Support for stressful situations
Stressful situations can't always be avoided, so it's important to help our horses cope with them as best as possible.
Coping well with stress is an important life skill for both human and horse.
We all know chronic stress is a bad thing that can wreak havoc on the health of both us and our horses. And while it is important to minimize horses' exposure to stress, some stress is unavoidable. Some horses cope with stressful situations better than others, but even the ones that seem very stoic can benefit from some support. Here are some steps we can take to ensure stressful events like medical procedures, changing stables or losing a friend have as little negative impact as possible.
When it comes to stress, it's not really about how good we (or our horses) are at avoiding it, but more about how well we can cope with it. A stressful situation will jack up our sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system and horses who have difficulty coping with stress can have a hard time dialling back down to the parasympathetic branch (rest and digest) when the stressful situation is over. (A lot of people have difficulty with this, too). So, the first thing we can do in order to minimize the negative effects of stress is to teach our horses (and ourselves) how to relax. Breathing exercises can be a wonderful tool to help us with this. Generally, what will boost the parasympathetic system is making the exhales longer than the inhales. Spend some time with your horse doing nothing, just focusing on breathing and prolonging the exhales. You will be surprised at how much horses will enjoy this and how quickly they will start to relax. Practicing this on a regular basis will give you a tool to access your horse's parasympathetic system. Coming back to this exercise after a stressful event is a great way to calm down and return to balance.
From a more physical standpoint, a system that is very acutely sensitive to negative effects of stress is the digestive system. Stress can negatively impact the functioning of the gut and the gut microbiota and chronic stress can increase the risk for stomach ulcers. If you know that your horse will be going through something stressful, like a medical procedure or moving to a new stable, it makes sense to boost the digestive system beforehand. A round of pre or probiotics can support the gut microbiota and mitigate some of the negative effects of stress.
And lastly, be honest with your horse. As weird as it sounds, telling your horse about something unpleasant that's about to happen works wonders. Horses are very good at sensing our emotional state and they are very sensitive to incongruency – for example if we are pretending to be brave, when we are scared, or pretending to be calm when we are angry. Knowing that something stressful is about to happen makes us nervous and the horses can feel this. If we pretend that everything is ok, we are giving off an incongruent vibe. A better way is to allow them to feel our unpleasant emotional state and to reassure them by feeling the intent to keep them safe. The easiest way to do this is simply by telling them about the situation. (Something along the lines of: »you are about to have this slightly unpleasant medical procedure, but I promise this will make you feel better and I will be here keeping you safe the entire time«) Obviously, the horse will not understand the words, but they will understand the intent. As strange as it might sound, I promise it's worth a try.