Horses are prey animals: Emotions are created and regulated by the limbic system both in humans and horses; the horses’ limbic system is highly effective, and their flight instinct is very much operating; even though horses have been domesticated for centuries, their prey animal nature is still highly efficient and active making them “super emotions scanners”. A horse can hear a heart beat 3-miles away and will pick up any subtle changes in the human limbic system.

Horses give immediate feedback: Participants experience an immediate positive reinforcement to their emotional change because the horse’s behaviour will change as fast as the participant emotional state or behaviour changes. This also applies to energy within a group of participants, making EAL very efficient in team building exercises.

Horses are genuine!: Their feedback is consistent and reliable. A horse’s behaviour is ALWAYS the results of a specific stimuli.

Horses are large and powerful animals: Accomplishing a task with a horse despite its intimidating size; building trust with this majestic animal and being able to communicate with it without judgement is rewarding; it is a confidence builder for participants who, overcoming their fears and insecurities, will carry over the experience over to dealing with other challenges and intimidating situations.

Horse’s non-verbal communication system and perception are very acute, reliable, systematic and consistent; providing facilitators with opportunities for teachable moments that would not have been recognized otherwise. 

Horses socially function in a very structured and respected hierarchy that is never challenged without immediate and clear correction making a clear parallel with the workplace environment. Through the exercises, the horse is always a member of the team that other team members must communicate with; a lack of communication, team work or authenticity will be picked up by a horse before any humans can identify it, allowing facilitators an insightful view of the dynamics within a group or within an individual.

Horses will question contradictory behaviour:Horses will question and challenge the participants’ ability to lead. Each participant eventually learns that to be successful in the exercises, horses demand the development of honest relationships based on respect and trust which empowers individuals to carry the lessons into all aspects of life.

Horses create a positive emotional state: Recent studies conducted by the Institute of HeartMath provide a clue to explain the bidirectional "healing" that happens when we are near horses. According to researchers, the heart has a larger electromagnetic field and higher level of intelligence than the brain: A magnetometer can measure the heart's energy field radiating up to 8 to 10 feet around the human body. While this is certainly significant it is perhaps more impressive that the electromagnetic field projected by the horse's heart is five times larger than the human one (imagine a sphere-shaped field that completely surrounds you). The horse's electromagnetic field is also stronger than ours and can actually directly influence our own heart rhythm! Horses are also likely to have what science has identified as a "coherent" heart rhythm (heart rate pattern) which explains why we may "feel better" when we are around them. . . .studies have found that a coherent heart pattern or HRV is a robust measure of well-being and consistent with emotional states of calm and joy--that is, we exhibit such patterns when we feel positive emotions.