Equine-Assisted Experiential Learning on Leadership Development

Abstract

In today’s fast-paced business world, where there is a need to develop divergent thinking and a wider range of skills, organizations seek original ways to be successful. Accordingly, leadership development has seen several uncommon approaches. Equine-assisted learning programs which involve innovative, underutilized, and motivating techniques and strategies, provide a dynamic process of building and developing leadership skills through horse-human interactions. In this paper, after the history of horse-human relationships and interactions are examined, a literature review is conducted on developing research and using equine-assisted leadership development programs. Although the extant research shows that equine-assisted leadership development programs promote skills critical to being an influential leader, the present paper provides an insight into equine-assisted experiential learning on leadership development, provides an overview on what happens in a typical equine-assisted experiential learning session, and suggests practical implications for researchers and organizations.