(This blog was originally posted on August 13, 2014)
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| Baby Galahad, 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.
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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