Developing Confident Horses
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This page is a continuation from Part Three.
Stress: A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances. Stress is definitely a motivator. The difficulty associated with this issue is whether a particular stressful stimulus produces a desirable or undesirable response. For example, if a particular horse under saddle is startled, does it first look to its rider for reassurance and direction or does it just bolt? Such tendencies are often embedded in a horse's "horsenality" (see Part Three) however those tendencies can be shaped to produce safer and more reliable responses to stressful stimuli through thoughtful application of appropriate training approaches. To understand how stress drives the emotional responses of horses, we offer the following illustrations. Imagine that inside a horse's brain there is a science laboratory. In this laboratory an empty beaker is located on a balance scale. A weight has been placed on the opposing side of the scale that is heavier than the empty beaker. Horses are designed to run from danger, but they would be exhausted if they ran from everything that is anxiety producing. So in this illustration, stress - in liquid form - is introduced into the beaker any time that some stimulus disturbs the horse. When the volume of this liquid stress reaches a certain point, its weight becomes greater than the weight on the opposing side of the scale, the scale tips, a "survival" message is sent out and the horse flees. A closer examination of our hypothetical beaker reveals that it also has a drain. This drain is adjusted so that a small amount of liquid stress will leave the beaker, preventing the liquid from accumulating to a scale-tipping level during the normal course of events. So long as the rate of liquid stress being introduced does not exceed the amount being drained, the horse is not going to take flight.
In practical application, "Horse A" is grazing on the range when he hears rustling in the brush nearby. Our hypotetical liquid stress will start to fill his beaker. If the source of the noise is not recognized before the horse's stress scale tips, his survival instinct's "liquid stress" will cause him to leave, the speed of which is often based on how rapidly the beaker filled and the scale tipped. In our scenario, before "Horse A" becomes compelled to leave, "Horse B" (a familiar herd mate) lifts his head over the brush. Recognizing the stimulus as being non-threatening, the stress liquid in "Horse A's" beaker drains and he resumes grazing. Conversely, if "Horse A" did not recognize the stimulus as being non-threatening, his "beaker" would likely continue to fill until he takes flight. Furthermore, his flight would tyically cause the "stress beakers" of other horses nearby to rapidly fill in succession and they would likely also take flight. It helps to understand that the counterweight on this balance scale and the size of the "drain" on the beaker can be altered based on the horse's experiences and emotional maturity. Training approaches, whether correct or incorrect, will add to a horse's experiences and will likely either moderate his flight response to adverse stimulus or make it worse. In general a horse that learns behaviors as a result of stress will tend to fall back on stress-avoidance behaviors - some of them being very undesirable. A horse that has developed neuropathways that were more constructively introduced is more likely to follow recognized cues in stressful situations. It's a simple matter of how horses' brains are "wired." Why is this "horsenality" and this stress business important? Training professionals are constantly explaining that the training of horses basically boils down to applyng pressure (stress) and release (removal of pressure.) Horses react to and usully attempt to avoid pressure, but when they actually learn something it usually is at the point of release from pressure and their returning to a more comfortable state. There are certainly other motivators that can be involved with training, but for this segment we will focus on pressure, release and how they apply to the individual characteristics of various horses. |
| The simplest explanation is that most horses will seek to avoid pressure and they look for comfort. When they display the correct response or behavior and the pressure is released (comfort is provided,) learning begins. When the same behavior and release of pressure is sufficiently repeated, the horse usually develops a desirable behavior pattern. The challenge for the trainer and rider is to recognize how much pressure and release to apply with different horses. |
The lesser ranked horse yields to the pressure of the dominant horse.
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For example, an extrovert (a naturally kinetic or high strung horse) requires very little pressure but conversely needs very clear points of "release." Too much pressure and the horse can become reactive rather than responsive. Reactivity can avalanche into a stress-feedback loop that can be challenging to get settled. Once this horse is involved in self-sustaining stress behavior, such as unfocused running similar to a hyperactive child with A.D.D., circumstances can become volatile and unpredictable. We call this condition a "stress-feedback loop" as the horse has fallen into a survival behavior that calls on him to flee or, put up a fight if he can't flee, and this level of stress can feed on itself until the problem is "emotionally resolved" in the mind of the horse. A good example involves a trainer who puts too much pressure on an extrovert in a round pen and the horse launches into mindless circling as he attempts to gain some distance between himself and the source of his stress - the human. An introvert (a naturally laid-back horse) can require more obvious pressure during the training process. This horse often recognizes more subtle releases, but may need a little more time following the release in order to fully process the situation. Piling on too much new activity at one time can frustrate an introvert, who may not outwardly show its level of frustration until the horse either shuts down or exhibits a kind of "meltdown." In many instances trainers, handlers or riders, when unclear about what type of "horsonalities" they are dealing with, may apply approaches inapproprate for those horses and in doing so produce adverse results in which case the horse is often blamed as being flighty, stubborn or stupid. We humans are supposed to be smarter than that. Since we humans control the encounters with our horses, we should design those encounters to be successful. When a given horse can understand what the human is asking of him and perceives that the human knows what he or she is doing, the horse's confidence usually increases and the activity taking place is usually more successful. First saddling of mustangs at a Frank Bell clinic. By being allowed supervised running and play
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