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Suz, a critical businesswoman who introduced herself in a somewhat condescending manner, came to Horse Act for a Horsepower Workshop. Suz was confident and loved to stay in control. Whatever she did, she always took the lead—and she believed she excelled at it. She arrived late and missed the morning theory session. She immediately joined the group at the round pen, where Ucardo, my young, large, black gelding, was waiting. Despite his impressive appearance, Ucardo has a very gentle nature and is rather timid. He’s a giant with a soft heart.

In our daily lives, we are often confronted with challenges, obstacles, or even trauma that sometimes push us into a state of "survival." We react to triggers without truly considering the impact of our responses. This survival mode helps us get through difficult moments, but it can leave us with feelings of shame, regret, or dissatisfaction with who we were in those moments. It’s important to realize that we don’t have to hold onto these feelings. It’s okay to forgive yourself for who you were when you were simply trying to survive.

Resilience - How the Storm Makes You Stronger 🌪️💪

We all experience moments in life where everything seems to be going against us. Obstacles, challenges, and even pain can feel like a storm that throws us off balance. But what if these storms are not just here to turn our lives upside down? What if they are meant to open new doors, to show us what truly matters, and to set us on a new path?

✨🐴✨ “When people come to Horse Act for a workshop or coaching session, I quickly sense how the activities will unfold. I observe the participants and feel which energy is dominant. I notice it in their overall posture, gaze, choice of words, aura, manner of movement, how they enter and sit down, and so forth. Our non-verbal communication never lies, and inauthentic individuals are easily revealed. As a coach, I'm trained to detect these nuances, but I'm still amazed by how the energies of humans and horses interact, either amplifying, clashing, or neutralizing during the session.

🥺 Understanding and Overcoming ‘Learned Helplessness’ 🧐

Learned helplessness is a psychological phenomenon where an individual—whether human or animal—after repeated exposure to uncontrollable and stressful situations, learns that escape or change is impossible. This leads to a passive attitude where one stops trying, even when opportunities exist to escape or improve the situation.

✨ 🌳 The magical power of Rommersum  🌳✨

Hof van 't Rommersum, our silence farm, is located in the picturesque hamlet of Helen, part of Helen-Bos and a sub-municipality of Zoutleeuw. Here, amidst the soothing nature, lies a magical place where people and horses can be themselves in all serenity, rest, learn, and stay overnight. The land was historically called Rommersum, hence our name.

✨ In our pursuit of personal growth and leadership, we can learn a lot from the nature around us. One of the most impressive teachers are horses. They show us in subtle and powerful ways how assertiveness contributes to personal leadership.

People can learn a lot from horses, but at the forefront is undoubtedly 'Compassion'.

Our work with horses is all about cultivating a balanced and respectful relationship, based on deep communication and mutual understanding. Some essential aspects are central. They are the building blocks of a harmonious bond between human-horse, but also human-human:

Everyone is looking for Purpose

In a world where material wealth and social status were once highly valued, we are slowly seeing a shift occur. Both companies as individuals today strive for something beyond:  a higher purpose, a deeper meaning, a purpose. We are in a time of collective collaboration. Our society is making an energy leap. Amazing, right?

In our modern society, many people face stress on a daily basis, whether it is work-related pressures, social obligations, or personal challenges. Long-term stress can negatively impact our physical and mental health, making it essential to find effective ways to manage it better.

Zowel in onze mensen- als in de paardenwereld is connectie een essentieel en diepgaand aspect van relaties. Maar wat betekent connectie precies? En waarom hebben wij zo’n behoefte aan connectie ? Laten we daarbij onderscheid maken tussen: relaties tussen mensen, relaties tussen paarden maar ook de relatie tussen mens en paard.

Al lang stel ik me de vraag waar mijn gedachten vandaan komen. Zijn die echt allemaal van mij? Is dit wie ik ben? Ik denk het niet. Ik ben niet mijn gedachten. Ze zijn grotendeels het resultaat van mijn verleden, mijn opvoeding en mijn ervaringen.

To support organizations and individuals in their learning process, Horse Act developed a unique learning method: HALT . HALT starts from the following 4 principles of effective learning:

During horse coaching, the leading rope plays an essential role as a symbolic tool. It provides insight into the relationship between the coachee and themselves, the person or theme that the horse represents during the session, or even the coachee's relationship with life. The leading rope gives us valuable insights during the learning process with horses.

We are focused on getting the best out of ourselves. We were taught this as a child, but in business we are also always looking for that optimal path. We want to achieve our goals, push our boundaries and be successful. But let's be honest. It often takes a lot of effort and we wonder how others do it. How can we tap into our maximum potential without losing ourselves or going to bed exhausted at night?

Horses are majestic creatures that can teach us a lot about leadership, which is now common knowledge. But how they do that certainly appeals to the imagination. They make us sense a form of leadership that we cannot immediately adopt without first  experiencing it . 

It's that time of year again. People come with new intentions, some more ambitious than others. But what makes next year different? To better understand Intention, we must first consider the concept of time.

Lander is the leader of Rommersum. He is the oldest horse that bears the beautiful surname ' Van 't Rommersum'  , but that is not the reason. He is also not the boss because he is big and strong, an adult horse in the prime of his life. He is the dominant stallion because of his character. He radiates authority and charisma. Lander is unperturbed, controlled, present and calm. No energy is wasted on pointless movement. He doesn't act busy, he IS. When Lander approaches, the other animals give way. In horse language, that is testimony of respect. And he deserves that too. 

Last weekend I spent 3 days on silent meditation training at the Buddhist center in Huy. Lama Zeupa explained the different meditation techniques and neurologist Dr. Steven Laureys provided scientific evidence that meditation has a very special impact on our brains and our human consciousness. But you don't have to be a monk to experience the positive effects of meditation. Everyone can do it. After the initial presentations there was silence and only meditation took place. From 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Although with breaks.

Man has often used the horse to satisfy his ego. In the past, only noble people rode on horses. That is why it became noble, or special, because everything that had to do with nobility was special. The horse is also the only animal around which an Olympic sport was ever developed. But horse lovers know better. Horses have something that is far above that human ego. They have a very developed ability that is clearly still in its infancy in humans. 

Beyond Ghor was a city whose inhabitants were all blind. One day a king came to this city with his court and army and set up camp there. This king owned horses, which he used to command the respect of the people. The people were eager to see the horses and some blind men ran ahead to discover what it was. And because they had no idea what the shape or appearance of a horse was, they gathered information by touching part of it. Each of them thought he had understood.

This week I had a very interesting session with a client. We talked about 'beliefs' and the extent to which our beliefs are the cause of our loss of connection with ourselves.

Anyone who handles horses or rides horses knows that horses are very special creatures. You can make contact with it in a special way. That is the basis of horse coaching. Horses can help us with personal development, mental complaints, family or work problems and certainly also with relationship problems. But horses can also help us grow as spiritual beings and promote our awakening process. 

Perhaps you have not yet heard about the concept of high sensitivity or you are not yet sure whether you are really an HSP ("highly Sensitive Person"). But you still notice that you are different or react differently to certain situations. 

Your energy balance, you are responsible for it yourself. But what does that actually mean, having your energy in balance? You experience that you have sufficient mental stamina and you can work with concentration. You radiate enthusiasm and resilience. You have sufficient resilience in the event of setbacks. You quickly get back on your feet when things don't go your way.

Balanced, loving and disciplined, we want to be. But it's not easy. Before you know it, you're eating another bag of chips or gossiping about a friend. Why do we do that, against our better judgement? According to the Hindu scripture Ratha Kalpana, we can compare ourselves to a chariot pulled by horses. The trick is to become a good charioteer.

Coaching combines the art of listening with asking strategic open questions. The objective is to unlock the knowledge and answers that are hidden deep within yourself. Awareness is the right word here.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate,” writes Marianne Williamson in her book Return to Love. 'Our deepest fear is that deep down we have a lot of power. It is our strong Light, not our Shadow, that frightens us most.