"But, my horse isn't stressed. He/She has a great life."
How many of us have heard this spoken? How many of us have said this?
What many horse owner's don't understand is that stress looks different for our horses and may even be something that we don't personally perceive as stress. While stressors are part of life, chronic stress is unhealthy.
To give ourselves some credit, we can understand that trailering, showing, weaning, or being separated from their friends stress out our horses. But, until we take a moment to look into how domestication has flip-flopped the lifestyles our horses were created for, we may not truly understand the factors that play a role in our horse's stress responses.
Let's take a look into what may be affecting our horses and how we can best support them during their times of stress.
Living indoors/limited turnout: our horses were created to move and their mental, emotional, and physical health all rely on it. Trust me when I say with caring yet brutal honesty that extended stall confinement isn't doing your horses any favors.
Insufficient food source/poor diet: when the horse isn't receiving enough forage to satisfy them, they will being to guard their resources in the worry that they will not get enough to eat. This response is not only detrimental to their mental health, but stresses their digestive system as well. Two flakes of hay morning and night simply isn't going to be enough.
Old Trauma: horses, like humans, can carry the trauma of their past. They remember their abuse, neglect, harsh training, etc. This, along with the high possibility of reacting to triggers related to that trauma is a recipe for deep levels of stress.
Humans not understanding their communications: as I have mentioned before behavior is communication, not something that should be given a label and attempted to be fixed with rough handling or ignored. When we don't listen, it could further escalate the issue or cause the horse to shut down all together.
Horses not understanding what we are asking of them: again the lack of clear communication, especially during training sessions, is doing more harm than good. Asking horses to perform a skill before they are ready or understand leads to frustration. A frustrated horses is a stressed horse.
Picking up on your stress: horses can sense things, sometimes even before we understand that we feel a certain way. If you come to spend time with your horse while you are still carrying all the stress from your life outside of the barn, your horse can be affected by that.
Competition: I touched on it at the beginning of the article, but I feel that it bears mentioning again. Intense training, constant trailering, and a crazy show schedule all brings about multiple sets of stresses to our horse's life. Even the most seasoned show horse can and will be affected by stress, though they may suffer in silence.
Other factors that can bring an onset of stress is pregnancy, change in routine, injury, and simply not being allowed time to be a horse. Environmental toxins have also been shown to tax the body.
Stress that goes without support, relief, or being addressed can result in: change in behavior/temperament, bad habits, ulcers, digestive issues, weakened immune system, restlessness, weight loss, etc.
If your horse is displaying any of these signs, it may be time to step back and think about what is going on. Ask yourself: what is stressing my horse and what can I do to help him/her?
First, address their environment, living conditions, feed program/diet, training, show schedule, history, and how you communicate with them and see where you can begin to make changes for the better.
Secondly, support them with alternative modalities: herbs, oils, bach flower remedies, accupressure/acupuncture, and bodywork have all been shown to have a profound affect on relieving stress and helping the horse respond better to any future stress. Ask questions. Get the help of an equine professional who uses any of these methods.
If we feel like we are the ones bringing the stress to the barn, now is a good time to evaluate ourselves and give ourselves the support we need as well. The herbs, essential oils, and bodywork that you use for your horse can work wonders for you too.
Stress is a part of life. It cannot be avoided, but we can give our horses (and ourselves) the tools to cope.
-Emily
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