What does a horse see when it looks you in the eye?

According to horse lovers who use them in leadership development they reflect back what they sense. Horses read our body language and communicate amongst themselves through their own body language.  If they sense fear or anger, they will run away: this instinct has enabled them to survive over the centuries.

Horses naturally pick up our suppressed feelings and mirror back our emotions, such as fear, love, kindness, curiosity. They used to call it horse sense.

Horses have no hidden agenda and are incapable of deceit. They are totally there for you in the moment. They are an honest mirror into the person behind the face and they will give you more valuable 360 degree feedback than probably anything you have every experienced before.

Carole Sweeney and Management Futures are offering a new service to enable leaders to understand themselves in a new way and see themselves as others see them.  Call Carole on 020 7242 4030

Research has shown that adults learn most effectively when the learning has an experiential component, in other words we learn by doing. Carole
creates a unique learning environment with her horses, which helps clients develop a deeper understanding of the impact they are having on those around them.


A day with Carole’s horses will give you

  • Enhanced understanding of communicating as a leader
  • Greater awareness of your own body language and level of assertiveness
  • An insight into coping strategies to deal with new challenges
  • A new perspective on teamwork

Some of the themes which emerge through the “horse mirror” include:

  • Clear communication
  • Body language
  • Thinking on your feet
  • Congruence (i.e. do the following three things align: what you are thinking, what you are feeling and what your body language is conveying)
  • Active listening
  • Observation and reacting to feedback
  • Trust
  • Leading from the front/from the back
  • Partnership
  • Assertiveness
  • Authority

The workshops are structured around exercises with the horses at liberty in an indoor school. No riding is involved. Sturdy, comfortable footwear is recommended.

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