We’ve all read the ads. 14.2HH QH gelding. Anyone can ride him. More whoa than go. Been ridden in parades, had tarps dragged off him, did pony rides at the local fair etc.
We’ve probably all also met that tried-and-true lesson horse, who safely carries kids around the jump course at their first show. She doesn’t bat an eyelid at the flowery jump fill, the loudspeakers, the horse bolting in the warmup arena next door, or the repetitive kicking of the child desperately trying to maintain a half-hearted four-beat canter until the last jump. “What a saint” someone at the rail says.
Or maybe we’ve seen a hairy fjord, trudging doggedly around the arena in a therapeutic riding lesson. He appears to be in his own little world, barely registering the crowd of volunteers surrounding him, or the instructor throwing a brightly coloured ball back and forth with the rider, who shrieks with glee at every toss of the ball. He requires constant encouragement from the horse handler to stay in motion but it is worth the struggle, as he keeps his young riders safe during his many sessions each week. He is easy to have around the barn, as he mostly just hides at the back of his stall. He doesn’t try to bite the visitors like some of the other horses.
All of these horses would traditionally be described as bombproof in the equestrian vernacular. And indeed, you could picture all three barely registering a bomb going off in their vicinity, as they don’t seem to notice much. The only time they might perk up is at feed time, but other than that, they are pretty much exactly the same dead calm horse at all times.
But what is actually going on at a systemic level for these horses? Contrary to what many believe, a well-regulated nervous system does not mean always calm. It means that the system is adaptable and has appropriate reactions to what is happening in the moment. While many of us might picture the chronically spooky or anxious horse when we picture dysregulation, the bombproof horse may represent the opposite extreme end of the dysregulation spectrum.
Sympathetic activations of the nervous system are designed to keep our horse safe. The first phases of activation include startle, flight, fight, and fawn. These states involve a high level of energy, including elevated heart rate and breathing, muscle activation, and a host of chemical reactions that are ready to help the horse notice a threat, escape, placate, hide from, or fight their way to safety as needed. These are not cognitive decisions that the horse makes. They happen faster than thought process, and don’t need permission from higher cognitive functioning to function. If the horse successfully escapes the danger using one or more of these responses, once the built-up energy is dispelled, the nervous system returns to a rest and digest, or social engagement mode, wherein social bonding activities, eating, drinking, play and rest can happen. If, however, none of the attempts to return to safety are successful, the dorsal vagal branch of the nervous system, which acts as a type of braking system, comes online, and facilitates the lower states of parasympathetic activation. These states are essentially designed for scenarios in the wild wherein escape is not possible. The predator has caught the prey. Essentially, they are a preparation for death. The first if these states, Freeze, still involves a high level of activation, but with the breaks coming on, there is also immobility. This is the classic “deer in the headlights” moment. From this state, it is still very easy to suddenly flip back into a fight or flight response if the opportunity for escape is present. However, if no such opportunity presents, things continue to go offline. In Dissociation, the brain essentially leaves the conversation. I sometimes flippantly refer to this state as “astral projection”. Essentially the body is still present, but the mind is not. The horse is not aware of his surroundings, or his own body. His sensations are very dull, although he may still be able to robot through the motions. From there, the body begins to leave the party as well, and we get shutdown and eventually collapse.
These lower states can be causes by a single traumatic event in which escape is not possible. Think flooding-type training practices such as letting the horse struggle violently on a patience pole until they give up and go into learned helplessness. Less well known though I think, is that these states can also be cultivated through chronic low-grade stress and overwhelm, such as boundary rupture (the horse never feeling like they have a say in what happens to them), excessive overstimulation, chronic pain, or basic needs not being met (stabling with minimal turnout, lack of horse-to-horse socialization, starvation feeding routines etc)
Now it’s important to remember that none of these states (other than perhaps collapse, which is literally a last resort and the last step before death), are inherently “bad”. Our horses may need to access a little dissociation to get through a very busy show day, or a visit with the dentist for example. The problem arises when they are unable to complete a healthy activation cycle and return to that rejuvenating Rest and Digest state. Horses who are chronically stuck in a state of shutdown or depression will experience health ramifications, and an overall lack of vitality. It is not normal for a horse to not react to something going on in their environment. I’m not saying that they have to spook at things, but they should notice changes. They are designed to notice. Picture a horse in the wild who doesn’t react when a possible threat arises. That horse is probably going to get eaten in very short order. Or a horse who doesn’t respond to his herd-mates requests for space. He is going to get kicked and bitten. From an evolutionary perspective, it doesn’t make sense. Our horses’ systems are not designed to be in zombie mode all the time.
Additionally, because of the accompanying dullness to sensation that comes along with these states, a welfare issue arises in which we are having to use a lot more pressure to get a response than we otherwise would. Think the horse with spur marks and callouses in the corner of his mouth. Or that trusty school horse being kicked every step to keep her cantering. And the more pressure we use, the deeper into that shutdown we push the nervous system. It becomes a vicious cycle. Although we may want to have our cake and eat it too, we cannot desensitize the horse to some things but then expect them to be light to the aids. This is why I prefer to think about acclimatization versus desensitization. If our horses find that colourful umbrella vaguely interesting, fun, or altogether boring rather than scary or something that they have to tune out, we can have a safe and reliable horse without sacrificing their well-being. I would argue that this is even safer than “bombproof”. Because of the way the nervous system functions, if our horse is in a high-functioning freeze for example, they could thaw at any moment, and must come out the same way that they went in. So if they went in scared, we can get that explosive spook that seemingly comes out of nowhere. If they went in mad, they could come out biting and kicking.
Am I saying that we shouldn’t expose our horse to scary or hard things? Not at all. But it is important to work in increments within the horse’s window of tolerance. Meaning not to push him so far that he can’t recover easily and return to baseline. We can avoid overstimulation and flooding in training. Through many small, manageable exposures to stress, in which the horse is successful in managing and recovering from easily, he can slowly expand his resilience and ability to process hard things.
I am also not saying that school horses shouldn’t be a thing. Horses are generous and forgiving animals and can absolutely cope with the trials and tribulations of teaching beginners. As long as their allostatic load is not already at a high baseline of stress. Ensuring that they are comfortable, with regular vet care, body work, maintenance and properly fitted tack is vital. Non-negotiable is providing access to friends, forage and freedom in their down time – essentially allowing them to be a horse – enables them to decompress and recover in between lessons.
I also recognize the important work that horses do in therapeutic riding and other equine assisted learning and therapy programs. I have worked and continue to work in this world myself. But I will continue to fight for these horses to be recognized and treated as sentient beings in the work, and to have their own boundaries and needs considered as equals. The phenomena of healing through horses does not need to involve a process of extraction in which the horse’s health suffers as the human’s health improves. How do we do this? All the same points as I made for the school horses above. Additionally, providing the horses some choice and voice in the process. Small things such as taking a few seconds to put the halter on, waiting until the horse tells you they are ready. Understanding the horse’s need for decompression after working with a broad spectrum of human energy. Educating staff, volunteers and clients how to recognize the horse’s “yes’s” and “no’s”. I cannot overstate how powerful a difference it can make in that fuzzy fjord’s life if every human who goes to pet him on the face sees him subtly say “no thank you”, and instead offers to pet him somewhere he says “yes” to. And believe me, he will show you. Not only will this make a huge difference in the lives of these special horses, but I have also seen just how much richer the sessions can be when the horse is actually engaged and holding space for the client, vs just astral projecting to get through.
While it can be challenging to tell the difference sometimes between a relaxed or sleepy horse, and one who is depressed or shut down. Between a dull, inward gaze versus a quiet but bright eye. But with a little practice and a lot of listening, we can learn to identify the different nervous system states. Armed with this knowledge, we can make the lives of these horses better. From bombproof, depressed and shut down, to resilient, vibrant, reliable, engaged, adaptable and happy.
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