If you've been to any of my presentations or read the Horse Sense, Business Sense book, you've heard me talk about one of Horse Sense's guiding principles: "If it's ever about us, we're doing it wrong ." I'd like to spend just a minute talking about why I say that, and what it means to me.

When people get involved in this field, it is my hope that they become aware of how much they can impact a session. They can impact it by how much or how little they share about horses, about their roles, about safety, about any number of things. The EAGALA Part 1 goes a long way to helping people The 'S of the SPUD'S also helps highlight recognize & avoid leading questions.when facilitators' own biases and agendas show up, and the EAGALA training addresses how to deal with that.

But there is still one more area that relates to "If it's ever about us, we're doing it wrong" that I've noticed in facilitators that concerns me, and it's not just confined to one organization or methodology (like EFMHA, EAGALA, Epona and others). It's what I call the "Look at me" facilitation, when the facilitator becomes impressed with their insight, their questions, and their ability to "show" the client what he/she needs to do or know. Instead of "Look at the horse," it's "Look at me," a clear sign that the session is off-track in some way.

I love the Alcoholics Anonymous statement, "Principles Before Personalities", which reminds us that it's not us that makes this intervention work, it's the horses. While we all strive to be the best we can be in our field, it's an important point to remember!

All the best,

Shannon