Mule Days Trust Technique Sessions Part Two – Fear And How The Trust Technique Can Be Used To Help Create New Associations and Heal The Nervous System Response From Past Trauma - Example- Man Shy Waldo

Connie and I discuss how the Trust Technique can help Waldo get over his fear of men.

At Leatherwood Mule Days, I had quite a few sessions with Mules who had suffered abuse in the past. The next few articles in this series will cover how those cases presented and how the Trust Technique can help these mules move forward from their past traumas.

Many mules still have rough starts and lives. Unfortunately for many mules, they are still considered creatures of utilitarian purpose, not companion animals. They are quite often bred, trained and owned to work, to pull equipment, to pack or to carry people and supplies into the backcountry. Their emotional lives are largely overlooked. They are punished for bad behaviors way more often than they are ever praised for good behavior. Mules who have come out of this type of experience carry their baggage with them.

Sensitive mules often become reactive and get labeled as mean if they are scared and object to rough handling. Some shut down and go internal. They do the work but shut out the human. They have frozen eyes and stare beyond us, not wanting to interact or to be caught. Some are always fearful and wary even after they have been with loving, caring and concerned owners for a long time. Some have specific phobias, like being afraid of men or hats or having their ears touched. These last kinds of fears come from bad associations with these objects, experiences or humans in their pasts.

There is an old saying that “a mule has a long memory,” and they do. The question many good owners of mules that have had abuse often ask is, “How do we help them forget or at least change their mind and see that not all humans are bad or callous, and not all new experiences or items need to be frightening?” How do you build a connection with a mule that seems shutdown? One answer to this question is practicing the Trust Technique with them, which can help a lot.

The following examples in this series of mules that have suffered traumas that I worked with during Leatherwood Mule Days will give you an idea of how these mules present their concerns and how the Trust Technique helps them and their owners set a new course of trust and confidence in each other and build a better connection. Below, the example of Waldo, who is “man shy,” is included in this post. Another two mules with fear issues will be discussed in later posts, so stay tuned.

Waldo
Waldo is a lovely big mule that belongs to Connie. They have a good connection most of the time. Waldo can become quite concerned sometimes about men approaching. Connie says that Waldo does not trust men and can become reactive when one approaches. This can become a problem when they run into a hiker on a trail or when Waldo needs to get his hooves trimmed or to see the vet.
When he does become concerned, he often cannot hear Connie anymore. She can not reach him at these moments to let him know that he is okay. This is because his mind has entered a high-thinking state where he is no longer present but instead locked in an association with something scary that happened to him in his past by a man. He has no way at this point of seeing what is authentic in the moment. His nervous system response has been activated, and no matter how much assurance Connie offers him that he is alright, he can’t hear her. Connie would love for Waldo to be able to trust her enough and to be able to listen to her assurance that he’s okay when he gets scared.
Working with the Trust Technique, I have Waldo on a rope in his rented stall. I am standing with him with a nice loop in the rope. I am at his shoulder and am offering him my feeling of peace by holding my mind in the present moment. Waldo will be able to pick this feeling up from me and eventually relax and feel calm and sleepy, but first, I must listen to him tell me in his own equine way why he can not be peaceful.
Since peace and unpeace can not exist in the same place Waldo must be able to let go of his unpeace to become peaceful. He can do this with my support if I listen to him. Listen on a micro level; listen with not only ears and eyes but also with a sense of feel for what he is processing.

I offer the feeling of peace. When I observe Waldo’s mind coming up instead of going down in relaxation, I come out of the present moment, and I mindfully regard him as we call it in the Trust Technique. I watch all his movements; I watch him walking around me on the rope. I observe where he is holding tension. I watch what he looks at and how he reacts in his body to what he sees. I watch his expression and think of the feeling behind it. When he relaxes again I go back into the present moment.

Teaching Connie the present moment.

In this way, Waldo’s unpeace will rise to the surface, and he will be able to dump it with my support. It’s like if I had a small bit of dirty water in a glass and poured clear water into the glass, I’d have to flush out all that dirty water before the glass would be full of clear water. That’s the same process with the equine in the moment we are working with the Trust Technique. We are flushing out the unpeace so that he can find peace. Eventually, with a daily practice of the Trust Technique, an animal can have a much calmer overall threshold of their nervous system and will not be as reactive. They can also process their fears and be calm-minded enough to make new associations with old ways, experiences, and things that once frightened them.

Waldo expresses his concern about a man he sees walking around outside his stall. His thinking levels come up, and his neck gets tense. His ears are erect, and his eyes are starting to freeze in his head. I stay very still, and my total focus is on him as he takes in the man and the emotions of concern this elicits in his nervous system. He blows out a bit, shakes his tail and circles around me on the rope. When he comes to a stop, he is a little more relaxed, so I go back into the present moment. Waldo is aware that I am aware of his concern over the presence of the man, but he has also seen that I am calm and in a state of peace. I am giving him a real feeling of security because I am calm, and I also see him and his concern. He stands close to me. This relaxes him. He sighs and starts to relax further down. He has let go of a certain amount of his unpeace.

The man keeps walking around outside the stall, and Waldo keeps reacting to him as I watch and listen, offering the feeling of peace as needed. The reactions from Waldo become less and less. Eventually, he lowers his head and begins to rest as the man is still moving around outside his stall. He stays close to me as he sees that I do not worry and that I understand his concern. I am giving Waldo the two things he needs to be able to relax his nervous system and bring it from the Sympathetic state (fight or flight) into the parasympathetic state (rest and digest). Those two things are a sense of peace and the knowledge that he has been seen and understood.
This work, over time, will help Waldo change his mind about men. His thinking levels will be low enough for him to realize that no one is being mean to him in the moment. He will be able to make new associations. Perhaps a nice man will give him some treats and help him see that there can be benefits.

I teach Connie to do this work with Waldo. As they practice together every day, Waldo will quickly learn that Connie, using the Trust Technique, can help him out when things scare him. He will know that she will see his concern and be able to offer him the support and feeling of peace to overcome his fear. This will build trust, confidence and connection between them.

When a hiker jumps out of a turn on the trail, Waldo will know to tune into Connie instead of reacting in a panic. When the vet and trimmer show up, he will look to Connie for support to stand while he is worked on. Connie will have a mental tool to help her control her own thinking so she can help Waldo.
The next post will discuss a mule who was started well and then went through a scary experience after being sold and is still anxious from that experience.

Connie offering the feeling of peace to Waldo with the present moment.