"the empty chair technique"
“Empty Chair”
Systemic chair work with horses
Sometimes the solution is not found in thinking – but in experience.
Systemic chair work is a well-established method for changing perspectives, better understanding relationships, and gaining inner clarity.
In equine-assisted coaching, this approach gains a very special depth:
the horse becomes a living counterpart – the “empty chair”.
What does this mean in practice?
In traditional chair work, each chair represents a role, a person, or an inner part of oneself.
By consciously shifting between these perspectives, new insights emerge and a broader understanding of relationships and dynamics develops.
With horses, this method becomes tangible:
the horse takes on a representative position within your system – without words, without judgment.
You do not encounter this “counterpart” mentally, but directly – in the here and now.
The horse as a mirror of your inner world
Horses respond sensitively to body language, inner attitude, and emotions.
They immediately reveal what stands between you and the “topic” – clearly, honestly, and without distortion.
In this way, relational patterns become visible:
How do you enter into contact?
Where does tension arise?
What creates closeness or distance?
This “silent language” of horses makes visible what often remains unconscious.
What you gain from this work
- new perspectives on relationships and situations
- a deeper understanding of your own behavioral patterns
- access to hidden emotions and inner parts
- clarity for decisions and next steps
- the opportunity to immediately test new ways of acting
A practical example
A client was facing the decision to end a working relationship with an employee. The collaboration had become tense, marked by misunderstandings and internal resistance.
In the coaching session, a horse symbolically took on the role of this employee.
After a short time, it became clear: the horse’s behavior did not reflect the person – but rather the client’s inner attitude.
This insight fundamentally changed the perspective.
Through further exercises, the client developed new approaches to the situation.
A few weeks later, he consciously chose to continue the collaboration – with a completely new quality in the relationship.
Working with inner parts
Inner voices, doubts, or beliefs can also be made visible through the horse.
What usually remains abstract becomes tangible and experiential.
This creates not only new thoughts – but real, lasting change.
Experience instead of only understanding
The key difference:
You do not only analyze – you experience.
New behaviors can be tried, adjusted, and anchored directly.
The impact is immediately felt – and can be sustainably transferred into everyday life.