The Horse & The Balloon

Position Paper by:

Kerry M Thomas

Ever seeking new ways to describe the things I see and search for when it comes to Equine Athletic Psychology and Emotional Conformation; be it from the “slinky” transition of the sensory system to the “stair-climber” pattern-of-motion, when endeavoring to infiltrate the jigsaw puzzle of the equine mind, I began to see it much like a balloon.

A typical profile inspection starts with the basics; gaining an understanding of exactly how the individual horse is interpreting their world. I do this in all sorts of environments and in all sorts of situations; this observational research, a technique I used in the wilds of Montana & Wyoming, serves me the same in controlled environments. Just like learning any language, you need to start with the basics, and you do this through quiet observation prior to any real direct interaction. Often I am observed with a quizzical look, pondering the scene before me in anything but a ‘normal’ way of inspecting a horse, but this is because I am not looking initially at the common, I’m looking for tiny holes in the balloon.

I like to describe the equine psyche like so many things bundled up inside a balloon that continues to expand with learned experiences and life lessons; growth. The balloon is a holding tank if you will, a gathering place, a processing plant where new encounters and new environments are both collected and drawn upon to problem solve by association. It is also the meeting place, the headquarters where experience, sensory interpretations and reactions are all in one bag, a playground of emotional stress. The working efficiency or lack of in this balloon is very often seen in the exhaust; body language and motion, either knee-jerk or controlled, stem from the processing plant. In other words, your freight train is controlled by this conductor.

*Behavioral Overcompensations (*THT Glossary Of Terms) can occur when the pressure within the balloon is shifted by either emotional pressure or physical pressure/impediments. In other words, when any sensory avenue is compromised eliciting an imbalance between *The Equine Sensory System (*THT position paper available upon request) the response is to shift a focus to another sensory tool. For example, if you were to go down a flight of stairs with all of your sensory tools in action, your pace, your speed, would be normal to your relative physical ability. However, when you are asked to accomplish the same task with say, a large laundry basket in your arms blocking your vision, your focus will shift to your footing so you do not fall, collaterally compromising your pace and speed regardless of your physical fitness level.

Holes in the balloon are also of great concern and especially so during high levels of stress and activity. Tiny, nearly imperceptible holes in the balloon in calm, normal, low-stress or simple task environments are warning signs that need to be recognized early. As activity, motion, stress, environmental changes and multiple stimuli work to invade the equine psyche, a key and distinguishing factor separating the *Herd Dynamics (*THT Glossary of Terms) stems from those with the ability to control their motion and the motion of others; these individuals have less holes, less leaking of emotions and thus less wasted physical reaction, than others.

The ability to absorb and process situational chaos is an indicator of an efficient mental aptitude; it divides the hierarchy in nature within the herd because Mother Nature’s ally is her ability to conceal her leadership. A small, seemingly inconsequential hole in the balloon becomes a major antagonist when the pressure builds and suddenly the hole expands, releasing the pressure in reactions quite counter-productive. When we say he or she works great under pressure, their ability to manage an onslaught of situational chaos and make good decisions in the heat of battle, is because they can hold it together and have no holes in their balloon relative to the tasks at hand.

It pays you to know ‘who’ your horse his as an individual, it is key to selecting them for your roster, developing them, coaching them up so that they can reach their full potential at whatever level they are or can become physically.

Mental enrichment and coaching should be ahead of the physical, so that your horse’s body can grow in to their minds. The last thing you need, as we’ve mentioned before, is a freight train without a conductor!

©THT