enlightened horsemanship through touch

Exploring how people and animals bond–and why it makes you healthier and happier by Meg Daley Olmert on PsychologyToday.com. Read the entire article here.

This is a really interesting article on what makes the human-animal bond tick, from the biological perspective. Socially and emotionally speaking, I have a few bones to pick with Olmert about the nature of horses, however. I don’t think that horses’ acceptance of Rowan was remarkable. I think it was standard operating procedure. That is what is so remarkable about animals, but their acceptance in and of itself is not remarkable. Horses did not help make Rowan human. Rowan was already human, for heaven’s sake. What a dreadful thing to say. Perhaps Olmert was trying to echo Temple Grandin’s statement, “Animals Make us Human,” but this is not an acceptable trope. Horses may have triggered the growth that made Rowan a more socially acceptable, communicative, content and functional human. I think that’s what she means, anyway, as she leads up to a description of the wonder hormone, oxytocin, and its role as the foundation of social bonding, touch.

oxytocin

What is it about animals that inspires the mute to speak, make wild children mild, protects our hearts from the ravages of stress, and our fills our minds with a sense of wellbeing? These dramatic therapeutic effects are built on physiological changes such as lowered heart rate, blood pressure, and stress hormone levels. I wanted to know what biological mechanisms are triggered by animals that can make us healthier, happier, and more socially competent.

Emerging research has shown that there is a distinct biology behind social bonding (both human-human and human-animal). Brain chemicals previously thought to control such narrowly defined functions as lactation and labor have been found to contribute to a wide variety of human social bonding functions. The neurohormone oxytocin, also known as the touch hormone, has been found to be responsible for triggering the cascade of biological events that govern behaviors from monogamous bonding to breeding, maternal care, and satisfaction in close contact with a loved one, male or female. Olmert reports, “Even unsociable male rats will act friendly when treated with oxytocin and it also helps these rodents remember their new friends.”

For the purposes of both Rowan and his beloved horse Betsy, as well as humans and horses in general, it is fascinating to learn that high levels of oxytocin are linked to increased calm and nurturing behaviors. Oxytocin treatments for men have a host of benefits: they look longer into another’s eyes and are able to detect more subtle meaning in them. As with rodents, our social memory can be improved with oxytocin treatments.

I’m not advocating oxytocin supplements here. Just introducing the very basic qualities of this neurohormone that governs bonding and touch.

Oxytocin helps us make social connections in much the same way it does in other animals. It quiets the fear circuitry in our brains so that we don’t automatically see everyone and everything as a threat. With our fight/flight reflex in check we are able to detect even the faintest glimmer of benign or friendly intention. And such positive social signals trigger a further release of oxytocin that encourages us to approach and interact with each other in cooperative and nurturing ways.

…fortunately, horses are even more social and visual than us, which may explain why the lead mare was able to see in this writhing boy’s eager eyes a deep desire to attach. She did not fight this strange boy or flee from him, but instead accepted him. And when Rowan began to ride her, the rhythmic, repetitive motion stimulated his pelvic nerves in ways that are known to release oxytocin. Certainly, Rowan’s behavioral transformation signaled a rise in oxytocin. His repetitive gestures stopped and he began to communicate. Oxytocin treatment has been shown to reduce hand-flapping and verbal tics in autistic patients and improve their ability to comprehend non verbal communication, like the emotional meaning in a tone of voice.

The other wonderful thing about oxytocin is that the positive social encounters it encourages also causes it to be released in both parties-whether they are human or animal. This means oxytocin can create and sustain a social feedback system that knows no species boundaries. This is why we are not imagining the mental and physical sense of wellbeing we feel when we connect with animals. It’s also why a horse can see the good in a boy and help him see the good in himself and others. As I explained in an earlier post, this shared neurobiological heritage is what created the human/horse partnership that proved to an evolutionary win/win. Apparently there are still some journeys only horses can take us on.

I’m looking forward to talking more about this hormone, oxytocin and its profound implications for touch and horses. Look for more soon.

Click HERE to read TTouches for Colic by Marie Hoffman of On Eagle’s Wings Equine Center, LLC. This is an excellent article.

There are literally thousands of case studies as well as anecdotal reports of Tellington TTouch Ear Work and Belly Lifts that have saved the lives of horses, beginning with the seminal event in which Linda Tellington-Jones first used Ear Work to save the life of her colicking endurance mare, Bint Gulida. If you are interested in reading this story, let me know by responding in the comments. I will ask Linda to report it here.

Rachel Allen, TTouch P1, and Linda Tellington-Jones at La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe, NM

The church bells of the neighboring Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi serenaded our conference with regular chimes, a melody that has been heard in downtown Santa Fe continuously since 1887. From the deck outside our conference room a statue of the Saint could be seen gracing the church entrance. In the type of synchronicity that seems commonplace with TTouch, St Francis of Assisi is historically known as the patron saint of animals. I believe we all felt his presence as our conference delved deeply into the realm of compassion for and communication with animals. Read more…

You clip the lunge line to his face and send him away. A flick of the whip or the rope and off he goes. Short time, long time, whatever, he walks, trots or canters in a circle. Your purpose for this exercise is clear in your mind: exercise, smooth transitions, an attempt at calming, lameness detection, etc. His understanding of the point of lungeing? ZERO.

Mounted or on the ground, you tug gently on the lead rope in the direction of his withers to ask for flexion to the left and then to the right. You practice this each and every time before you ride. Sometimes it’s a part of all the groundwork you do each day. A routine. It’s good horsemanship. You have a clear intention of what you want to achieve: a quick and soft yield of the head. Your horse’s attention. You have his attention al lright. But do you know what is in his mind? I wonder if it’s this:

I learned what you want in this flexion thing in a few tries. I don’t understand why I have to do it over and over. It’s boring. If we don’t do something new pretty soon, I’m going to find something else on my own. Oh hey, look what I can do…!

Serpentines.

Backing up on the ground.

20 meter circles at the walk and trot.

Lead changes.

Trotting over cavaletti.

Sliding stops and spins.

Most of what we ask our horses to do on a daily basis is not as inherently harmful as dressage practice with rollkur. Yielding the head and trotting in 20 meter circles can’t physically hurt a horse unless he has health problems or injuries.

It can be harmful in other ways, however, as Frédéric Pignon says,

What people do not appreciate is that every time a horse submits to pressure, whether subtle or overt, he is diminished. Probably the great majority of people who achieve their own ends by making their horse submit are not even aware of what they have done. It is a sad fact that a horse can be made to do many things by breaking his will. If he can be persuaded to give his assent freely and pleasurably rather than give into man’s pressure or clever techniques, he is not diminished.

In Do We Really Know What We Do?, I posted the quote above also. I don’t believe we can contemplate what Frédéric was telling us enough. Horses who cannot find meaning in what they do are sour. They “misbehave.” They go lame. What we often do not realize is that it’s our fault.

Each and every time we as ordinary riders, just like the stars of the horse world, ask our horses to repeat an action they have already learned, or to do something contrary to their nature as horses, we are asking for a kind of submission, “making” him do things that make no sense to him. Most of horseback riding is not natural to horses, to be sure.
Horseback riding and training require a certain amount of repetition. This is irrefutable. But how much is enough? How can we be sure that our horses’ activities have clear and valid meaning for them?

One way is to change the way in which they are rewarded for producing the desired behavior. The pleasure of spending time with us is a reward for social animals like horses. We don’t always have time, but making time within our riding and training schedules to add a few extra moments of just being together with no goal in mind, and using this as a reward/positive reinforcement adds meaning to the tasks we ask horses to do.

Another way is to increase the amount of physical contact we have with our horses. Not the kind with the whip or with the leg. The kind where you both are on the ground and your hands are on the horse. Touch is a miracle communicator because horses are sensory creatures. Like us, touch in equine life is an important part of the establishment of social hierarchies and family interaction. The reward of human touch is powerful for such tactile animals. You’ve seen a horse with a metaphorical sign reading, “will work for food,” but most of them also will work for touch.

Do what comes naturally to your horse. An Icelandic Horse is bred for moving out across country. Their minds are not suited to riding in circles in arenas. If you are going to ask them to work in confined spaces at tasks they don’t inherently understand, make sure they get to do what they do understand, on a daily basis. Ride out, at speed!
Likewise, a Percheron is not built for, nor does he have the mindset for, the rapid changes in tempo and rhythm of dressage. Don’t even try it! I’m not suggesting that owners of Percherons take up hauling logs instead of riding. But perhaps long rides in the country are a better option for the health and sanity of the horse.
The much-abused Thoroughbred also comes to mind. OTTBs just aren’t constitutionally suited to a great many of the jobs we give them. Sure, they are in plentiful supply. They are inexpensive and easily replaceable. But consider suitability for your desired activity first. And if it’s just impossible to match breed to discipline, make sure you keep in mind my suggestions above for keeping your horse sane: avoid mindless repetition of meaningless tasks, give plenty of downtime in your company, and make sure to touch touch touch! I have one further suggestion for helping your horse find meaning in his working life.

The best way to ensure that horses find meaning in what they do is to change things up. On a routine basis. Yes, we will have to put considerable thought into this.

Non-habitual movements, like those described by Moshe Feldenkrais, capture the horse’s attention in a way that habitual actions do not. When practiced in a relaxed atmosphere without provoking typical fear responses, any new activity involving all four feet, the head or tail, or the back or belly engages the horse’s mind in a new way. Expanding the horse’s body image through new and different (non-habitual) movement sequences brings attention to parts of his body he might not be fully aware of (we all know those horses who forget they have hind feet and leave them parked out, for example). Asking a horse to do new things allows you to become more aware of their habitual neuromuscular patterns and rigidities as well because you are seeing them in a new way. You can then expand his options for new ways of moving and living his life more fully and comfortably, not to mention with greater ease of performance.

The Tellington TTouch Method™ has a variety of ground work and ridden exercises called the Playground for Higher Learning . Through brainwave studies, it has been shown that working on the activities in the Playground activates both hemispheres of the equine brain and calms the sympathetic nervous system, the part that excites the flight reaction so common in horses when they don’t understand what is being asked of them. The opportunities for learning are increased greatly. It is interesting to note that when navigating corners in the labyrinth, a horse’s BETA brainwaves are activated. They are actually thinking logically while working in the Playground for higher learning.

Why get excited about a horse thinking? When lungeing or repeating the activities we might need endless practice at, horses turn off their brains. They get sour and sometimes they get angry. A sour, angry horse who is merely becoming fitter as a result of all this mindless exercise is not the horse we want. This does them a profound disservice and does not further our goals.

Guiding a horse deliberately and gently through non-habitual paths while in close physical contact is the very essence of mindful horsemanship. The bonus is that it’s fun!

It’s easy to make any of the items in the Playground for Higher Learning. You can use the stuff you have lying around the barn or purchase it cheaply. It’s not heavy and can be set up and then moved out of the way to ride by one person in minutes. Here are some examples of what you might want to include.

The Zig Zag

The Tractor Tire

The Labyrinth

The Fan, or Star

The Triangle

These tools are not your typical obstacle course. They are not intended to be negotiated at speed, or as objects for desensitization. Rather the object is to practice focus and self-control, and to increase flexibility, body awareness, balance, coordination, and confidence. Increased patience is a wonderful side effect of working in the Playground. You can immediately see the benefits of working youngsters here.

It is beyond the scope of this post to describe how to use each of these obstacles. I suggest that you visit the Tellington TTouch website to read about them in more detail or get a book or video. Better yet, take a training so that you can practice with a horse before trying yourself. The TTouch methods of leading a horse through these obstacles is an integral part of the exercises. Last week in Bodega Bay, California, horses worked in these obstacles, and on a plywood platform raised 6 inches off the ground, in addition to walking through a gradually-built path of straw bales with people standing on them, eventually holding bright pool noodles in an arch over the horse. I saw striking changes in these horses in a short time–just four days of work two hours a day. These horses ranged from a youngster aged three (not yet mounted) to an elder aged 23 (unrideable due to past neglect and possible abuse), to a Grand Prix dressage horse with impeccable training and manners.

Horses’ capacity for learning and engagement with their human handlers never ends. It is our responsibility to meet them more than halfway by providing the opportunity to do so.

I’m not suggesting that we all drop our favorite equestrian disciplines in favor of turning our horses out into a field and visiting them daily with a carrot, a massage and a turn in the Playground. Though that would be excellent. We have horses so we can do things with them. Balance is absolutely necessary. It takes skillful means to strike and hold that balance. It isn’t easy, and it takes more time than grabbing the horse from the stall or field, scraping off the dirt, slapping on tack and circling the arena 50 times.

Rather than seeking yields (submission), we might instead seek cooperation, fun and learning with these tools, which will allow us to pursue our personal horseback riding and training goals without completely eradicating the soul of the horse. In this, we can all learn from Frédéric Pignon and Linda Tellington-Jones, whose mutual goal is to uphold the sanctity of the horse.

The California Tellington TTouch Training for Horses is finished… and new adventures begin tomorrow.

Tonight I pack to prepare for a super-seekrit mystery side trip. I’m not sure if I’ll be allowed to blog about it for a while, but if I’m given permission, you’ll be the first to know.

This has been a fantastic week of horses and people (all women, it turned out) at Skyhorse Ranch in Sonoma County, California. The range of types of horses we got to work with and their needs was broad and fascinating. I fell in love with a young gentleman sporthorse named Kai, whom I look forward to telling you all about in a later post.

We also had the pleasure of working with Octango, the Grand Prix mount of dressage star Barbi Breen-Gurley, who is so engaging and eager to learn, even at this stage in her illustrious career. I’ve never gotten my mitts on so nice a horse before, or had the privilege of seeing so talented a partnership in action, all without force, dominance or over-collection or overflexion. Octango is as sound mentally and emotionally as he is physcially. What a thrill!

At times I felt as if I’d spent the entire week running backward in deep footing with a videocam in my hands (watch those cavaletti!). But this is not true. Though my primary role was to observe, I did a lot of bodywork and groundwork (the teachers will tell you, “not enough!”), and was able to get in touch with horses again on a more intimate level than I have since I was hurt about a year ago.

When I saw the first horse I was afraid I would burst into tears for wanting to bury my face in his neck and breathe him in. That’s how much I have missed horses. Being the “official witness” in this training also meant I got to sneak in secret nuzzles and whispered chats while the others were working. Horses just love conspiratorial affection.

I saw some amazing transformations in horses again at this training–things you would think impossible if you haven’t seen the ground and body work of TTouch. After seeing this work again this year, I now wonder how other clinicians film those “before and after” bits in their videos. What is the interval between the “before” and “after?” How many takes were required? I got some interesting video showing striking changes in behavior and carriage that occurred in just a couple of hours. Sometimes in a couple of minutes. No special effects, no lungeing, no coercion.

It was nice to be reminded in a concrete way that what I have been talking about on this blog actually does occur, sometimes with surprising speed an grace. Many horses went back to their paddocks after a morning or afternoon session with expressions of calm satisfaction on their faces to match those of their people.

So far, all good news from Virginia: things go well for my daughter.

I’d better go pack, because tomorrow I have to leave my beloved Caroline’s place in Sonoma for more learning, more fun and then a return to my badly-missed pets!

I’ve been thinking about this new series of posts for a long time. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean I have perfected the concept before I deciding to bring it to you. So I ask your patience as I refine my ideas.

Each week I plan to introduce and discuss how body work can enhance your horse’s life with reference to either a particular part of the horse’s body or a common area of soreness. Often, simple bodywork procedures can alleviate behavioral issues related to pain and fear of pain in those areas as well, and I will recommend those.

As we all know, finding suitable images for use online will be tough, but I hope to get permission to use what I need to demonstrate the all-important HOW TO segments.

This will not be an extended lesson on Tellington TTouch. While it will figure prominently (it’s always nice to write about what you love), there are many other bodywork methodologies that appeal to a wide audience, and I’d like to explore a great many of them.

WHAT TOPICS WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE COVERED ON TUESDAY’S TOUCH?

This will evolve, as all blogging projects do. Please let me know by commenting here if there’s a topic or a particular area you’d like to see discussed here, or if there’s something you would like to add. Guest posts are welcome!

© 2009 enlightened horsemanship through touch and Kim Cox Carneal

I’m delighted to be typing in bed, sleepover-style in a room at LaFonda on the Square, shared with biologist, zoologist, Feldenkrias Practitioner and Pet Food Chef Elinor Silverstein. Unfortunately, labeling Elinor any of those things does no justice whatsoever to her enormous body of knowledge. I’m here to learn from Elinor and many others who contribute to the world of Tellington Touch through their own work.

No time to run down the impressive list of experts on the schedule–I have to sleep some time! I think for me the most interesting will be Elinor’s neurology-based work. You can be sure I will report on that.

I’m on my way to Santa Fe, NM to the TTouch CELLebration, so you will all have to suffer a little more TTouch than usual for the upcoming weeks. Here’s some good stuff.

Click here to visit the Horse Hero Site

You will have to log in to view Sarah Fisher’s video. It might be worth it to create an account, whether you intend to return or not. There is some pretty interesting stuff there. Most of the content, with the notable exception of Sarah Fisher, is very traditional. The video format is really nice–you get access to major movers and shakers in a very intimate way.

Here’s the blurb about Sarah’s video:

Behaviourist Sarah Fisher, demonstrates the art of riding without a bridle using the veteran mare Sage and her owner Corine. Starting with both a bridle and a neck ring (plus the ‘wand’), Sarah ensures Corine has brakes and horse and rider are feeling safe and secure. When the bridle comes off Corine demonstrates all paces and jumps! The mare moves freely and enjoys herself. Sarah says riding without a bridle is addictive. It’s useful for older horses, horses that fall out through the shoulder, tilt their head or are jammed at the poll. Riders improve their posture, balance and confidence. Sarah gets Horse Hero’s Fiona Price to join in the fun too!