Words & Photos from Lauren Withers
We started off the day with a musical car ride up to Cowichan. As we arrived, the snow started to fall. The horses were standing in a field covered by snow, and we were all excited for the day to come. We first went on a beautiful nature walk through the trees and plain on the property. This walk was meant for us to learn to be calm and quiet just like we had to be with the horses. After this, we gathered near the horse pen, and went over some rules for being around horses. Our group then got divided into groups of three and were told to approach the various horses in the pen. After each group got to interact with every horse, the groups started to focus mainly on the specific personal connections to the horse, and in what ways as Michelle would have put it, initiating “play” with the horses. We took time to bond with the horses while also learning how to make them respond to our commands without the typical forceful ways. It was interesting to learn how to communicate through our body language with the horses. This was our first introduction to leadership with the animals and it was fascinating to see how the horses responded to our actions. We also spent time brushing the horses and grooming them. This was a very new and interesting expedition day and we can wait for the next time we get to connect in our cohort.