When’s the New Book Coming Out?

We’ve been receiving a number of requests for information on Linda’s new book The Power of the Herd: Building Social Intelligence, Visionary Leadership, and Authentic Community through the Way of the Horse. After four years of diligent research and writing, Linda Kohanov reports that she has extended the release date to winter 2013:

“I’m within a couple of weeks of finishing the manuscript,” Linda reports, “which means it will be December or January at the earliest before the publisher gets it out to bookstores. But my editor and I agreed that taking a few extra months to create a larger book will be useful on many levels. This is not a book about corporate leadership, though I discuss tools and concepts that have already proven useful in that context for sure. Influenced by what horses have to teach about power in relationship, I’ve taken a “wide view” of leadership and power, why everyone needs to develop enlightened leadership skills, learning to exercise and increase their power in non-predatory ways for the good of the entire ‘herd.’”

“Writing this book has been an incredible transformational experience,” she continues. “I’ve been testing the new skills and tools inspired by this research during workshops, private sessions, and in working with my own staff, and this updated approach has added much clarity and enjoyment to all of our personal and professional relationships. The writing has taken so long because the scope of the book has expanded significantly since I signed onto this project in 2008. It includes a multi-disciplinary look at the history of power, uncovering some long-ignored insights on the horse’s role in training exceptional leaders, and how we can isolate and exercise these skills efficiently through equine-facilitated learning activities. I also explored forms of power and collaboration that traditional pastoral cultures use. These cultures manage large groups of animals without fences, creating mutually supportive interspecies societies. I’ve looked for ways to translate these skills to modern life, and they have in fact changed my life and work significantly.”

The book will in fact be a bit longer than The Tao of Equus, offering practical skills as well as an in-depth look at the unspoken cultural forces that have shaped our currently out-of-balance approach to leadership in community.

“Part of the reason the book took so long to write has to do with four unexpected chapters covering some rather touchy subjects that are nonetheless essential to understand if we are to collaborate more effectively. Looking at the visionary aspects of leadership and social change meant exploring the history of religion from the perspective of power and vision. What I found was incredibly inspiring, and I can’t wait to share it with you all.

“And finally, I expanded a third section of chapters on practical skills to encompass the Twelve Power of the Herd Guiding Principles. This idea came from online discussions through the Power of the Herd web symposium I’ve been privileged to run with Mark Mottershead (best known for the HorseConscious website based on Stormy May’s film The Path of the Horse). Through ideas and encouragement from the POH web symposium participants, I honed in on twelve major guiding principles that help people develop a considerate, creative yet immensely empowered ability to lead change in the world, and/or simply get along better with others at home and at work.”

Linda’s fall Pioneering Spirit workshops will center on these twelve guiding principles, exercising them through horse activities, and offering strategies for translating them to human situations. You can also access the chapters and guiding principles in detail in the Power of the Herd web symposium, which features the written material boosted by in-depth audio conversations between Mark and Linda, and email questions and comments from symposium participants.

“I created this symposium last fall,” Linda says, “because I wanted to share the information I was accessing in this book before publication, and my editor was kind enough to let me do this in a closed symposium format. I also wanted to create an online study system for people worldwide who may not be able to travel to Arizona directly to experience this new work, as there really is much horse wisdom I can translate into words and skills that can be learned remotely. Starting with Chapter One, we’ve been posting a chapter and a guiding principle each month, with audio discussions addressing questions from symposium participants. So far, the first six chapters and accompanying lessons are posted, with a new set each month, offering an interactive pre-publication version of the book that allows you to put these concepts to use immediately. After publication, we will take the best material from this initial more interactive version of the symposium to allow readers access to the conversations.”

Over a hundred people worldwide have already joined the POH symposium, and their questions and comments have influenced the book itself. To join the POH symposium, www.poweroftheherd.com.

“I’m so excited about this material as a prequel and a follow up to Epona horse-facilitated workshops that I wanted to make a special offer for my fall workshops,” Linda notes. “Anyone who registers for a fall workshop (listed below) by June 25 will receive $150 off. While this will certainly help with travel expenses, I’m encouraging you to use this discount to join the POH web symposium if you like, or put it toward some introductory or follow up work with an Epona instructor in your area. A number of Epona instructors are doing some additional training with me to add the POH principles and skills to their own practices worldwide. Others who specialize in equine-facilitated therapy/trauma recovery are available to address the personal issues that may be standing in the way of a person excelling at work or stepping into a leadership role.” (Instructors who attend the POH training will have this designation listed beside their names on the Epona website. All Epona instructors have the basic tools in force to lead to greater personal awareness, whether or not they specialize in leadership training.)

And finally, as a learning bonus/preview of the book, Linda has posted the complete Guiding Principle Four chapter on the Epona website, which discusses the nuances of mastering boundaries and assertiveness, skills we all need now more than ever—at work, at home, and most certainly with our horses!

Upcoming Workshop Schedule

Epona’s spring and summer schedule is wrapping up here in Arizona as we prepare to move into the heat of the summer and the unpredictable monsoon season. That means it’s time to release the upcoming workshop schedule. You can now find the fall workshop schedule on the Epona website at www.eponaquest.com. If you need additional information, or want to register, please follow the instructions included in the individual workshop descriptions.

Linda Kohanov will be offering the following fall/early winter workshops:

• September 27 – 30, 2012 Black Horse Wisdom
• October 11 – 14, 2012 Pioneering Spirit: Leadership for the 21st Century
• October 18 – 21, 2012 Rasa Dance: The Energy of Connection
• November 15 – 18, 2012 Pioneering Spirit: Leadership for the 21st Century
• January 11 – 14, 2013 Black Horse Wisdom
• January 18 – 21, 2013 Pioneering Spirit: Leadership for the 21st Century

All individuals who register for a workshop with Linda by June 25th will receive a $150 discount.

For more information or to register, please contact the Epona office at info@eponaquest.com or 520-455-5908.

Epona Presents Lisa Jones – Author of BROKEN: A Love Story

September 8-11, 2012

Author Lisa Jones, Epona Approved Instructor Kathleen McGarry and the Epona Herd come together at Epona at Eagle Way in Amado, AZ to bring you Got Boots? Journal? Got Ink? – A Writing and Horsemanship Workshop. The workshop combines the basic principles and skills of the Epona Approach™ with writing exercises to encourage participants to open to their deepest truths. The workshop also includes a special two hour lecture by Linda Kohanov on writing and getting published. This workshop fulfills the requirements of an Epona introductory workshop for those wishing to do advanced programs at Epona. To register contact Sue Smades at info@eponaquest.com or 520-455-5908.

Epona Announces the New Leadership Focused Apprenticeship Program

As a result of requests for expanding training in the area of leadership, Epona is announcing the newly created Leadership Focused Apprenticeship program. The Epona Equine Facilitated Learning Apprenticeship Program – Leadership Focused is an advanced interdisciplinary training for riding instructors, educators, and other professionals who want to master the art of employing horses in the work of leadership development using the Epona Approach™. Participants will learn how to teach the basic Epona skills and the Power of the Herd Guiding Principles through a variety of horse activities, as well as how to help people translate these skills to work, home, school, church, parenting, corporate, and community activism contexts. Applications are now being accepted for the 2012-2013 class. For more information contact Carol Roush at carol@medicinehorseranch.com.