The month of January is typically a time when people enter the new year with a slew of resolutions they plan to implement, despite their statistically high rate of failure. Books with enterprising titles like “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” “Reinventing Your Life,” “Build the Life You Want,” or my personal favorite that I’ve never read: “The 7 minute solution, Creating a Life with Meaning 7 Minutes at a Time,” fly off the shelves only to gather dust on bedside tables and bookshelves filled with other optimistic self help tomes. Gyms are packed with people clad in sparkly new workout gear hoping to get fitter, and I can barely squeeze my mat into my usual yoga classes during the studio’s annual “January challenge.” (Yogis who attend 30 classes in 30 days get a free month of yoga). As happy as I should be that people are pursuing physical, emotional, spiritual and psychological growth, rather than irritated that my usual spot is occupied by newbies, I must confess that I am relieved as my mat space gradually increases again towards the end of January as class attendance creeps back towards its usual numbers.
What makes it so difficult for us to change our routines and ways of thinking and behaving despite our best intentions? The brain is the most metabolically expensive organ in our system, and tries to conserve precious energy by automating pathways for our beliefs and behaviors. Changing these requires building new neural pathways and therefore a great deal of glucose. It is easier to keep believing and behaving in ways that already have well established, deeply worn pathways than to build new ones, which require repeated practice over time as well as focused attention and awareness, which also require a great deal of energy.
Horses appreciate routines as well. As anyone who has been late to feed their ponies knows, horses become accustomed to being cared for in certain ways at certain times, and can become anxious or even ill when unexpected variations occur. Some horses experience gastric distress or even develop colic after being fed new grain or on a different schedule than their digestive system is accustomed to. My off the track Thoroughbred, Chief, requires a great deal more feed and supplements to remain at a healthy weight than my quarter horses and Appaloosa do, so he eats separately from the herd in a round pen to protect his breakfast from being pilfered by the rest of his four legged friends. Copper, Sterling and Spirit know that they are not invited into the round pen for the morning feed and stand aside for Chief to enter without trying to follow him in, despite their interest in the contents of his large red bucket (which holds a great deal more breakfast then their smaller ones do!) If I have an early client that requires a different horse to be in the round pen before feeding time, the horses are very confused about this irregularity. Chief tries to go in the round pen despite my request that he wait outside, and the horse I am trying to invite into the pen hangs suspiciously outside, confused by this change in the protocol.
While novelty and change appeals to some, many people and their equine partners shy away (no pun intended) from the unfamiliar. Most of us have seen the variety of memes on social media of horses spooking at a puddle of water no more than an inch or two deep. The research seems to be inconclusive as to what causes this behavior, with some researchers citing factors concerning equine vision including their eyes being wide set and mostly monocular in function which may limit their capacity for depth perception, while others assert that horses and humans have similar capacities for judging depth.
What do we make of many horses’ dismay at crossing bodies of water, no matter how large or small? Suggestions include sensory overload from the movement and sound of the water, an evolutionary instinct regarding the danger of injury (prey animals are cautious about uneven terrain to avoid breaking a leg, which makes them easy targets for predators) as it may be difficult for them to gauge the depth and stability of the footing since they can’t see the bottom of even a puddle clearly, or maybe they just don’t like getting their feet wet! At any rate, one can find countless training videos detailing how to help your reluctant horse learn to cross water more confidently.
To do this in a way that recognizes horses are truly sentient being with the right to have their own thoughts, emotions and choices, follows a parallel path to that which humans require to make lasting changes in our attitudes and behaviors without undue stress: with kindness, patience and compassion for the challenges involved in overcoming one’s fears and resistance to change. The steps include setting realistic goals for the pace of progress, identifying the specific fears involved in making these changes, gradually being exposed to them in small, incremental amounts, practicing relaxation and regulation strategies throughout, and seeking support along the way. Horses and humans alike can change for the better! Cooperation and collaboration rather than fear and shame are the positive motivators that make the process less painful and stressful.
Whether it is learning to confidently navigate a water crossing for your horse or becoming more active or spending less time on social media, we can all set and achieve our goals for the coming year by understanding the processes involved in change and supporting each other in shared community.
Happy New Year, everyone!
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