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This episode is about the horse & human brain connection. I go over a lot of science, but also how the science backs up horsemanship principles and really taps into how horses actually think. I also explore the uniqueness of how the horse & human brain connect with each other and the relationship is unlike any other connection on Earth.
As promised, here are some research papers and articles you can explore on your own.
Cerebellum & imaginary movement
Connection Between Heart & Brain
How Meditation Affects our Brains
How Meditation Affects our Moods
Brain Activity during Meditation Images
Book: Evidence Based Horsemanship
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Great job to think about rhythm of the brain, heart and horse movement and connection. Thanks !
Thank you, Kassia:)
Very interesting. I really enjoyed both pod casts. Could you provide a couple of examples of allowing the horse to figure out the solution in order to create the neural pathways? I understand the concept, but would enjoy hearing a practical application. Or is it just the slowing way down so the horse can assimilate what is being taught? This is extremely interesting to me because I’ve just started learning about teaching the horse to problem solve to reduce anxiety and spookiness and would love to see how this fits with the training specifics.
Hi Lovenia!
I am so happy you are enjoying the podcasts:) To answer your question, Yes, slowing way down is a big part of it, but part of problem solving is knowing what the answer is when the “question” is answered. Your answer to any question should always be a “give” or release of pressure. For example, if you wanted the horse to figure out to bend their head around on each side without moving their feet, you could lightly keep the contact on one side with your legs gently hanging on their sides (no pushing or pressure). If your horse moved you would maintain the contact and bend until the horse gave to the contact and stopped moving their feet. The moment they gave without hanging, pushing or moving their feet, you would give and release any and all pressure. In this instance, the horse was given the opportunity to try different ways to relieve themselves of the pressure. They are then able to figure out that just the give to that side without moving is the answer.
Hope that helps!
Lauren
Thank you so much. That is extremely helpful to me. Actually I was working on that very thing with my horse this afternoon. He is a 10 year old Hanovarian I’m working with in Dressage and he is very quick, rushy, and heavy. I’ve started the bend to a stop, and lateral flexion work in order to lighten him up, slow him down and help him reduce his worry and start to relax. I’m making loads of progress (when I compare now to several months ago) but on a daily basis, progress seems slow. Just recently I’ve started slowing way down and rubbing his shoulder until he relaxes after every successful stop or correct flexion (after I release of course) and he is getting it more quickly. I’m really excited and your pod cast came at a perfect time for me. It really helps to know I’m going in the right direction and doing the right thing. Thank you so much.
You’re welcome!! Yes, I would say horses get rushy, heavy etc when they are not sure how to balance themselves and haven’t been given the opportunity to figure it out. Slowing down to help him figure out the answers will help build his confidence and his ability find balance through your guidance. The slow progress will start to build upon itself rapidly if he learns the answer is always a give and praise. Keep me posted on your progress!
Thank you for another great podcast, Lauren! I truly appreciate you sharing all of your knowledge.
One of my questions or thoughts based on the podcast is regarding the aspect of our horses being a reflection of humans. I understand that the more good experiences a horse has, the more positive their sense toward us is. One major and very important (to both me and my horses) concept I have had an issue understanding and acting correctly upon is how to cause a horse who has had mostly negative experiences in the past with humans (and that is clearly their default), to want to be with you – more specifically to allow and even want you to put a halter on them. All of my horses are rescues and have had bad experiences with humans before me. One of my horses especially, reacts very negatively to being haltered (he wants to be away from me if I have the halter). He will avoid me and even run away from me when I come in a positive way toward him with the halter. Another horse mirrors that horse when he sees him react toward me and the halter negatively and there is even a third who will join in on this occasionally. My five horses are turned out together and not stalled. I want to and will offer the horse a wonderful, dopamine-releasing experience once I am near him with the halter (scratch/rub him in his favorite places with the halter – which he loves when it doesn’t involve the halter), and a pleasant experience once I have the halter on (scratching his face with it; he loves having his face scratched), but his avoidance of me, based on his experience with a human and a halter, is an issue, and something I want to overcome by handling the situation correctly. I’d really like me walking toward him with the halter (and the act of putting it on) to be a dopamine-release experience for him, but I’m not sure how to achieve this when his ingrained response is to run away and avoid this experience that has been a negative one for him so many times in the past. I do spend a lot of time with all of my horses, brushing, massaging them, and they see me as something positive, unless (in this one horse’s case) I have a halter in my hand. I have tried getting him alone in a smaller area, I’ve tried haltering the other horses first, taking them into another area, and then haltering him last; there is nothing I have found I can do that doesn’t cause negative pressure to achieve this. Can you offer me insight and suggestions please? Once he is with me and I have the halter on, he’s happy, but it’s getting past this unpleasantness that I haven’t been able to achieve.
I have been working on just moving one specific foot of my horse, a right or left front foot. To anyone else, it would have looked like we weren’t doing anything, but I was surprised how when I got really specific and shifted my weight and set him up for that particular step, how even the act of me thinking about that caused him to yawn; THAT was really cool. Yes, I was “thinking” because unfortunately I had to use the analytical side of my brain a little because this very particular request is new to me, but he knew I was focused on feeling. I’ve known synchronicity is very important to a horse, but it was so enlightening to understand and recognize why he was yawning when he did.
The podcast didn’t address this, but regarding horses feeling our emotion, I’ve always noticed when I spend time with one of my horses, (again, all five of mine are turned out 24/7, so when I’m with one, typically they are all there) whether it be giving him a massage, or just petting or brushing him softly, the other horses in the vicinity seem to feel it too. I’ll put them all to sleep by just causing one to feel good – singing when I trim their hooves does this too. I suppose this may fit into the aspect of when a horse is with another horse they are good friends with, their heart rates will synchronize.
One other question I had was how we go about helping a horse who is in a state of stress get back into a state of wellness/balance, if our hearts cannot affect theirs. My thought would be to tap into the positive neural pathways we’ve created in their brains, but how do we access them if they are really afraid or frustrated and seem to shut us out. Obviously, we try not to have them get there, but there are factors that are often out of our control.