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The Traumatized Horse

© Gwenyth Browning Jones Santagate

(Susan) wrote, : Hi, I'm new here. Maybe I can get some insight : from some of you. I train barrel horses and I : sent an unstarted 3 yr. old gelding out to a : natural horse trainer in my area because when I : purchased him, he had been unhandled except for : castration and vaccinations, and after I brought : him home, he appeared too dangerous for me to do a : whole lot with. >>>

Hey Susan ... I can only imagine HOW this little guy was castrated and vaccinated. Obviously in such a manner as to cause him to violently defend himself! I've worked with horses like this and the only things I can suggest are consistency, patience, assertive gentleness (never, ever aggressive!!!!!!!!) and t-i-m-e. I would also integrate Clicker Training into our relationship to help clarify our communications.

Using the mechanical click is a tremendous aid to helping the horse think through traumatic responses. The frequency of the sound that the clicker makes actually is able to interrupt the flight or fight response to a specific stimuli thereby causing the horse to stop and think. Our voice and actions are not able to affect the amygdala in such a manner. We have neither the frequency in sound nor the milliseconds of response. The amygdala is the portion of the brain in mammals that triggers the flight response. At the instant of an incident that causes a panic response, the amygdala sends messaging to the rest of the body to flee. In human instances the result is a quickening of the heartrate, increase in blood pressure, release of adrenalin, hair standing on end, respirations stop and then quicken, etc. The same sort of response happens with horses as they instantly prepare to flee. The clicker is also a wonderful way to positively encourage your horse to increase a desired behavior and establish motivation for the horse to try again to "get it right." With traumatic episodes that turn into traumatic stress syndrome, it may be that the horse will learn to trust just one person. On the other hand, if you are able to integrate CT with your training you'll help the horse become a more grounded and confident animal who will learn to trust other human beings as well. If you have the patience and the self-discipline to keep from becoming angry and frustrated while working with this little guy then, by all means, start workin'! Use limited body movement - use just what is needed for your request and no more; be sure you are clear and concise as well as consistent with all your language. Most of all, be sure your heart is in the right place before going out to him. He needs your considerate and kind support and if you can't give him that then you need to find someone who can.