Malachi's Woodiness - First In the Trust Technique At Leatherwood Mule Days Series

Shannon and I discuss how the Trust Technique can help Malachi get over his "woodiness" when things scare him.

I did eight Trust Technique sessions at Leatherwood Mule Days a few weeks ago. It was a wonderful experience. It felt so great to be able to help so many of the mules and their owners. Two things were really clear right off the bat. One was that my clients really liked their mules and wanted to help them to be more comfortable and the other was how hard these mules were trying to be compliant despite being in a new place with no idea of their immediate future, why they were there or what was about to become of them. I could really feel their underlying anxieties yet on the surface they were mostly holding it together, compliantly going off to clinics, classes and trail rides.
Half the mules I worked with had badly abusive pasts. Two had been held for long periods of time without food or water as a “training punishment”. One had been badly beaten. Two had come out of kill pens. Most of the rest had been in multiple homes always leaving what they knew and the friends they had made. Only one had had a kind existence from the very beginning. Yet despite their fears and anxieties all these mules tried hard to do what was asked of them.

In the next several posts I will write about some of these mules and how the Trust Technique is helping them and their owners to overcome worries, and anxieties and to deepen their connection to one another.

The first appointment was with Shannon and her beautiful 3 year old Morab mule Malachi. Malachi has always had a good home. He went right from his mother’s side to Shannon’s farm. She has brought him along slowly and kindly, and given him exposure to many new things. He is confident for his age and trusting of Shannon and the new people he meets. Shannon wanted to work on Malachi’s tendency to become “woody” and unresponsive at times when he gets anxious of new places and situations.

This presentation is typical of youngsters of many species. Malachi just needs to gain experience and self-confidence. He needs to learn that he can be OK on his own and in new situations. At Leatherwood Mule Days he was overly attached and dependent on Shannon and the other mule he had come there with. When left alone in his stall with out the other mule next door to him he would become frantic, pacing and calling for her return. Once his worry (thinking levels) increased beyond a certain level he could no longer perceive that he was Ok alone and that he did not need to be in a panic.

With peace, patience and persistence using the Trust Technique in a daily practice, Malichi will learn that he is alright on his own and in new places. The Trust Technique will reduce Malachi’s thinking levels so that he can self learn that in the moment he is fine. Over time Malachi’s default thinking state will be lower and more peaceful which will allow him to understand he’s Ok. This will really grow his self confidence as well as increase his confidence and trust in Shannon.

Demonstrating to Shannon the offering of the Present Moment and the use of Mindful Regard to bring Malichi's mind down into a relaxed state.

We judge an animal’s thinking levels on a scale of 0, a dreamlike state of sleep to 10, a full on panic. Thinking levels above a 7 make it hard for an animal to learn anything new. Thinking levels 4-6 are a good alert level in which an animal is capable of learning new things and reevaluating old associations.
The way to help Malachi with the Trust Technique is for Shannon to use focused presence (a targeted meditative state) to offer him a feeling of peace and space in the present moment. This will lower Malachi’s thinking levels and allow him to self learn that he is OK in the moment without the other mule or in any new situation. Since peace and unpeace can not exist in the same place Malachi will have to dump his unpeace to become peaceful.

Since an animal’s own pace is the fastest pace that an animal can find their own peace, and learn new things, it will be Shannon’s job to “listen” carefully to Malachi’s expression of his unpeace as she offers him the feeling of the present moment. We call this listening state “Mindful Regard” and it is so important to an animal for gaining trust and confidence in a person and for dumping their unpeace. If an animal understands that one fully understands and sees them, then they can trust one to help them overcome the things that worry and scare them.

Deep listening (Mindful Regard) it turns out is as important to the nervous systems of animals as it is to our own. It is essential that an animal feel felt, seen and understood for them to regulate their nervous systems properly.

Shannon and I worked with Malachi in the most comfortable situation we could offer him away from his home. At home this work would start in a favorite sleeping spot with his usual buddies around him. At Leatherwood Mule Days, we worked with him after he had had his breakfast and with his travel companion in the stall next door. Both these measures ensured that he was in as low a thinking mind frame as was possible to start offering him the feeling of the present moment.

Me teaching Shannon how to enter the Present Moment, a meditative state of awarness

The plan was to teach Malachi and Shannon how to share the present moment feeling with each other and to teach Shannon how to do this at Malachi’s pace using Mindful Regard in a comfortable space. Once Malachi and Shannon get used to going in to the present moment together, they can start to do this work together in situations and places that are a little more stressful. Overtime this practice will teach Malachi to self-regulate his nervous system appropriately in situations that are new to him or that might scare him a bit. He will also be building a stronger connection to Shannon as he will be aware that she is the one listening to him and helping him to adjust to new circumstances and experiences.

This means instead of immediately switching in to a high thinking panic state Malachi will have a lower default thinking level and will be able to judge his situation better when something scares him. He will also instead of turning “woody” out of panic, he will tune in to Shannon because they have built a connection where by Shannon being present will be able to help Malachi to calm down and feel safe.

Despite Malachi only arriving the day before our session we were able to bring Malachi’s thinking levels down from a starting point of about 5 (calm alert state) to a 0 (fully asleep) while working with him in his borrowed stall. If Shannon works regularly with Malachi, first at their home and then later in new places, he will become a really adjusted and chill mule even in new situations and when stall buddies can not be right next door. He will also know to look to Shannon when he gets scared instead of becoming “woody” and unresponsive from fear as their connection and trust in one another will really grow and deepen.

Shannon doing a great job of reducing Malachi's thinking levels using Focused Presence and Mindful Regard.

Stay tuned for more from the Leatherwood Mule Days Series. If you would like to book a session with your equine, I work in person in the area of Western North Carolina and offer Zoom sessions anywhere you are. For more information on my services and the Trust Technique click this link https://www.consideringanimals.com/the-trust-technique.html