For most therapists, dealing with a borderline patient can be like trying to heal an infection without antibiotics. Try remedy after remedy and the oozing may stop temporarily, but the infection still brews under the surface. In fact, many therapists even refuse to see borderline patients. So this makes one wonder, just how do horses respond to borderlines?
Interestingly, this question crossed my mind recently as I reflected on a former client of mine. Presented with the job of training her young horse, I accepted, completely unaware of what I was getting into. While I was informed that her horses was a biter, what I wasn’t told was that left to his own devices, he was nothing short of malicious. In fact, he’d come after people in the stall with teeth bared. He hated to be touched, constantly had his ears pinned, and had even kicked people in the past.
Innocently, I attempted to train this animal, as I always do with very clear requests and expectations, and effusive praise for any movement toward the desired goal. Yet this horse was unpredictable. While one day he’d seem to move in the right direction, the next day he’d completely refuse to go to work, even rearing straight up to avoid it.
While the mysticism of horses seems lost on none, and yet not entirely understood by even those who proclaim to be equine experts, one of the most touted benefits of our four legged friends is their unique ability to always be fully present. Indeed, horses appear to only live in the now. Yet is this always the case? Do all horses live exclusively in the present moment?
Surprisingly, the answer to this question is no. However, it is not without human interference that equine dissociation occurs.
When we speak of equine dissociation, or horses becoming disoriented to time, place, and person, we are essentially describing the same trauma reaction that can be seen in people who have witnessed, or experienced life threatening events. Yet, in the case of horses, perception is the key factor. While it may be relatively easy to determine what may or may not jeopardize the life of a person, the same conclusion is not so easy when attempting to view the situation through equine eyes. Implicit in this attempt is, of course, both the horse’s individual temperament — that which he is born with — as well as his own unique history.
Just like people, some horses seem to weather stress better than others. Therefore, what may rattle one horse will not necessarily rattle another. This difference in character then not only predisposes the nervous horse to increased trauma and fear, but also jeopardizes the very learning than would ameliorate the stress. Going further, again just like people, some horses enjoy the benefit of a positive upbringing full of human interactions that build trust and boost confidence, while others struggle to find even a handful of pleasant human experiences.
Often, it is the combination of the nervous equine character and a lack of pleasant interactions with people that then result in a horse that tends to dissociate.
In the field of equine facilitated psychotherapy, there are many variables that can confound the process of attempting to work with horses in healing the ailments that people so often face. And while there are a multitude of resources on exercises to perform, or certifications to obtain, perhaps no one thing is as important as simply knowing the horse you are working with. I share this personal story, as an example.
“He’s a rogue, a runaway. He’d take off with the jocs at the track. No one could stop him, not even Alvarado.” I hung up the phone and wondered what I’d got myself into. Arriving at the barn that day, I pulled my new horse, all 17.2 hands of him out of his stall and proceeded to groom his massive frame. Even incredibly underweight, he was intimidating to say the least. As I curried over his back, he rolled his eye back at me, shaking his head up and down. I lifted the saddle onto his back and he shook more, sidestepping, and attempting to shy away. “Easy buddy, this isn’t the track anymore,” I reassured. But the truth was he had no idea who I was, or what I’d want from him.
I reached for my bridle just as the barn owner came around the corner. “So you’re gonna ride him today?”
Jim Masterson, Equine Massage Therapist for the 2006 and 2008 and 2010 USET Endurance Teams, and for equine clientele competing in FEI World Cup, Pan American and World Games competitions, teaches a unique method of equine bodywork to therapists and horse owners around the world. Listen in…
Jane Wallace offers some solutions to rushing fences and Dr. Jenny Johnson discusses a case study of chiropractic treatment with Claire Massey. Tune in right here.
Charles Jacob competes Secret Love in Wellington. (Photo courtesy of Anne Gittins)
Wellington, FL (May 9, 2011) – Charles Jacob and his 16.1 Belgian warmblood, Secret Love, recently won a High Amateur/Owner Jumper class and jumped clean in a Grand Prix, a remarkable feat considering Secret Love was sidelined with an injury last year. Thanks to treatments in the Cold Saltwater Spa at The Sanctuary at PBIEC’s Wellington facility, Secret Love is back in the winner’s circle and according to his groom he is jumping like “a million bucks!”
“Charlie and Secret Love, or Snoopy as we call him, won the Grand Prix during the second week of Lake Placid in 2009. He is a proven Grand Prix horse and a formidable competitor in the High Amateur/Owner jumpers. He was sidelined with an injury last year and our vet suggested the Cold Saltwater Spa,” said Snoopy’s groom, Mindi Verzillo, adding that at first they tried buckets of ice on the horse’s legs.
Snoopy wouldn’t tolerate the ice buckets and that’s when Verzillo said they turned to The Sanctuary at PBIEC, the new world-class rehab and conditioning center located on the show grounds of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. The Sanctuary also has a 30-acre facility in Ocala.
The term poultice is derived from a Latin word for porridge. In the equine world, poultices are applied for the relief of localized pain, when caused by inflammation.
It is predominantly used on the lower legs of horses to benefit tendons, joints and ligaments. A hoof may be poulticed if there has been a traumatic injury, bruising and if abscesses arise. When utilizing a poultice for therapy, the goal is to reduce heat, inflammation and to aid in the healing process. The least amount of time an area is stressed by these elements the less damage there will be and the more it will aid in the longevity of your horse’s career.
The most prevalent type of poulticing is termed “cold” therapy and is composed of clays and bentonites. This application would minimize the inflammatory response to an early injury or overworked legs, and act as a pain reliever. For application, wet your hands and splash cold water on the injured site. Spread ¼ to ½ inch of poultice onto anywhere you feel heat or swelling. If wounds are present alternative care may be needed. Cover the poulticed area with wet brown paper. Follow up by wrapping with wet cotton or bandages. The longer the poultice remains cool and wet the better it will draw heat and inflammation. Overnight application or longer is an option, maybe for that trailer ride home. Once you are ready to remove the wraps let the poultice dry fully. As it dries it will continue to pull excess fluid and heat. Brush the leg and follow with a cold water flush or bath. Cold water is an excellent tool for reducing heat and inflammation.
We are bombarded daily with news and information about how the overuse of medications and chemicals are making our horses sick. There are ways to take care of your horse naturally… with no side-effects.
Horses are forage animals and are used to looking for plants that will assist in the regulation of their body systems. When these plants are distilled into high quality, therapeutic-grade essential oils, they affect all of the body’s systems. All oils have a complex of chemicals that interact with cells to promote cellular function and repair damage. Certain oils can affect the limbic system in the brain to modify behavior. Some oils are diffused for inhalation (aromatherapy), some are ingested, some are used topically, and some can be used all three ways. Here are a few suggested uses.
Lavender is wonderful for wounds (antibacterial and less scarring) and other skin conditions plus it’s a natural anti-histamine and has sedative compounds useful when needing to calm your horse.
Peace & Calming is a fragrant blend of oils useful when trailering, showing or whenever more serious calming is required. It may be rubbed on the nose and ears.
Charlotte Jacobs is back to tell us how she rounded off the Artisan Young Riders Grand Prix Series with a ticket to compete at the Young Rider Final in Leipzig during the Rolex FEI World Cup Finals. Dr. Jenny Johnson discusses Equine Chiropractic and Brianne Goutal joins Chris as co-host. Tune in right here…
Human attachments are a complex business. For one thing, when two people come together, they are often unaware of just what it is about one another that creates the attraction. On the other hand, when we are repelled by another person, identifying what about them bothers us is not the problem, yet why this behavior or characteristic infuriates us is quite another matter. But in the world of psychology, categorizing attachments styles has shed much light into the complexities of relationships. Now enter horses. When a horse and a person meet, are horses prone to the same types of attachments that people are? That is to say, can we actually classify their relationships with us or one another into categories the way we do with people?
Looking in the matter further, some established horsemen have attempted to do just that. Pat Parelli, (www.parellinaturalhorsetraining.com), one of the forerunners of the natural horse movement, promulgates what he calls “horsenality types.” Using a pie chart with related descriptions, Parelli breaks down horses’ personalities into four basic types, right brain introvert, right brain extrovert, left brain introvert, and left brain extrovert.
On the other side of the coin, some equine therapy programs attempt to address attachment styles of participants through the horse’s responses to them. One prominent one, Gestalt Equine Therapy (www.gestaltequinepsychotherapy.com), addresses this topic by using congruence levels of people — as reflected by the horse’s willingness to be near them — to determine secure, vs. insecure attachments styles. The idea is that when a person is experiencing congruence, his/her attachment style can be said to be secure. While this approach can be quite revealing about the participants attachment style, the horse’s attachment style is not taken into consideration.
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