I saw a video today that had me very concerned.
Now that Natural Horsemanship/ pressure & release/ Negative Reinforcement trainers understand about the different nervous systems, the Flight/Fight and Rest/Digest states and the accompanying body language, they like to talk about it a lot, particularly the ‘lick and chew’.
What I find perplexing and I don’t seem to find answers in their explanations, is why?
Why the heck scare the bejesus out of a horse, so they are scared enough that their saliva dries in their mouth, their heart and lungs are pumping full steam ready to run and then celebrate when you see the physical manifestations of their body coming down from this horrible state of fear. Why celebrate the runny nose from tears, the neck shake, the sigh, the flared nostrils and triangular eye becoming normal again and the yawning and yes, the lick and chew. The holy grail of Natural Horsemanship it seems nowadays, is the lick and chew, apparently because it means they’re *now* relaxed.
Why oh why do we need to scare horses first so they can then be “relaxed”.
I would think that anyone who had such a fright, that they were dry mouthed and heart pumping in their throat, probably doesn’t feel relaxed afterwards. Shaky, relieved, in shock maybe, but not relaxed.
Imagine if we suggested that a classroom of children needed to be scared so hard that their mouths went dry, their eyes were wide and their hearts were pounding in their chest and then we let them calm down and suggested they were “relaxed” and could learn now.
Imagine that?
Yet that is what is being suggested for horses.
Worse, people believe it and do it to their horses.
Stop scaring your horses, there’s no need.
Horses know how to be relaxed.
If you want zen with your horses, give them a horse friend and a hay net and then watch.