The only time I have seen that if I make “eye to eye” contact
with a horse it has a negative outcome on the relationship
is when the horse is fearful. It is always a good idea
to try to leave fear out of horsemanship. Fear is an emotion
present across all animal species, and is often at the root of
the problems we encounter in horsemanship. Fear always
jeopardizes the outcome of a relationship, putting individuals
in a survival mode that interrupts the interaction.
I have been reading a very interesting book, which
brought me a new perspective about fear. Dr. Joseph Le
Doux, a neuroscientist at New York University is the author
of The Emotional Brain and of Anxious, both books that are
pioneering the study of emotions as biological phenomena.
Le Doux studied fear as an emotion that helps animals
escape from predators. He has traced the effects of fear
in rats, beginning from the first sounds of danger detected
by the outer ear, to the inner brain circuits, that causes the
animal either to freeze or to run for its life. In his studies, he
has given the first real glimpse into the neuroanatomical
aspect of an emotion, providing insights into why it is so difficult
to control emotions with rational, conscious thought.
In fact, fear goes in the realm of survival, and the actions it
elicits are often unconscious reactions.
Does any of this sound familiar to you, when you think in
terms of horse behavior? While going to Veterinary School,
when I was young (and fearless!) I rode thoroughbreds
competing in flat races and learned in first person how
racehorses experience fear and pain, in a very traumatic
manner. As a consequence, they often acquire dangerous
habits that are very hard to change, and now I know that
it is because they have truly learned unconscious reactions
aimed to survival. Now I work to develop ways to help
horses and their owners build a better future together, and
not get frustrated in perpetuating, or accepting the fear
conditioned responses. Sadly, fear is still actually one of the
ways some trainers work to achieve their goal in training
horses.
If the horse shows signs of being fearful, it can happen
because my behavior, or a past experience, is making him
uncomfortable in that moment, and he will avoid the eye
contact, or try to put more distance between us. Regardless
of the cause, when this happens we need to act in any
way possible to rebuild a positive state of horsemanship.
the horse knows
that what we look
at is the object of
our attention.
Behavior is the most complete expression of any individual,
and is displayed through movement, and perceived by
others through the sense organs. Human beings communicate
mainly by sounds, horses by “acting”.
Traditionally, as we have stated, the interaction between
man and horse takes place according to a script that man
establishes by horse training, which conditions the animal
to respond in a predictable manner to certain stimuli. In
the behavior of the horse, besides the actions that have
been conditioned by the process of training, instincts are
always involved, along with its emotions that often escape
our control. The difference between these behavior components
There are many ways to influence animal behavior.
The individuals that are the target of the action most
definitely respond with the process of learning.
60 www.EliteEquestrian.us
is rarely highlighted, or even acknowledged by
horsemanship clinicians. In order to have a real communication,
we need to consider all aspects of an individual’s
behavior, and not just the ones that are convenient for us.
In terms of cells and molecules, learning produces changes
through the exposure to an instance. This very apparent
and known process produces in an individual a much
hidden fact, through the stimulation of neural cells, which
causes the production of new molecules (proteins). These
changes at cellular level determine the new way the neural
cell and the whole individual will respond at a later time
when under the influence of the same situation. This is true
for humans, horses, or any other kind of animal, and it does
not depend upon the presence of a reward at the end of
the line!
Using a spontaneous interaction, backed by social values
common to human and horse, horsemanship becomes a
dynamic and controllable process that efficiently supports
the training and performance of any equestrian discipline.
We have full control only on our own behavior, and the
chance to do so just until the moment the horses perceive
it through their senses… we better make it is a pleasant experience
so they would want to spend more time with us.
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