The Journey

In some of our up-coming posts we will be exploring the concept of being "a student of the horse" and how that differs from the traditional form of horse riding lessons. This week our journey begins with Cimarron...

Cimarron has been with me almost three months.  When he arrived, he didn't want to be haltered when at liberty in the pasture and would only let me pick up his front left foot after being haltered.   He was easy to lead on the left, but very difficult to approach, touch, or lead from the right.  The first day it took 50 minutes before he would stand in the pasture to put on his halter.  We began five days a week- one hour a day of halter and feet training combined with massage.  By the end of the first week it only took 15 minutes to get his halter on and by the end of six weeks he was coming to me to have it put on each day.  Now, if I make a kissy noise, he walks towards me and positions himself on my right with his head lowered and his neck bent towards me to have his halter put on.  He is just as calm when having the halter removed and stands or walks off calmly when it comes off instead of trotting away as he did in the beginning.  After 8 weeks he would let me clean all four feet and at 10 weeks our farrier, Megan Perkins, pulled his front shoes and trimmed his front feet.  That was a major milestone for Cimarron and after some education his owner has committed to keeping Cimarron barefoot.  

After 8 weeks, I began to include Cimarron's owner in one lesson a week.  His owner is also able to groom him, lead him, and pick up his feet.  Cimarron has also "joined up" with us both at different times and even breathes my breath on occasion.

Throughout this process, myself and Ferronato continued to work on his body.  Cimarron holds a lot of tension in his body and has a very strong "trauma response".  "Trauma response" for Cimarron means he has anxiety over every new situation- new expectations, new locations, new equipment, etc.  When his anxiety increases, so does his tension in his body.  At times, every muscle in his body would be clenched in fear in an extreme sympathetic nervous system response.  It is my belief that Cimarron has experienced some kind of trauma or abuse in his past.  He has two brands (one on each hip) and several scars on his legs.  The exact nature of this trauma is unclear and it is not necessary to know the details to see the effect it has on him.  His anxiety over grooming, hoof care, haltering, and leading have decreased significantly.  But any new experiences still causes a trauma response in his body.  So many of the tensions that have been released in his body return when his anxiety gets up again.  While I don't think Cimarron has a mean bone in his body, I am very clear that he is still dangerous because of his anxiety and fear gets too great he wouldn't hesitiate to run a person over in his attempt to escape.

We are now moving into a new phase of training for Cimarron.  His owner has put together a list of things he would like to do with Cimarron.  Specifically, he wants to do trail riding and mounted shooting.   

The other day, Ferronato and I took Cimarron for a walk on the trail to get a baseline of how much work it will take for Cimarron to comfortably and safely do those things.  We took him out in a rope halter and didn't go far because it was clearly stressful for Cimarron and unsafe for Ferronato, as well as myself and Cimarron.  He did not respect our personal space, he walked too fast and ahead of us.  He was very focused on the possible "dangers" all around him and not on the person holding his rope.  He got very nervous going under a train bridge.  And this was just walking down a wide open trail with no other people, dogs, horses, cars or the many other things that you can encounter on a trail ride.  Ferronato and I discussed how to use body work to interrupt the trauma response- using t-touch and mediterranean techniques to teach him to relax his body and release his stress (mental and physical).  We also started on a plan to break trail riding down into its most basic elements and go a little farther each time. We started with just going up and down the gravel driveway. Truly every thousand mile journey begins with the first step.

The owner has a belief that Cimarron is a much better horse under saddle than he is in hand.  I have only seen Cimarron under saddle once- after his owner took him on a short trail ride I met them at their place as thay were returning.  He was very physically and mentally stressed after that ride and I thought at that time that if they continued for another 20 minutes, Cimarron would probably have freaked out and thrown his person.  But the owner thought he "did great".  What I saw was wide eyes and trembling hamstrings.  Cimarron was complying, but he wasn't relaxed or in any way enjoying himself.  Even if a horse is great under saddle, you should still be able to walk your horse safely on a trail in case something happens and you can't ride home.  

I feel that we will have to continue to work though this "trauma response' and teach him a different way to handle stressful situations with confidence before he will be safe to go under saddle.  We will continue to use bodywork, energywork, and various training techniques to do this, but unfortunatley I can't predict how long it will take.  "It takes as long as it takes" says Ferronato.  It could be that he has a breakthrough next week and resets his nervous system and the trauma is over.  Or it could be years of "two steps forward, one step back".  

Let's be clear- Cimarron is a very smart horse.  "Dumb" is not one of his problems.  But fears are not always rational and therefore not always predictable.  I am so grateful to have this opportunity to learn how to help this horse.  And even more grateful on the horse's behalf that his owner has brought him into a program where he will be treated with respect and love as he learns to work through these issues.  As he continues to improve on all levels, I have hope that we will help Cimarron to discover his joy and purpose in life.

--Nicole Sulick 
Nicole is a Three Treasures Farms Equine Massage Intern; her bio and contact information is available on our Intern Page. 

Trailer Being

The other day, I tried to put a horse in a trailer. I didn’t want to do it, as I have no real experience with trailer loading. But I had an agenda; I needed the horse at my place for rehabilitation and some basic re-training, so I took my trailer to his place to pick him up and bring him home. The owner and I tried putting him in the trailer. He went in, and then he came out. I tried to convince him to stay in and he insisted on getting out. I didn’t want to fight with him but it was so frustrating to have him go inside only to immediately get right back out again. I just wanted to take him home and do great things with him, but the horse couldn’t understand my future intentions. All he knew is that when he went in the first time, we tried to trap him in a little metal box. I asked the horse to get back in the trailer again, but he wouldn’t. Other people arrived to “help” and they all claimed to know how to “get a horse in a trailer” and since I wasn’t having any luck I thought, why not? The whole focus was on getting him in and by now he wouldn’t go in, let alone stay in. Meanwhile the horse’s anxiety is increasing to the point of making him dangerous. The owner and I felt powerless and wanted to trust the more “experienced” people. After watching with a hopeful heart it unfortunately became clear however that the horse was being traumatized. The owner called a “stop” to it and Ferronato arrived in response to my SOS. She proceeded to show the horse’s owner and myself how to put a horse in a trailer in a manner that he would feel comfortable with the request. He went in. He came out. She said “cool” and let him get out. He went in. He came out. Each time he went in and out was smoother than the last and each time he was allowed to leave the trailer when his anxiety became too much for him. It was beautiful to watch the trust building between Ferronato and the horse as she helped him through this process. Each time he went in, he stayed a few seconds longer until he would feel anxious and back out. He was fine with trailer loading. He was not fine with TRAILER BEING.

The owner now had a choice. He could load the horse, slam the door and transport the horse despite his stress and anxiety. He could force him to endure the 45 minute drive while in a panic attack like state, causing him to continue to be stressed out whenever he has to be in a trailer in the future. Or he could accept his horse’s comfort level and allow him to take his time (in this case even extending the process to another lesson on a different day) becoming comfortable with being in the trailer. He could allow his horse to master trailer being which is defined by the horse being relaxed, comfortable and confident while in the trailer, a skill he will then always have.

Which one would you choose?

The owner chose to wait. Ferronato returned two days later and again let the horse go in and out of the trailer- being a smoother transition and a longer stay inside each time. Until finally the horse decided he was tired of going in and out and decided it was easier to stay inside the trailer. He was then smoothly and calmly transported to my place. Clearly, I had let my agenda override the horse’s need for additional training on trailer being. All too often we have an agenda or a checklist of things that we think need to happen (usually physical things like hoof care, vet procedures, or travel) when in fact we are overlooking the more powerful emotional and mental needs of our horses. Horses are often ruled by their emotions and are very sensitive to the energy of the situation. Think of a time when you went to a doctor and they had you in and out in five minutes, but never really made eye contact with you. They may have given you a medicine to treat a condition, but you leave feeling like they didn’t hear you or even see you. There was no emotional contact around that maybe you’re scared about being at the doctors or scared you might be getting a serious medical condition.

These needs are real for people and for horses. We have to learn to address all the needs of our horses equally: physical, mental, and emotional. In reality, it took less than two hours total of Ferronato working with this horse for him to become comfortable being inside the trailer. We were in such a hurry to get him in that first day that we overlooked the most important part of trailer loading: the horse's perspective. Now it seems silly to me that we would have rushed him into the trailer, but then have the same problems every time we tried to put him in a trailer after that. After watching and learning from Ferronato, I realize what a small investment of time two hours was, because trailer loading will be so much easier for that horse from now on. We may have to go through the same process again, but it will be shorter, safer, and more effective each time. What a gift to give that horse respect and understanding. I learned a lot from this experience. Unfortunately, a lot of what I learned is what NOT to do. But I also learned how to recognize when I might be putting my agenda before my horse’s anxieties and fears and to respect those feelings while still working through them. In the short term, I thought I wanted to get a horse in a trailer. Now I realize that I can teach horses how to be comfortable loading into and being inside a trailer. By helping them work through their fears, they will realize they can count on me to give them the time and support they need to work in out. To me, this is true partnership.

--Nicole Sulick
Nicole is a Three Treasures Farms Equine Massage Intern; her bio and contact information is available on our Intern Page.  You can meet Nicole at the 3TF Herb Walk on Sunday, May 20th. 

Buyer Beware

There is nothing unique about this experience. It happens frequently in the horse industry, but the point is it shouldn’t. A man buys a horse, the horse turns out to have problems man knew nothing about prior to purchase. Although a recent situation with a horse one of my Interns is working on inspired this post, it has been a recurring theme for my entire horse career, starting with my own purchase of my very first horse.  In the coming months we will be following Cimarron’s training with posts from both myself and my intern, Nicole Sulick.  We hope to educate and help keep others from making the all-too-common mistake of getting in over their head by purchasing a horse that turns out not to be what they bargained for. I would both encourage and caution you that if you are interested in purchasing a horse to pay a trained professional to assist you and to be careful that, if that professional is your trainer, they have your best interest at heart.

As part of 3TF’s Massage Intern program, Interns are required to work on horses under my supervision. Nicole had been working with Cimarron, a lovely brown Quarter Horse, since the end of January for massage, along with some training, as he was having some behavioral issues that affected Nicole’s ability to massage him. Nicole submitted notes for my review, and presented her experiences to the Intern class. I gave Nicole suggestions and recommendations, but she felt like she was continuing to struggle since the horse just didn’t seem to be making the progress other horses that she worked on did. She discussed her concerns with me, and at this point I felt it was time to see for myself what was going on. Nicole and I decided the best thing was for me to meet the horse and provide a professional massage for him, with Nicole available to observe and ask questions.

When we got to where Cimarron was boarded, he was standing tied to a horse trailer. I prefer to use a round pen or arena for a massage so that I can watch the horse move freely, which has the added benefit of warming up the muscles as well.  I also find horses tend to be more receptive to massage when not tied up. I find this method safer for me, too, as the horse does better when he sees he has room to move if he needs it and does feel trapped. I knew this facility did not have either. I could also tell just by looking at the horse when we pulled up that he wasn’t going to be comfortable, no matter what I did. Because of this, I decided to jump in and start working with the horse while he was tied.

The first thing that struck me was how tight Cimarron’s muscles were over his entire body. He held himself in such a state of anxiety that all his muscles appeared to be firing at once as though his entire nervous system were on fire and ready for flight or fight. I was told that he was going off to a trainer’s in a couple of days to try and “fix” his training issues. Over the years I have learned to listen to my intuition and when listening to the plan I got this sick feeling in my stomach that I get when I shouldn’t do something. I didn’t know the trainer, but from what I knew of the horse I thought it would take a fairly special person to be able to integrate the body issues of this horse with his training problems. I also felt Nicole would be a more suitable choice than an unknown trainer, since I knew Nicole would ask for help and not allow ego to stand in the way of helping a horse. The owner said he would feel much more comfortable with this choice as well.  Nicole made the arrangements for the horse to come to where she boards her horse, which does have a round pen. The next step (and blog post in this series) would be getting him there.