Horsing around is normally frowned upon on team building exercises, but it's actively encouraged by one enterprising businesswoman!

Ironbridge-based Christine Woodall, owner of Pets Behaving Badly, has devised a corporate training programme with a difference – the teams have to train ponies to play football and line dance!

Instead of the standard team building methods, which typically involve a day in freezing conditions and muddy fields, groups of three or four have to decide on the best way to train their equine subjects in several disciplines.

Christine said: “Many team building exercises involve shooting balls of paint at your workmates, watching a Powerpoint presentation in a stuffy seminar room, or having someone bark instructions at you.

“It can be fun, but many come out of the exercise wondering how it has helped the company, or where the return was on their investment.

“Training ponies may seem like more of the same, but in fact it actively encourages teams to assign roles and work together to get the job done.

“Ponies are very intelligent animals and there is only one way of training them – using a clicking device and healthy supply of carrots. If the team gets it wrong, then the pony will get confused and walk away.

“So it can be quite a challenge but teams come out of it knowing what their roles are, and can then apply this to any problem they face back in the office.”

Christine is a renowned pet behavioural specialist, having studied animal behaviour for over forty years, and has helped a variety of traumatised animals including dogs, cats, horses and even parrots!

She studied psychology with Birmingham University , and after 30 years as a dog trainer, she realised she could apply her techniques to any animal.

She said: “I have dealt with a number of different animals, working with their owners to prevent unsuitable behaviour.

“I wanted to branch out from dog training, and noticed the same methods worked with other animals, including ponies.

“There are various elements to the training though, and I recognised how easy it was to break down into smaller chunks – like breaking a chain down into links.

“Each ‘link' represents a different part of the training, and they have to be forged together to succeed in the task. Every team member must take a part, and the team has to work together to decide what to do and how to do it.

“It may be an unusual approach but I have found it can be very effective, because when people understand their role in a team they become more motivated and work together easier.”

Christine is currently taking bookings for her courses, which will begin in March

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Your Contact: Richard Swancott on 01782 416371
or richardswancott@marketcare.net

Further details can be found on the company website www.petsbehavingbadly.co.uk