{"id":2416,"date":"2026-03-15T19:20:33","date_gmt":"2026-03-15T19:20:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wisehooves.co.uk\/?p=2416"},"modified":"2026-03-15T19:20:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T19:20:35","slug":"i-want-you-to-leave-coaching-sessions-a-little-bit-angry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wisehooves.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/03\/15\/i-want-you-to-leave-coaching-sessions-a-little-bit-angry\/","title":{"rendered":"I want you to leave coaching sessions a little bit angry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Wait, that can\u2019t be right! Why would I want clients to attend a nature-led coaching or equine-facilitated learning (EFL) session and go away angry? The whole point of our activities is to help clients relax, de-stress, build resilience, assertiveness and self-confidence. How does anger fit into this? Well, maybe anger isn\u2019t the right word. I\u2019ll explain, and you can decide.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nature relaxes us<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s tons of evidence that being in nature and interacting with animals like horses helps us physically and mentally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our nature-led coaching sessions give clients an hour or two to immerse themselves in the woodland, grassland and riverbank environments. It helps them escape the noise and speed of daily life, which can bring a different perspective to problems or challenges. In EFL activities, interactions with the horses can be calming and revealing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clients usually go home feeling more relaxed, maybe more focused on the positives in life or more empowered to cope with the negatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nature is at risk<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, we can\u2019t escape the fact that we are doing these relaxing activities in an environment that is fundamentally under threat. We are doing our best to look after WiseWoods, our small slice of the environment. But multiple external factors constantly undermine our efforts. From the impact of global warming (drier summers, wetter winters) on the health and longevity of the trees, to the pollution being pumped into our stretch of river, to the plastic floating downstream \u2013 the results are visible to our clients and us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Plastic pollution on the river bank<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Listening to nature<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We could ignore what we see around us and stay completely focused on the coaching task. But then we might as well just sit in a room for our session. At WiseWoods we strive for our activities to be nature-led. That means we\u2019re not just locating the activity IN nature<\/a>, we are asking nature to guide our observations, reflections and discussions. When we do that, we can\u2019t ignore the messages nature is showing us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a walk-and-talk session, if nature reveals a young tree that died because the summer was too dry, or a riverbank tree wrapped in plastic bags, what should we do with that? As the facilitator my job is not to say, \u201coh no, look, a dead tree killed by climate change, how sad is that\u201d! But if the client notices it and wants to discuss it, we will. We might discuss the tree or its surroundings as a metaphor for something in their life and\/or we might discuss that reality of the tree and what happened to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, my role is not to lecture clients on the environment. Instead, I make space for environmental issues to be raised if the client wants to, whether it\u2019s a question about something they don\u2019t understand or a reflection on the climate crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improving environmental awareness<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

What if a client doesn\u2019t notice anything about the environment? Not everyone starts their sessions with a strong awareness of their surroundings. However, our reflective and mindfulness activities gently encourage clients to practice noticing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have various prompts pinned on trees around the woods and clients can choose whether or when to read and respond to them. Examples include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n