Day Retreats & Workshops
Equine Facilitated Learning
Join Us
We invite you to join us for a transformative, evidence-based approach to leadership development through equine-facilitated learning. All activities are done from the ground with no riding involved. Led by Suzanne Coleman and myself, our retreats combine the wisdom of horses with proven strategies for effective, socially intelligent leadership and heightened awareness.
Five key takeaways that you can expect to receive from each of our workshops
​
-
Heightened nonverbal communication skills: Discover how to communicate nonverbally and develop trust and rapport with others, using horses as your guide
-
Navigate complex interpersonal dynamics: Discover how to embody empathy and expand awareness
-
Tap into your emotional intelligence and intuition: Through experiences with horses, you can learn how to recognize, feel, understand, and manage your own emotions and those of others.
-
Deepen your confidence and authenticity as a leader: Gain skills with far-ranging applications linked to increased success in personal relationships, career, and parenting.
-
Clear obstacles in your path and expand awareness: Experience the transformative power of presence through interactive activities and guided exercises with our equine partners. You will learn how to direct a thousand-pound sentient using mental focus and clarity of intent.
​
Don't miss out on our unforgettable 2024 retreat season. We promise you'll leave feeling inspired, energized, and ready to take on any leadership or relational challenge. Join us and discover the power of equine-facilitated learning and somatic experiencing. See highlights from last season here.
We look forward to sharing this transformational leadership experience with you. Learn about my co-facilitator and certified FEEL Practitioner, Suzanne Coleman, and our marvellous equine partners here
Best regards,
Lisa Burchartz
​
​
2024
1
Empowered Boundaries
June 22nd 9-4pm
This workshop is crafted for the woman who nurtures everyone else’s dreams, often at the expense of her own. It’s a haven for the empathetic leaders, the passionate care providers, and the unsung heroines who stand at the forefront of change yet find themselves on the cusp of burnout.
2
Leading with Presence Sept 21st 9-4pm
Are you ready to tap into your innate leadership potential and become a more influential leader? Discover the power of equine-facilitated learning. Our unique approach combines the wisdom of horses with proven strategies for effective leadership, inspired by Linda Kohanov's ground-breaking book, "The Five Roles of a Master Herder".
Pricing
2024 pricing is $299 + HST per person. Register today and take the first step towards embodying presence, expanding your influence, and reigniting your passion for leading change.
Cancellation policy: A full refund is available up until seven days before the event. A 50% refund will be applied to cancellations within seven days. This is a rain-or-shine event.
Where?
Where? Horse & Hands Equine Therapy & Wellness Farm is located near Lynden, Ontario (1 hour from Toronto).
​
All materials and light refreshments are included, but please bring a packed lunch, protective footwear, weather gear, and a hat.
Who can attend?
Anyone who desires to balance the intelligence of their mind, heart, and body to develop greater levels of awareness, trust, and rapport and to lead with confidence and authenticity.
​
​All interactions with the horses are done from the ground; no riding or previous experience with horses is required. However, you must sign a waiver and attend a safety talk before interacting with our equine partners.
​
Why horses?
Numerous studies have shown that horses are incredibly efficient at drawing attention to the feelings, intentions, and perceptions behind our words. Through specially designed activities, you will deepen your awareness of personal challenges, core feelings, and areas of bodily tension that inhibit your ability to reach your true potential.
Get in touch to book a professional development day for your team.
Evidence for a "Herder" Leadership Model
Linda Kohanov's "The Five Roles of a Master Herder" presents a widely accepted and implemented leadership development model by organizations and leaders worldwide. The model emphasizes critical components of effective leadership, such as emotional intelligence, social intelligence, and embodied presence.
​
Dr. Wendy Goldband and Dr. Sandra Waddock used the "Five Roles of a Master Herder" as the basis for a leadership development program for MBA students, and their research found that the program significantly improved the students' emotional intelligence, leadership skills, and ability to work collaboratively and communicate effectively.
​
Kohanov and colleagues also conducted a study that found equine-facilitated learning, which incorporates the "Five Roles of a Master Herder" model, led to significant improvements in emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and leadership skills among participants.
​
Wisdom Beyond Words
​
It's now commonly recognized that only ten percent of human communication is verbal, yet we've been conditioned to ignore the nonverbal dimension of relationships. How often have you asked for space in a relationship, and someone becomes even more invasive? How often have you seen that the so-called boss isn't in charge of a situation, no matter how logical or intimidating they try to be?
Understanding what we're saying to each other is icing on the cake compared with everything else we're communicating through our tone, body language and energy. Imagine a supervisor asking us to complete a project with only 10 percent of the information available, or if our schools were only committed to teaching 10 percent of what we would need to succeed. And yet that's precisely what's happening as we overemphasize the spoken and written word in business, education and relationship.
​
​True empowerment, Kohanov emphasizes, involves engaging that "other 90 percent," that dimension of nonverbal intelligence so grossly underdeveloped in modern society. And horses are remarkably efficient at drawing attention to the feelings, intentions, and perceptions behind our words.
Through a series of specially designed activities, participants deepen awareness of personal challenges, core feelings and areas of bodily tension that inhibit their ability to reach their true potential.
For example, a tremendous boost in self-esteem and confidence comes from learning to establish boundaries and direct a thousand-pound equine through mental focus, presence, and clarity of intent. These skills, which can be challenging to teach in a conventional classroom, business coaching, or counselling session, have far-ranging applications linked to increased success in personal relationships, career and parenting.
