Wither Scratches

I am continuing to suspend in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone, and Zoom consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

 

(This blog was originally posted on August 13, 2014)

Baby Galahad with his dam, Alisa. Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan

 

When my horse gets startled or if he seems anxious or worried about something when I’m riding, I scratch his withers and speak soft words of reassurance to let him that everything is okay. This gesture mimics the way Galahad’s mother would have gently nibbled him there to comfort and reassure her foal, “I’m here. You are safe. I will take care of you.” To put this response in the context of Hypnosis Motivation Institute  founder John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Theory of Mind. When I scratch Galahad’s withers, he responds to this sensation with a deep sigh and fluttering his nostrils (nickering) because I have activated his known association between a specific tactile sensation and feeling secure.

Consider how a human mother might comfort her fussing infant. Once she is confident that the baby is not hungry and doesn’t need a diaper change, she would probably pick him up and hold the child until he stops crying. She might pat or rub small circles on the baby’s back, between his shoulder blades, and whisper comforting words to soothe him. (This behavior and area of the body that is rubbed is very similar to the wither scratches I described earlier.) The baby learns by association and repetition of this interaction that when he is upset, Mom (or Dad, sibling, etc.) will protect and take care of him. If she doesn’t do any of these things, the baby will create a subconscious association between how she reacts to his distress and whether he will feel comforted and safe. In addition, when that child grows up and has his own children, he is likely to interact with them the same way his parent did, because that is what he knows.

I am not saying my horse thinks and reasons or plans the same way a human does. However, the fact that his training is based on a model of repetition and association suggests that in addition to his instinctive reactions, he also responds to some situations based on what he learned (knows) through his training. Just as a human learns to comfort a child based on his or her experiences being a comforted child, a mare learns from her own mother how to soothe her baby. My mother taught me how good it feels to feel safe and cared for, and a late riding instructor told me where and how to scratch this sweet spot on a horse’s withers to reassure him the same way. Fast-forward to today, Galahad associates particular contact on a specific part of his body as a sign of reassurance from me—someone who is not his mother but learned how to comfort him the way she would have.

 

 

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Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. Sara has been voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California, four years in a row (2019-2022). For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/

© 2022

 

 

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2019

Wither Scratches

(This blog was originally posted on August 13, 2014)

Baby Galahad with his dam, Alisa. Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan

When my horse gets startled or if he seems anxious or worried about something when I’m riding, I scratch his withers and speak soft words of reassurance to let him that everything is okay. This gesture mimics the way Galahad’s mother would have gently nibbled him there to comfort and reassure her foal, “I’m here. You are safe. I will take care of you.” To put this response in the context of Hypnosis Motivation Institute  founder John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Theory of Mind. When I scratch Galahad’s withers, he responds to this sensation with a deep sigh and fluttering his nostrils (nickering) because I have activated his known association between a specific tactile sensation and feeling secure. 

Consider how a human mother might comfort her fussing infant. Once she is confident that the baby is not hungry and doesn’t need a diaper change, she would probably pick him up and hold the child until he stops crying. She might pat or rub small circles on the baby’s back, between his shoulder blades, and whisper comforting words to soothe him. (This behavior and area of the body that is rubbed is very similar to the wither scratches I described earlier.) The baby learns by association and repetition of this interaction that when he is upset, Mom (or Dad, sibling, etc.) will protect and take care of him. If she doesn’t do any of these things, the baby will create a subconscious association between how she reacts to his distress and whether he will feel comforted and safe. In addition, when that child grows up and has his own children, he is likely to interact with them the same way his parent did, because that is what he knows.

I am not saying my horse thinks and reasons or plans the same way a human does. However, the fact that his training is based on a model of repetition and association suggests that in addition to his instinctive reactions, he also responds to some situations based on what he learned (knows) through his training. Just as a human learns to comfort a child based on his or her experiences being a comforted child, a mare learns from her own mother how to soothe her baby. My mother taught me how good it feels to feel safe and cared for, and a late riding instructor told me where and how to scratch this sweet spot on a horse’s withers to reassure him the same way. Fast-forward to today, Galahad associates particular contact on a specific part of his body as a sign of reassurance from me—someone who is not his mother but learned how to comfort him the way she would have.

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Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2019

Bring a Buddy

(This blog was originally posted on December 10, 2014)

        Do you remember your first day of school? Mom or Dad—or maybe both parents—dropped you off in front of the school or even at your classroom. They probably gave you hugs and kisses and plenty of reassurance that everything would be okay, you’d have fun, etc. Perhaps they even tasked an older sibling to watch out for you at recess and lunch until you got settled in. Once you had been there for a while and had made friends of your own, you didn’t need to be under the family’s watchful eye so much. You’d be okay. Maybe, you’d even help another kid to settle in at the school who seemed worried or uncomfortable, too.

        Is it any different now that you are a grown-up? As humans (and social animals), we typically want and crave companionship of others. There is security in numbers, as they say; but there is also a sense of reassurance that everything really can be okay when you see and know someone who has experienced and succeeded in whatever you are going through. As hypnotherapist and Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D., explained, anything new is likely to be “painful” to some degree because it is unknown and unfamiliar. However, a person’s suggestibility to other individuals can help to reduce this discomfort: As we observe someone else successfully negotiate a challenge we learn and/or infer how we can do the same thing.

        For example, the first time I took my horse out on a trail ride, my trainer rode his brother—an older and more experienced gelding—while she ponied him beside her. I didn’t ride Galahad that time out—I was on one of the schooling horses—because he had never been out on an organized ride like that before. My trainer wanted to be sure he would be relaxed, respectful and smart with people riding horses beside him. This way, we could all go for a walk around the neighborhood together with two more experienced horses and an experienced equestrian on-hand to relax and reassure me and my boy. I was new to the neighborhood and still fairly “new” to my horse, so this strategy was also great for me. I didn’t have to worry about getting lost on the circuitous streets near the barn, and I could observe how my horse behaved away from the barn without having to worry what to do if he didn’t behave.

        In fact, Galahad probably did the best of all that day. I do believe that having his big brother next to him was very reassuring during his new adventure. He kept looking all around him at the passing scenery as we made our way through the community. His ears flicked back and forth; sometimes he would blow contentedly as he followed us down one of the dusty streets. My trainer told me that my horse seemed to slow down as if he were dragging his hooves when we headed home. I was also more relaxed and relieved to be on that ride with a more experienced rider and horse. Just for safety’s sake, I do not ride alone—especially on an unfamiliar trail. In particular, I did not want to be on Galahad the first time he went out like this, without knowing what he was likely to do or how he might act away from the barn. Happily for us all, he was a star and we all had a wonderful time with our buddies to make a new, positive subconscious known (pleasure).

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2015