Marilyn
Marilyn - Owner of minis for nearly 20 years
Miniature Horse Farms Directory Site Admin
California, USA
TRAUMATIC STRESS IN HORSES...
- By Marilyn
- Published 06/13/2010
TRAUMATIC STRESS IN HORSES
Reactivity in horses, as in humans, is visible and can be evaluated and healed. Signs in horses are a highly-activated automatic startle response (ASR), acoustic reactivity, body shudders, excessive snorting, shallow breathing, wide eyes, high head - we've all seen it. The horse releases catecholamines and serotonin levels drop. The neurochemistry feeds the body and the body feeds the neurochemistry and the fear cycle is in full swing. In some horses whose brainstem (limbic system) search for unnecessary stimulus, this can be overwhelming. Often, the fear is due to past abuse as we see in sanctuary and rescue horses, but the good news that with time and patience this can be mitigated or completely healed.
The best remedy is creating secure attachments in the horse, a first-line defense in human PTSD therapies. This gives the horse's innate ability to self-regulate a boost up. In horses, as in humans, the impairment of basic trust in herdmates, people and its surroundings creates trauma, fear, nervousness, anxiousness and spookiness. Cortisol, released in fear cycles, can be toxic to certain parts of the brain, interfering with regulating anabolic (pro-life) neurochemistry. In extreme cases, in horses, as in humans, we see aggression, self-mutilation and non-social behaviors take over. Lucky are the horses that have a good ability to self-regulate. Those that cannot need our help.
A feeling of safety in the body creates positive memories in the horse and with time, these memories become stable as they widen out in neural networks in the horse's brain. At first, the feeling of safety is tenuous as the chemistry etches itself lightly into the brain tissue, new axons connecting with each other. Over time, these memories strengthen as the body does its job. What can we do to help horses in their living, training and recreational environments to overcome their spookiness - much of it being a legacy of their herd lifestyle. Stay and play or run away? In a world where 99% of their natural predators no longer exist, we think they should feel safer than they do but they remain the creation of their evolution.
1. Stay calm in your interaction with the horse. This requires great self-discipline and comes from a quiet and strong core supported by rhythmic and effective breathing. If the horse hears you hold your breath, it signals alarm to him.
2. Establish a routine in your interaction with the horse so it recognizes the pattern and try not to stray from it in the beginning.
3. As you deal with your nervous horse, visualize it relaxing and becoming calm. Horses are energetic beings. They do not have the ongoing mental garbage stream running through their heads like we do. They are alert for what comes next. Make next easy to handle.
4. Patience is your greatest tool. Patience and baby steps. Take each forward movement as a sign of hope and take each step backward step as a natural occurrence in the healing process. Do not be self-critical nor critical of the horse. In other words, do not be outcome-invested but live in the process.
5. Use techniques such as Equine Stress Control Therapy (ESCT) to modulate the fear in your horse. Massage therapy also works wonders if the horse can be touched. If your horse has been vet-checked, you can assume the anxiety is not physically based due to injury, but don't rule out the possibility completely. Keep an open mind and a discerning eye.
6. Go back to square one with your horse and build the relationship one brick at a time.
7. The most effective method for healing fearful memories in horses is to create interrupts in that fear cycle. ESCT does this through gentle bilateral tapping on the boney structure of the horse, interrupting the fear cycle and creating a relaxation response in the horse. The interruption then allows the axons in the old neural network in the horse's brain to disconnect and the formation of a new network that incorporates the feeling of in-body wellness. This is achieved in several sessions lasting 15 to 30 minutes each and involving a stressor or stressful situation, or simply as a relaxation tool. The horse will move to wellness on its own as it is directed to do so my evolution.
8. In any retraining, rehabilitation or therapy session, you are the anchor for your horse and self-regulation should become automatic for you over time so you don't buy into the horse's fear. That's the hard part.
Reactivity in horses, as in humans, is visible and can be evaluated and healed. Signs in horses are a highly-activated automatic startle response (ASR), acoustic reactivity, body shudders, excessive snorting, shallow breathing, wide eyes, high head - we've all seen it. The horse releases catecholamines and serotonin levels drop. The neurochemistry feeds the body and the body feeds the neurochemistry and the fear cycle is in full swing. In some horses whose brainstem (limbic system) search for unnecessary stimulus, this can be overwhelming. Often, the fear is due to past abuse as we see in sanctuary and rescue horses, but the good news that with time and patience this can be mitigated or completely healed.
The best remedy is creating secure attachments in the horse, a first-line defense in human PTSD therapies. This gives the horse's innate ability to self-regulate a boost up. In horses, as in humans, the impairment of basic trust in herdmates, people and its surroundings creates trauma, fear, nervousness, anxiousness and spookiness. Cortisol, released in fear cycles, can be toxic to certain parts of the brain, interfering with regulating anabolic (pro-life) neurochemistry. In extreme cases, in horses, as in humans, we see aggression, self-mutilation and non-social behaviors take over. Lucky are the horses that have a good ability to self-regulate. Those that cannot need our help.
A feeling of safety in the body creates positive memories in the horse and with time, these memories become stable as they widen out in neural networks in the horse's brain. At first, the feeling of safety is tenuous as the chemistry etches itself lightly into the brain tissue, new axons connecting with each other. Over time, these memories strengthen as the body does its job. What can we do to help horses in their living, training and recreational environments to overcome their spookiness - much of it being a legacy of their herd lifestyle. Stay and play or run away? In a world where 99% of their natural predators no longer exist, we think they should feel safer than they do but they remain the creation of their evolution.
1. Stay calm in your interaction with the horse. This requires great self-discipline and comes from a quiet and strong core supported by rhythmic and effective breathing. If the horse hears you hold your breath, it signals alarm to him.
2. Establish a routine in your interaction with the horse so it recognizes the pattern and try not to stray from it in the beginning.
3. As you deal with your nervous horse, visualize it relaxing and becoming calm. Horses are energetic beings. They do not have the ongoing mental garbage stream running through their heads like we do. They are alert for what comes next. Make next easy to handle.
4. Patience is your greatest tool. Patience and baby steps. Take each forward movement as a sign of hope and take each step backward step as a natural occurrence in the healing process. Do not be self-critical nor critical of the horse. In other words, do not be outcome-invested but live in the process.
5. Use techniques such as Equine Stress Control Therapy (ESCT) to modulate the fear in your horse. Massage therapy also works wonders if the horse can be touched. If your horse has been vet-checked, you can assume the anxiety is not physically based due to injury, but don't rule out the possibility completely. Keep an open mind and a discerning eye.
6. Go back to square one with your horse and build the relationship one brick at a time.
7. The most effective method for healing fearful memories in horses is to create interrupts in that fear cycle. ESCT does this through gentle bilateral tapping on the boney structure of the horse, interrupting the fear cycle and creating a relaxation response in the horse. The interruption then allows the axons in the old neural network in the horse's brain to disconnect and the formation of a new network that incorporates the feeling of in-body wellness. This is achieved in several sessions lasting 15 to 30 minutes each and involving a stressor or stressful situation, or simply as a relaxation tool. The horse will move to wellness on its own as it is directed to do so my evolution.
8. In any retraining, rehabilitation or therapy session, you are the anchor for your horse and self-regulation should become automatic for you over time so you don't buy into the horse's fear. That's the hard part.