(This blog was originally posted on August 13, 2014)
Photo by Laurel van der Linde
Avalon's Galahad with his dam, Alisa
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.
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/.
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