Horse People, Please Respond

[ABKD]

Research points at the positive effects of relationship with a horse for people suffering from PTSD. But at the other hand, horses are mostly very sensitive for our emotions, which can be very confronting for us. Horses communicate through body language. They need to notice small changes in body language of other horses to survive.

 

[greenleaf]

I find grooming horses (and cats) to be very calming for myself. There is some technique so if you can ask the riding center folks to show you on a gentle horse, and just do that regularly for a while, you might start to have a sense of reciprocal communication with the horse. Some websites describe horse body language, I love trying to figure that out.

Also it's good exercise! Many horses like being groomed, esp. certain areas, and this time of year they need to get rid of winter shedding.

They are large and warm, and on a nice day it's just so soothing. Bonding with a horse this way can be really wonderful, takes time.

Also I like to spoil them with treats! That can give insight into their positive emotional expressions! :-)

 

[stillstanding2]

Do Chimps have that sense to pick up on someone who has PTSD or anxiety?

This is not relevant to horses, but I have always been curious why one of my cousins has always triggered either terror or outrage in monkeys, chimps and gorillas if they even see him at a zoo. It is like they go nuts, screaming in unison, throwing things in their cages and gnashing their teeth. Zoo personnel have had to ask him to leave. I suspect the primate's reaction is instinctual. My cousin has always had a fairly dominant personality. But he triggers the same reaction by just walking by a primate area. Gorillas and baboons act as if they would kill him if they could.

Incidentally, he's a good horseman.

 

[Powder]

See now that is fascinating!

Yes, that's my point. It's like dogs, cats, birds, primates, and pretty much most animals love me and come up to me, but not horses, they can't get away fast enough.

 

[Deleted member 12723]

Do you have fear of the horses? I think they pick that up and it makes them spook.

 

[scout86]

@Muse , the animals that you list as generally coming up to you don't look like they're prey animals. I wonder if there isn't something there. Could you share a little more detail about how your previous interactions with horses were structured? What were the horses like as far as their experience level and disposition? How were you introduced to them? What happened when you got bucked off? (Besides that you got bucked off.) Had the horse been ridden by novice riders? Were you given any instructions by someone familiar with the horse?

There are lots of things that could be going on, but, without more information, it's impossible to even guess at how things happened. Because they are prey animals and live in herds, horses, by nature, pick up cues from those around them. If they think we're nervous, they figure there might be something to be nervous ABOUT, for instance. And they'll look for things. And, their world view is "better safe than sorry". It's really not unlike dealing with a person with PTSD. But, they vary a lot in how reactive they are. Their previous experience and training play a part in that too. It might not be YOU as much as the way things were handled and the personality of the individual horses.

 

[Powder]

My first riding experiences were great. My grandfather (who I consider to be my spiritual father in this life because that is how I felt about him and his effect on me) kept some horses and let me help feed them in his barn. He'd let my sister and I ride one when we were small (say 5) while he walked on ahead leading them. Really simple, in the country.

I guess that was a feeling I'd like to reconnect with.

Later, I was offered to ride a horse owned by a family whose daughters about my age rode her. She was a novice/young horse whose only riders were the two teenage girls. She wouldn't let their dad ride. He let me ride her, thinking it would be fine, but it wasn't. She ran me into the barn wall and fence trying to get me off. She started as soon as he let go of her.

He grabbed her harness near the bit and she let me dismount.

I honestly have been afraid to ride since but thank you because I see now that she was basically a nearly wide young horse who only let two girls ride her after lots of them caring for her daily.

 

[stillstanding2]

My first riding experiences were great. My grandfather (who I consider to be my spiritual father in this lif...

Very often even an old horse, very gentle with kids, will test a new rider's confidence. I used to ride a friend's family's horses at his request to keep them tame enough for his kids. But a couple of times when I took my friends with me to ride also, one horse in particular (usually the gentlest) would act ornery, maybe sensing fear. Then he might even take off through the brush, trying to scrape the greenhorn off on low limbs. I've seen other horses do the same.

That was so scary to my friends that they would refuse to remount. It was almost like you had to be free of fear to approach that old hammerhead. But being firmly gentle with him would settle him down for a good ride. Grooming and talking to them, as well as treat, like an apple or carrots, can buy you a measure of trust from most normal triail horses.

 

[scout86]

@Muse , I think you can reconnect with that feeling and I think it would be wonderful if you did. You're right, you had an inexperienced horse there who wasn't ready for a rider she didn't know. You also were dealing with a person who probably didn't "get" the horse. It sounds like he had no idea what to expect, probably didn't see that trouble was coming, and then he wasn't someone the horse felt she could look to for help and security. If you can find an experienced riding instructor and take a few lessons, I'll bet things would change for you. (And the horses.) It sounds like your grandfather was a good horseman. He knew which horses to let you ride and they knew they could look to him for security if they needed it. That makes a HUGE difference!

 

[stillstanding2]

@Muse , I think you can reconnect with that feeling and I think it would be wonderful...

I do too. In my case learning to ride was especially good for my confidence in other things. I was close to legally blind and had no hopes of getting a driver's license. I already felt that I would always be a dependent on others to drive, or I would be a life-long pedestrian. Learning to ride freed me from those depressing prospects. It was something I could learn to do well and independently. Made a huge difference in my self-esteem.

It was one of the first times as a teen that I felt a level field among my peer group.