Paku was in the latest class of graduates from Lead the Way last week. He said he quickly learnt that he had to communicate with the horse verbally and non-verbally, and assess when to apply pressure and when to back off.
When he changed horses and was paired with Perry, who seemed more headstrong than some of the others, he eventually managed to form a bond with his animal to achieve a series of set tasks in an arena.
"He dropped his shoulder on me a few times, but we got there," he said.
Each horse had its own unique temperament, as had humans, with some more obliging than others. The challenge was to interact with the horse to achieve the best outcome.
"That translates nicely into people management. Just like horses, we have different personalities" he said.
Previous clients lists and testimonials of Lead The Way read like a who's who of New Zealand sport and business.
Former NZ cricket coach Mike Hesson, a host of Super rugby coaches, and business leaders and employees of some of the country's largest companies and Government organisation's had all attended a Lead The Way course.
Even the NZ Army used Lead The Way, which was developing courses to help in the treatment of post traumatic stress disorder.
"Horses act as an emotional mirror of us," he said.
Foggart said it wasn't rocket science. It was about getting the basics right in your relationship with a horse to achieve a set outcome.
He said each horse had different traits and some were more difficult than others, which meant pairing them with suitable people to create the right dynamic.
He remembers Steve Hansen was given a "particularly stroppy" horse with which to form a bond.
"They have particular goals and strengths and weaknesses so we try and match that with a particular horse," he said.
"People find it pretty empowering...it's action learning. Rather than sitting around talking about leadership they are out there doing it."
The interaction with the horses was videoed and played back so clients could watch and see for themselves where they needed to change to better connect with their horse.
"We throw people in the deep end. It forces people out of their comfort zone. You can't make change while you're sitting in your comfort zone."
"They might watch the video and look at the body language of the horse and the body language of themselves and see that they might need to pick up their energy, for example."
"Horses don't get offended. They respond instantly...you can become more conscious of how you bond with other people."
"They don't say "yes" or "no". You have to be really present, and if you don't do anything, they won't do anything."
