A litte adventure with Freya, part 3

On the second day of the clinic, Freya was scheduled for a bodywork session with Crissi McDonald, who happens to be Mark's wife, but who is also an accomplished trainer and author in her own right.  I have to admit that I haven't read any of her books, but I do read her blog from time to time, and I enjoy the way she writes and thinks about horses.  More recently, she has become certified in the Masterson Method of bodywork, and I was so excited that the clinic was offering sessions with her.  I have wanted to have a certified Masterson bodyworker work with Freya, but there aren't any close enough to us.

I've written about the Masterson Method before.  Gemma and I use the Bladder Meridian Technique frequently on Star and we've been working with Freya on it too.  When we first got her, she was completely intolerant of the use of the technique.  Simply touching her neck was enough to make her dance around and get quite worried.  Over time, though, she has become more accepting, although she still worries a bit, particularly when we work on her neck.  So I was interested to see how a session would work with a professional who has lots of experience working with horses not just in a bodywork setting, but with horses in general.  

Freya's session was scheduled for 10 am and we had an option of where to work with her - in the indoor arena or in her paddock.  I decided that the indoor arena made the most sense.  The session wasn't limited to an hour like the sessions with Mark and Gray, so if horses started moving around outside from their paddocks to sessions with Mark or Gray, I thought Freya might worry.  Whereas, she seemed to be reasonably calm in the indoor arena, especially after my session with Gray the day before.

Gemma led her in to the arena and we met Crissi.  She was exactly like I've seen her on videos with Mark in the online classroom or Facebook.  She seemed like one of those people who is restful to be around and she is kind and thoughtful.  

Crissi started the session with an evaluation of Freya's body.  I didn't get to watch the whole thing because we realized the halter we were using didn't have enough room for her to fully yawn if she needed to, so I went to the trailer to grab a bigger one.  Essentially, though, Crissi seemed to be doing a short version of the Bladder Meridian Technique.  She was looking for problem spots and areas that might need more of her attention.

Then she started working on Freya's neck.  Freya demonstrated the discomfort she has by moving around.  And this was when I got what might one of the top five most useful pieces of advice I've ever gotten when it comes to working with horses.  Crissi said something along the lines of, "It's important to let horses move when they feel like they need to move.  It's the way they manage their discomfort or worry about a situation.  Lots of problems are created when people don't let horses move when they feel like they need to move."

As an example, someone asked Mark about horses that paw and how it should be handled.  Mark said that he used to try to stop the pawing in a variety of ways, but that now, he lets the horse paw, unless there is an issue like the horse is pawing expensive arena footing or there is a safety issue.  He said he does the same thing with horses that like to use their mouths to chew on things.  Again, he said he used to try to stop it, until he started working with Dr. Stephen Peters.  Dr. Peters specializes in equine neuroscience and he explained how important using the mouth to relieve or release tension is for horses.  So Mark says he now tries to let horses chew on something like a lead rope when they need to chew to help them manage their mental state.

As another example, I put this theory to the test after the clinic was over.  Freya was in the wash stall while Gemma was washing her tail.  She got impatient, which she sometimes does, and pawing is one of her primary ways of expressing that impatience.  So she started pawing.  The wash stall has rubber mats, so there was no risk she would dig anything up or cause any problems, so I decided to let her paw and see what happened.  

Another boarder was talking to me at the time, and as soon as Freya started pawing, she actually started to tell Freya no.  (Note: Please do not discipline other people's horses unless you are the one handling them or they are doing something that is directly impacting your safety.  In this case, there was no reason for someone else to intervene, but I think this idea that horses shouldn't be allowed to express themselves has become so ingrained in people that they tell horses no instinctively.)

I interrupted the boarder and explained what I was doing.  And we all watched while Gemma just kept washing Freya's tail and Freya pawed for maybe 20 seconds.  Then she stopped.  And then maybe a minute later she started pawing again, but this time the intensity of the pawing was significantly reduced and she stopped after maybe 5 seconds.  After that, she cocked one hind leg and patiently waited for Gemma to finish washing her tail.  That was pretty cool to see, and I will definitely try to be more aware of ways that I can let the horses I'm working with express themselves and move to help manage their mental state.

But back to the bodywork session with Freya.  She definitely struggled with the bodywork for quite a while.  Crissi stayed with her, though, and let her move around in a small circle for maybe a minute each time she seemed like she needed to move.  Then she would start to ask if Freya could stay still for a few seconds before moving.  And eventually, she got Freya to what I think of as a Zen-like state that I see horses get into when they become very tuned in to the bodywork.  If you are standing next to them or doing the bodywork, you can see and feel them turn inward as they become very aware of how you are touching them and focus their attention on their body.  I wouldn't consider it necessarily relaxed, because there is an intense awareness, but usually a horse that has been moving around and shifting weight and fussing a lot will stop and stand very still.

Crissi wasn't able to go through the entire repertoire of techniques with Freya, because after about an hour, she started to lose her ability to focus.  But I felt like it was such a huge step forward for her, especially after she has struggled with allowing a state of vulnerability and awareness, that I was thrilled.

We took Freya back to her paddock, and I was able to chat with Crissi for awhile.  Crissi's assessment was that she didn't feel any major issues with the work she was able to do, which was good news after Freya's struggle with the health of her feet.  But she did notice how protective Freya was about being touched with intention.  That level of protection is not ideal and probably didn't happen overnight.  Based on Crissi's experience, she thought it meant that there had been some significant length of time where Freya's interactions with humans had not included a sense of consideration for her mental state.  (Note that I'm paraphrasing here, and going off my memory, so I might not be writing this exactly the way Crissi expressed it.)

My takeway was that at some point in her life before we got her, Freya didn't have what she considered to be positive interactions with humans.  It could be tempting to think that maybe she was abused, but I actually don't think that.  Based on my contact with her two previous owners and what I know about how she ended up at the auction we bought her from, my primary working theory is that she ended up in a situation where people had expectations about what she could handle that exceeded her actual abilities.  And when she tried to tell people she was uncomfortable, she was ignored or disciplined.

In all honestly, the story of how she ended up the way she is matters less than that we understand where she is now and come up with a plan to help her get to a better place.  But the reason that I'm focusing on the theory that I am is because I've started paying more and more attention to how the average person interacts with their horse.  And I see a complete disregard for the way a horse feels about something as the norm, plus horses are often disciplined for expressing those feelings. Obviously, there are some safety factors to consider.  There are boundaries that shouldn't be crossed by a 1,000+ pound animal when interacting with humans.  

But there are plenty of things horses do that people try to stop them from doing when it isn't necessary.  Like fidgeting, pawing, chewing, head tossing, even shifting weight.  People seem to expect their horses to stand perfectly still or walk in a certain way, but they don't take into consideration that the way they interact with their horses may have led their horse to think they want something different (like releasing pressure at the wrong time, giving inconsistent cues, or not providing clear direction).  

I have been super guilty of doing all these things myself for probably decades, so this analysis is less of a judgment and more of an observation.  But I can see that an animal who has spent 55 million years evolving into a creature who needs to be highly attuned to its environment and its herdmates to survive must find it very stressful to be around people who don't pay attention to their environment or the animal they are interacting with.  People are on their cell phones while leading their horses.  They are chatting with other people while grooming.  They are day dreaming while riding.

One of the things that I found so interesting about Nimo is that while he had this amazing work ethic under saddle, the second my attention wandered, he would quit working.  He wouldn't start again until he had my full attention.  He very effectively trained me that when I rode, I needed to be focused on him and what we were doing.  (He eventually made some exceptions for me when we were out on the trails for hours at a time, so I could let my attention wander a bit if we were on familiar trails just walking along.)  And paying attention all the time was hard.  I had to build up the mental muscles to do it over a fairly long period of time.  But I learned because Nimo was consistent.  Which tells me a lot about what horses expect and need from their handlers as well as the ability of a horse to understand and maintain focus and awareness.

I don't know that most horses are so good at training their riders, but it occurs to me that even if they don't tell us (or we don't hear them), they still have the same need.  And that the need doesn't disappear when we are working with them on the ground.

I know that since the clinic I have started looking for more ways that I can tune in to the horses I handle and be present when I am working with them.  And I had an interesting experience with Donut as a result.  

Recently, one of the horses in Donut's field started colicking.  Gemma was actually the one who noticed first.  She said it looked like he was trying to pee, but couldn't.  She told me as we were leaving the barn, and I admit that I didn't give as much attention to what she said as I should have.  I was already thinking about getting home and having dinner and enjoying a quiet evening with some time to myself.

But I stopped the truck at the field as we drove out and saw that the horse was now laying down.  Something about the way he was laying didn't look right, so I went out to investigate.  And my conclusion was that he was indeed colicking.  I texted the owner and then got back in my truck and drove back to the barn and resigned myself to a late dinner.  I planned to stay until the owner (who is a friend) got there.

I kept an eye on the horse and when I noticed that he was getting up and then laying down over and over, I asked the owner if I should catch him and try to get him walking.  I wasn't seeing anything violent and I know the guidance on how to handle colic has changed a bit from thinking they need to be constantly walked to letting them stand or even lay down as long as they aren't in danger of physical injury.  But many people still prefer to walk their horses.  The owner said I could try, but not to risk my safety if the horse didn't want to be caught.  He can only be handled reliably by his person (that is a story that isn't mine to tell and would take more than one blog post to explore), although he generally consents to me catching him and leading him. 

Because of the pain he was clearly in, though, he didn't want any humans messing with him, so he made it clear by trying to kick me in the head that he wasn't interested in interacting with me.  Normally, I would discipline that behavior a little more assertively, but in this case, I knew the horse was hurting and defensive.  And honestly, I don't have any skills or training in handling violent horses, so I decided that my goal would be to stay near him and ask him to walk if he looked like he was going to lay down.  My objective was to try to keep him as calm as possible by not getting too close, but to keep him from potentially hurting himself.  

But Donut being Donut decided she wanted to hang out with me.  Right next to me.  And chew on my boots and my hair and basically make a giant pest of herself.  (Yes, I could probably do something about that behavior and over time, I will if she doesn't end it on her own, but she is only 2, and I'm cutting her some slack as long as she doesn't try to use her teeth or do other things that might hurt me.)  And perhaps interestingly, keep herself between me and the colicking horse.  One lady watching said it looked like she was trying to protect me.  I don't have any way of knowing that for sure and your guess is as good as mine.  But Donut stuck to me like glue for over half an hour while I stalked that poor colicking horse and tried to find the sweet spot between asking him to walk but not putting so much pressure on him that he felt defensive.

At one point, the horse seemed to be standing quietly and not trying to lay down, so I let him rest.  Donut was with me, and for maybe 2-3 minutes, we had a connection that felt like what I had with Nimo.  I was worried about the colicking horse, and I felt like a fish out of water trying to handle him from a distance.  Donut stood next to me and rested her head on my shoulder and just stood with me.  Not chewing, not messing with my hair or my clothes.  I'm sure it sounds a bit nuts, but I felt her with me.  Like this mature presence telling me that no matter what happened, I had a friend.

It was an incredible experience and an important reminder that there is so much more complexity to horses than most people get to see and feel.  And it made me think that it was a good thing that Gemma and I went to this clinic, because I think it helped sensitize me to the horses around me and gave me the opportunity to have a connection with Donut that I might not have had otherwise.