10/27/2024
Something to try 🙃
SLOOOOOW DOWN!
SLOW your walking down to 1 step per second with and without your horse next to you.
SLOW your hand movements down as you touch or do things.
SLOW your talking down.
SLOW your breathing down.
SLOW your pulls and pushes down on the leadrope.
SLOW to FLOW!
Humans are WAAAAY to fast for horses and this is one of the leading causes of reactivity and opposition reflex in horses.
Speed = stress.
Let me teach you what speed does...
When the brain perceives a threat, it causes the body to release the stress response hormone cortisol. Cortisol levels and speed go hand in hand.
Cortisol provides the body with the fuel it needs to flee a scary situation or fight against it.
The thing with the mind-body relationship is that the brain feels an emotion such as fear, which create a physical response in the body, but the body can also move at a certain speed or in a particular way and create an emotion in the brain. It can be reverse engineered.
This is how special the intimate relationship is between the brain and body.
The other thing to remember is that, collectively as a social animal, when speed is noticed by another mammal (no matter the species), it alerts the unconscious brain to threat.
Speed is an alarm system in a social system (consciously and unconsciously).
If you walked down a road and everyone started running, you'd find it hard not to run even if you didn't know what the cause was. You are noticing that others are running and in a direction, so you mirror them to increase your chances of survival. You don't need the reasoning part of your brain for this. You just activated your primal (survival) part of the brain.
One other thing to remember: HORSES CAN SMELL CORTISOL. So not only does your speed act as a visual alarm system to your horse, it also acts as an olfactory one!
Would you want to interact with someone who caused you to feel constantly on alert?
These little things are the beginnings of what ripples into chronic stress in both humans and horses.
You spend enough time around someone who is fast in their movement, your nervous system will condition itself to being on high alert.
HELLO 👋 CHRONIC STRESS!!!
Slow your movement down = slow your thoughts down.
Slow your movement down = lower your cortisol.
Slow your movement down = feel connected with yourself, the world and others in it.
Slow your movement down = slow your alarm systems down and eventually they'll turn off.
Slow down so much that it is uncomfortable. It won't be uncomfortable for long, I promise 😉
Happy brain training 🧠
Charlotte 🙂
Beautifully situated, full service dressage and jumping facility for the training of performance horses. Where quality horse care is our top priority.
