Meditations on Equestrian Art

The Project:

Horses from many walks of life, communication through body language, tools used only for safety, never to train.

The Goal:

To discover how far Equestrian Art can be developed solely using body language.

Everybody Wants Something

Being alive means having needs and wants that may or may not get met and everyone has different strategies for trying to sort this out.

This past week my two stallions had some figuring out to do, and it was very interesting to watch.

I have found the Mustangs that come into my care have a higher need for awareness in the herd than the domestic horses. I think this comes from living out in the wild where there are real dangers and issues to solve with sometimes dire consequences if left unsolved. Horses die if they are not paying attention, or if their herd mates are not paying attention for them in time to warn them of danger.

Ari has proved to be no exception in this need for awareness that I often see in the Mustangs.

Unfortunately, Atlas, does not seem as aware and does not seem to share Ari’s desire for constant vigilance.

Atlas seems to want peace and quiet and regular predictable schedules with easy companionship while he recovers from the difficult life he lived before coming here.

Ari seems to want entertainment, awareness, variety, and interactive friends to go along with his eating and sleeping.

On the surface it would look like these two horses are completely incompatible, but I think they are in fact very good for each other.

From Ari, Atlas will learn to wake up and see the world more than he might naturally do.

From Atlas, Ari will learn to slow down, take a moment, consider the options and choose wisely before taking action.

I think the two of them are very good for each other, but that does not mean it is always easy.

The way I understand this is: If you don’t get what you want easily, there are different types of behavior you can use to try and get what you want in life. I categorize them in three ways: Freeze, Flight and Fight. Each one of these runs on a spectrum that includes both functional and dysfunctional behavior patterns.

Freeze on one side is the catatonic state of believing there is no hope, there is no effort worth making, you are never going to get what you want, and you should just give up and die now.

This spectrum of Freeze runs through variations such as:

Dysfunctional Freeze where the giving up is temporary and likely to explode into the chaos of Fight or Flight at any moment.

Functional Freeze where there is time for rest and recuperation, it is like giving up, but in a healthy way where there is time for the body to repair and recover and then wake up feeling better and ready to take positive action toward the things you want in life.

Then on the most positive side of that spectrum there is thinking, where you see ears, eyes, and noses moving as the senses gather all the information available to make the wisest decision possible to get what you want in life. Thinking before acting is on the freeze spectrum because there is no action being taken in the body yet.

Flight is the spectrum of moving away.

The extreme version is at high speed to leave behind all the things you do not want.

Then it runs through a spectrum of leaving quickly while checking behind you to see if leaving is necessary.

Or making small evasive maneuvers simply to lose the company of someone who is giving you things you do not want.

Then there is the good side of the spectrum where you have somewhere interesting to go (better than where you are now and no longer want to be), and if your friends are fast enough to keep up with you, they are welcome to come along.

Or when you really want your friends to come with you there is a yielding feeling to every movement where you step gently out of a partner’s way, making sure there is room for them next to you and that they can keep up every step of the way.

Fight is the spectrum of pressure – putting pressure on others.

At the extreme version, Fight is full attack and violence.

Less intense Fight is irritating or annoying and gets the attention of those around you.

The good side of Fight is playful, sparing, competing to see who is best.

Or even more gently, the curiosity and inquisitive nature of someone investigating to see what is possible if you nudge just a little bit.

What I have found is that everybody wants something in life and the higher their stress levels are the more likely they are to use extreme strategies to get what they want (or give up on what they want). Fight, Flight, or Freeze with intensity.

As stress comes down you will start to see the more functional sides of the spectrum in action. Everyone still wants what they want, but they start being more strategic and intelligent about getting it.

Last week we had a cold snap and the tension levels went up as they often do in a weather change. Ari’s wants, and Atlas’ wants started being expressed in ways that irritated the other and eventually there was a fight.

As Atlas became more and more frozen and unaware of everything, Ari became more and more attacking. Eventually Ari thought he could get the attention he wanted from Atlas by coming on fast with arched neck and striking front legs. Atlas snapped out of his Dysfunctional Freeze and attacked back, and since Atlas is much bigger and much stronger, it didn’t go well for Ari.

As often happens when Freeze and Fight meet up at the extreme side of the spectrum, it is a little bit heart stopping to watch, and I felt grateful that both Ari and Atlas pulled away with only minor scratches in spite of the intensity.

I managed to catch the end of the fight on camera and posted about it in the Taming Wild Patron group.

You can see the video here if you are interested in joining us behind the scenes of the movie filming process:

https://www.patreon.com/tamingwild

I enjoy posting here on the blog an outline of what I am learning as I do this project. Patreon gives me an opportunity to dig a little deeper and share more details with community who might be interested. I do hope you join us.

The interesting thing that came out of this week and the big fight, was the considerations about herd behavior and how we might choose to deal with that in our everyday interactions with our horses.

I was asked why I didn’t step in to break up the fight and my answer was:

I did not intervene in the fight because I think it is likely that intervening in this case would only cause them to brew stronger feelings that would come out later when I wasn’t there. So, I stood back and filmed and tried to learn from the experience as I watched.

Watching gives me necessary insight into the patterns and likely responses of my horses.

Both Ari and I learned that Atlas is faster and stronger and more violent than he has ever shown before, if you push him too hard too fast. Good to know.

Atlas and I learned that Ari would feel better if everyone was more interested and responsive around him. Good to know, we can work on that.

So, if I am not going to intervene in a fight what would I do instead?

As a leader I think my best choice is to make a timely decision to walk away from brewing trouble, because getting stuck in the middle of a fight is not a good idea for anyone. When I see that tension is coming up, I walk away and make it clear that this is not a conversation I am interested in being part of. If either one of my horses followed my example there would be no more fights. I set the example and then I watch what choices they make.

They want what they want, and I will be able to see the level of stress they are feeling by the type of choices they make with each other.

I think this action of walking away does a couple of things for the herd dynamic. First, it shows the horses that walking away from a fight is an option, and that there is a good way to walk away. When I walk away I do it early so I do not have to run, I keep my steps steady and rhythmic, and I turn to face the action as soon as possible so the horses know I am paying attention.

I believe most fights are simply one horse’s need for more attention. Essentially, loneliness or insecurity are the causes of fighting. If there is enough attention given there is no need to push for more, with fighting actions.

Sometimes it seems fights are about resources (food or friends), but more often than not I see horses use resources as a means to an end to get more attention.

Atlas wants to be very quiet, introverted, and focused on eating and sleeping. Ari wants to be interactive and playful. Is one of them more right than the other? They both want what they want, and this week they had to fight for their rights to get what they wanted. Atlas is bigger and stronger, and he won temporarily. Ari isn’t going to stop wanting what he wants, he is just going to have to get smarter about how he goes about getting it.

Now, what about if I see a fight brewing, and I choose to step in the middle and protect one horse from the other? This is the more dominant management of the situation, and if there is a safety issue, I will do this, or if I am in a hurry to impress one horse more than the other, I might take sides like this. However, I believe the more passive leadership style has a deeper impact on the herd dynamics and greater learning value for everyone involved if you have the time and space to allow it.

If I dominantly protect one horse from the other, I do win a sort of appreciation from both horses, but unless I have some plan to help them both with the underlying need for the fight in the first place, it is only a temporary solution.

When I step in dominantly and stop a fight, I am simply telling them that my wants and needs override theirs, but when I am no longer there, they still will work out which of them gets to decide what is happening.

When instead I step away and then pay attention, I show them an alternate option to sorting out differences.

If Atlas could step away from Ari, but then give him full attention, there would be no need for the fight because Ari’s needs would be filled. If Ari could work around Atlas, stepping in and out of his comfort zone, Atlas would learn to be more aware. But this sort of helping of the other one is only going to happen gradually as their habitual stress levels get lower and as they learn what the other wants and needs.

Lowering the stress levels for everyone involved, that is my job. My hope is that as I lead by example, it will be easier and easier for my horses to choose similar healthy actions for getting what they want in life.

Only time will tell, and for now I am fascinated to be experimenting with all the possibilities in front of me.

I really do hope you join us on Patreon.com to see the weekly videos of the process and the making of the entire movie!

https://www.patreon.com/tamingwild

Hooves and Heartbeats,

Elsa

TamingWild.com