Most B2B feature presentations are built around being informative, but this week’s was largely about introspection. Member and incoming B2B president Crystal Birchmeier of Happy Hooves Wellness pulled up a chair and invited the group into a conversation meant to show us just how experiential learning works.
She started by showing a photo of horses in a field, and asked the group to simply observe them. No interpretation yet, just looking. Then she asked us to state facts about what we saw, no feeling included: scene participants and nearby components; their positions, facing-direction and stance. Then comes feeling. What might they feel?
She then added more. Her horses each occupy a distinct role in the herd — Sophia as the sentinel, Hippo as the companion, Tinkerbell as the leader — but those roles aren’t rigid. They shift with circumstance.
Now, with greater context from Crystal, does what you were thinking about the horses’ observed feelings make sense? Can you connect that feeling or possible mis-judgement to something in your life? It was a small exercise, possibly poorly-conveyed in written word here; but it demonstrated something for all of us: most will jump to conclude meaning, and we will even pre-determine limited outcomes for ourselves at times, because we often forget to observe and process fully, or understand that some hidden greater context might also exist.
Crystal noted that even though her horses know and trust her, she remains a predator, instinctually, to them. The herd still has to collectively trust and verify. That dynamic alone opens rich conversations about the roles we occupy in our own lives, and how we navigate groups, trust, and leadership.
Crystal closed with a few more light examples of this process playing out with her animals and her clients at Happy Hooves Wellness. The individual client stories were quiet and grounding:
Tinkerbell working patiently with a client navigating sensory processing challenges. The goats helping a girl with limited verbal communication move freely and joyfully through the farm. Iggy the cat serving as an accessible, intuitive entry point for clients still finding their footing. The common thread: the animals don’t perform. They respond. And in that response, clients often find something useful about themselves.
If you’re curious about what experiential learning at Happy Hooves looks like — for yourself, a family member, or someone you serve professionally — Crystal welcomes the conversation. Visit hhooves.com to learn more or schedule a discovery session.
And if Wednesday mornings at 7am with Border 2 Border Business Connections aren’t yet on your radar, come find out what you’ve been missing. We’d love to have you.
