The Importance of Seeing Deeply and Being Grounded in the Present Moment When Working With Horses.

Magneto's herdmates give him the confidence to take a good nap in the field. Only a horse that feels secure will take a deep rest like this in the middle of a field during the day. Magneto relies on his trust in his herd to be aware of his surroundings and to provide him with information on his security as he sleeps.

The amazing thing about life is how much communication there is without language. Humans lose sight of this magic because of our strong reliance on words. We are seldom confident in our gut reactions or aware of all the information and communication that is going on around us. We wait for the words even when there is often less truth behind them when they come.
Other social animals tend to tune us out because they realize we are not tuned in. We are fairly unaware of our surroundings and other animals’ attempts to share communication about them. We simply don’t see what they are communicating. We don’t even see or understand if what our own nervous systems are transmitting is authentic to the present moment. We are tuned out.

The more we tune into our digital lives, the further away we sail from the realities of nature, authenticity and truth. So often, we are not “right here, right now”. We are lost in space and in time that has no real relationship to the present moment, and we are fooling our nervous systems into the dramas of our minds and digital lives. Since social animals communicate far more on a nervous system level, we are, at worst, transmitting a “not safe” vibe, and at best, we appear obtuse and unresponsive to them and our environment.

For this reason, we often can’t reach our pets when they panic or make strong connections with them because they have no confidence that we truly see what concerns them or are aware of what is happening in our environment. And if we do see, we don’t often know how to communicate back to them in an appropriate way that lets them realize that, at this moment, all is well.

Security and self-preservation are the number one driving forces for herd animals like horses when they confront novelty, be it a new environment, animal or object. The things they wish to know from the other members of the herd are: do you see what I see? and Is it safe or dangerous? Do I need to be ready for fight or flight, or can I go safely back to rest, feed and digest?

A good herd buddy sees, feels and picks up on this concern. They provide the response information needed. When things are okay, they know how to regulate their own nervous system response so that it can transmit the right message of security to their companions. This is who we need to become to help our horses feel comfortable, connected and safe in our presence. This is the way we can help our horses to learn and accept new things.

Below, I explain how we do this work of awareness and nervous system regulation to help two feral horses who are learning to trust their caregivers and expand their tolerance for touch and handling.

Dauby works with Ivan and Trayce works with Izzy. Both horses are feral rescues who need to learn trust in humans so that they can be handled.

Ivan is a five year old feral draft cross. His only handling by humans was when he was caught, gelded, loaded on a truck and taken to a kill pen. He was rescued by Trayce Doubek and has been living in a pasture and run-in stall with his sister Izzy, who is also feral and was rescued by Trayce. They have been there for two years but have not been handled much.

Ivan is more fearful than Izzy, and we are working to help him get used to being touched. A volunteer named Dauby Fowler stands next to Ivan in his pasture. Every time Ivan sees or hears something, Dauby notices and tries to see with him. She notices what and where he is looking. She notices the tension in his body. She notices the amount of concern on his face. Every time Ivan relaxes a tiny bit, Dauby re-grounds herself in a meditative state that tells her nervous system and Ivan’s nervous system that everything in this moment is fine. What Dauby is doing is helping Ivan down-regulate his nervous system and realize that his environment is not that scary. As Ivan learns that Dauby is seeing everything that scares or concerns him, and is being able to help him realize that he is fine, the more he gains confidence in her and his surroundings.

Dauby grounds herself in the present moment as Ivan down regulates from having seen movement.

Ivan begins to turn his head or flip an ear in Dauby’s direction when he sees or hears something. He is, in a sense, asking for her opinion on their safety. He is starting to treat her as a valuable herdmate.
I shout to Dauby that I am about to appear around the corner and ask her to co-regulate with Ivan as I approach them and go up to Ivan. As Ivan hears and sees my approach, he looks at me. He becomes concerned by my approach, but Dauby is standing nearby, seeing Ivan’s concern and feeding his nervous system the information that all is well. I continue my approach slowly, and Dauby keeps helping Ivan by co-regulating with him. The following photos further illustrate how Dauby helps Ivan eventually find the courage to reach out and sniff my hand and then allow me to reach forward and slowly touch him on the forehead. This slow, aware and well-regulated work will enable Ivan to understand that he is fine when people approach and offer a pat. This will eventually erode his old nervous system response of being fearful of humans based on how he was treated by them in the past.

Ivan checks in with Dauby for information on their security as I approach them.

Ivan yawns, releasing stress, as he down regulates with Dauby's help, and processes my approach.

I ask Dauby to picture Ivan touching my hand which is just out of the picture. Note the ear he keeps flipped towards Dauby as he steps forward to touch my hand with his nose.

With Dauby's help Ivan gets socialy engaged enough to reach out and touch my hand. This means that his nervous system is calm enough that he can be curious about me.

Here, I am asking Dauby, since she is mentally connected to Ivan to picture Ivan allowing me to stroke his forehead.

Note how soft and relaxed Ivan's face is as I reach out to touch him.

In the corral next door, Trayce has been doing the same work of being a good herd mate to Izzy, seeing what concerns her in her environment and then helping her feel peaceful. This work has gone so well with Izzy this morning that Trayce is now helping Izzy to be comfortable with letting Trayce put a halter on her, wearing it for a while and realizing that Trayce will also take it off her. Izzy has been haltered a few times already but the experience is still a little frighting for her, so we are taking it slow and working at her pace. Trayce is careful to pause whenever she sees Izzy growing concerned. Trayce makes sure that she carefully regulates her own nervous system to help Izzy remain curious and connected to their interaction. By doing this careful work of being present and seeing Izzy’s concerns, Trayce is keeping Izzy’s engagement. The following photos help to illustrate this process.

Trayce takes a moment to regulate her nervous system as she halters Izzy. Note the soft expression on Izzy face.

Trayce goes slow and takes another pause before she does up the halter. You can see a tiny brace in Izzy that Trayce is waiting for Izzy to get over.

Because the whole process is done with awareness and grounding, Izzy is enjoying the interaction and is following Trayce around. They have great connection.

Izzy asks for the halter again, enjoying learning something new and engaging with Trayce. All kinds of things can be taught in this way.

The work of being present and really seeing the horse is so important to building connection and for helping horses to be comfortable in their environments and with new and novel experiences. If you would like to learn more about this method and my services, please visit my Two Step Technique page.