard and long hours, we get stretched out of our comfort
zones (just like we ask of our clients), and we get to witness
the amazing growth that horses foster in our and our clients' lives.
I can't imagine being anywhere else.
All the best,
Shannon
