EQUUSOMA: Somatic Experiencing and Equine-Facilitated Trauma Therapy

Thanks for the find, Penelope! A fantastic emotion-sensation pillow -- and proceeds go to supporting the independent artists that create the designs. A great teaching and comfort resource for somatic professionals. https://society6.com/product/feeling-sensation-wheel_pillow

"The ability to ‘self-regulate’ while under pressure comes after the horse has had the opportunity to ’find safety’ multiple times under relatively low pressure.... One has to actually practice to show the horse that mentally finding safety is the answer. After the horse has some experience in this self-regulation, he can find it on his own under pressure. If the horse does not know how to self-regulate under pressure,they are victims of their own neurochemistry and will default to the built-in defensive circuitry: high sympathetic arousal resulting in increased norepinepherine (adrenaline) and cortisol (stress hormones). At this high level of sympathetic arousal, you lose the horse and you are done." - Dr. Stephen Peters Shouldn’t we just stay under threshold? https://www.facebook.com/140309626025238/posts/3747011542021677/?d=n Can horses only co-regulate? https://www.facebook.com/140309626025238/posts/3744451648944333/?d=n

Bang on. Horse problems are generally a reflection of human problems that need to be explored gently. Looking forward to listening to this interview between horsemen Nahshon Cook and Warwick Schiller.

I have followed Skydog for a few years now. They do an incredible job of tracking down broken bands from the BLM roundups and reuniting bonded pairs and family groups with one another at their sanctuary. Here’s their latest video of mare Ghost being reunited with her stallion, Phoenix, after a 2-year separation. To learn more about Phoenix and Ghost’s original capture, check out the post before this one on the Skydog FB page. Tons of hard stories with incredible endings there.

I correct this statement in my book manuscript and whenever I teach because of the harm it can unintentionally do when taken out of context. Animals can and do experience trauma. It is misleading to state that they don’t. There are still places around the world where personal/collective beliefs and political legislation claim animals don’t feel pain, an outdated species-ist perspective that places humans in some sort of special category justifying animal exploitation and abu...se/neglect. Animals in the entertainment industry (think circuses or zoos); lab animals; animals in the mass food production industry; wild animals poached and/or killed as their families, herds, and offspring watch; animals at mass breeding facilities; animals confined and isolated and prevented from following their natural impulses for friends, forage and freedom; animals trained using harsh, punitive, confusing and painful methods; animals experiencing domestic violence; wild/feral horses rounded up under threat of helicopter then held in small pens for years; animals awaiting and experiencing slaughterhouse horrors, and so on... these are all scenarios in which animals can and do experience trauma. This quote also disregards the importance of how mammals recruit their social engagement system to appease (fawn) when fighting and fleeing are not possible. This quote is mostly focused on shock trauma; but relational trauma and the fawn response occur in other animals besides humans, and is another potent brake system that can interrupt things like boundaries and fight energy. Releasing the thwarted survival energy beneath an appeasement response is trauma work too. One easy change to this and similar statements is to simply start off by saying under optimal conditions, animals in the wild are routinely threatened but do not show signs of trauma. But even then, that’s not always true. Prey animals going down by predators don’t always just quietly shut down and die peacefully. They scream and writhe and fight even though it’s a losing battle, and it can be quite horrible. Traumatic deaths do occur in animals, even in the wild. Again, such statements can be misleading. It’s not that the freeze and fold/flag (collapse) responses don’t occur, but that they’re not this magical perfect off switch. Reality is a lot messier. This doesn’t make the basic premise of SE untrue; I’m a huge fan of SE and it forms a large basis of EQUUSOMA, though not exclusively so. It’s just important to clear up some of the common lore that keeps getting shared.

Last night, I broke down. I've been in the horse rescue world for most of my life... I've seen a lot. I've learned to compartmentalize my emotions so they don't... overwhelm and inhibit the work that needs to be done. And there's always more work to be done. But last night as I drove off with a new rescued Mustang in my trailer, I had to pull over as these emotions that I've trained myself to suppress overcame me. I have seen skinnier horses.. horses with worse feet.. horses who were so scared and shutdown from mental trauma.. I've seen many bleaker cases. But for some reason, this horse I loaded up hit me hard. This old boy with mangled feet, full blown infection and blood coming out of his nose, skinny and extremely dehydrated... all these physical issues are fixable. What hit me was the way this big, gentle giant didn't see me. He wasn't scared of me... he wasn't angry or nervous... he just didn't see me. I walked up to him, gave him a pet, and haltered him so I could get him out and home as quickly as possible. He stood there, quiet, unmoving. As I led him to the trailer, he politely obliged and picked up his big neglected feet carefully into this strange trailer with this strange person and accepted everything I asked with no protest... But he didn't see me... His eyes were so devoid of emotion that his story became clear. He didn't know who I was, and it was clear that he had been passed around enough times that it didn't matter who I was... things probably weren't going to get better. Horses develop what's called, learned helplessness, as they experience an inability to do anything to affect their outcome... so they give up. They quit trying to fight, or to flee, or to open up and play. They just quit trying...because no matter what they do, their actions don't produce a better result. This horse didn't know who I was and he didn't care. He was beyond trying to voice his opinion. So when I felt this complete shell of a horse, who still managed to be as gentle and polite as can be, it hit me hard. I pulled over and let myself feel every single one of those emotions. Grief. Anger. Hopelessness. Defeat... But today, I'm grateful. There's no more time for those debilitating emotions. Today, I'm grateful, and hopeful, and joyful. I'm joyful that this big, beautiful soul will learn what it's like to be loved and he will not hurt anymore. I'm hopeful that he will come out of his shell and find peace and play and happiness in his life. I'm grateful for every person who has been a part of saving his life, and so many others. I'm grateful for the big players who stepped up, paid their bail, and had the courage to reach out and ask if we had capacity to help... knowing all too well how overwhelmed we all already are. I'm grateful for every single person who is inspired by these horses and finds a way to help, even if it's just to spread the word or donate a few dollars. I'm grateful to be a part of a community of allies, all fighting for the horses who we love. And most of all, I'm grateful for the horses... who endure so very much at the hands of humans and still find space in their heart to forgive and share their pure soul with us. I know that this fight is not over... that this boy has a long road to recovery (mentally, physically, and emotionally)... but I'm grateful that Andre now has an opportunity and a voice. Stay tuned to watch this beautiful boy, who we named Andre the Giant, blossom.

Thanks Jessie Sams for this share!

[FREE Webinar] | A Year Of Polyvagal | Deb Dana - https://mailchi.mp//a-year-of-polyvagal-deb-dana-free-webi

#interconnected2020 is coming up soon! The The Natural Lifemanship Institute has a really amazing line up of speakers for its first online conference and I’m honoured to be speaking twice on topics that I am super passionate about, along with Veronica Lac and Elizabeth McCorvey. Register here: https://naturallifemanship.com/interconnected-2020-registra

Horses do not benefit from us seeing them as voiceless, powerless, choice-less - without agency etc - more than any human benefit from it - regardless of that w...e "feel" that they are. If we can not see all beings as capable and resourceful - we are making them a disservice - regardless of species. And they are never voiceless, choice-less etc - nobody is. If that is our perception - we as listeners/see-ers are "ear-less", blind - and un-empathetic... (not seeing the other) Beings can have temporarily been put in situations that gave them little choice - had their voice matter very little etc - but they still speak - still chose... just in other ways... their language - or language skills might have gotten "distorted" - but they are speaking, choosing, having power - often unbeknownst to themselves... Working on figuring something out... not sure if I make sense yet?