By taking time to understand your organization and the issues and challenges you face, we deliver sustainable strategies that work specifically for you and your community. We partner with equine clients who challenge themselves to be exceptional, seek new opportunities and are looking to achieve extraordinary results. We work together as one team to create high levels of value and set new standards of excellence in the equine industry. We bring a fresh perspective to every relationship.
"Never punish a mistake and reward the slightest try is not only reading what the animal is telling , it's about being a good human. When you have patience and respect the animal, livestock respond to that". Garret Leonard
When handling livestock, I have 3 objectives:
1. Provide leadership.
2. Build a relationship.
3. Create a partnership.
Leadership: You must be the leader. If you don’t lead, they will lead themselves. Think of a few leadership qualities that are important: leaders listen, communicate, provide direction, motivate, serve, and meet the needs of the team. Without leadership no one is in charge.
What can I do to get livestock to feel safe and trust me? Do I act like a predator or do I take action to earn and build trust. My actions, verbal and non-verbal, determine if the animal will trust me. Remember, animals won’t follow someone they don’t trust.
Being a leader means that you influence by providing purpose, direction, and motivation. Leaders must pay attention and listen. It can be difficult since animals can’t audibly talk, but their body is speaking loud and clear. Understanding livestock body language is key to successfully building leadership. A lot of the time it takes respect, patience, kindness, and encouragement.
Relationship: Leadership is relationship. Understating an animal’s flight zone is critical. Where you stand, how you stand and your movements influence behavior and increase or decrease trust. If you are aggressive, assertive, or fearful yourself, you can’t build relationships. You must communicate using body position and body language.
Partnership: When we have equipped the animal for success, now we can work together in partnership. Effective leadership is not based on being clever; it is based primarily on being consistent. If we don’t have a partnership with the livestock, we are handling, we will be unsuccessful. You can’t make livestock do something they don’t want to do, we have to build trust, so they want to do what we ask.
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July 11-12, 2023
Des Moines, IA
Free Training- A donation to Animal Rescue League of Iowa is appreciated.