If youve ever been around horses, you know that they can be strong-willed animals. Unfortunately, this strong-will can sometimes lead to a horse pulling back while being tied. This can be an incredibly dangerous situation for both the horse and the handler. The good news is that there are several steps you can take to train your horse to stop pulling back while being tied.
The first step is to make sure that you are using the proper tying techniques. Make sure that the rope is tied securely to a post or rail, and that the knot is tight enough to prevent slipping or coming undone. You should also make sure that the rope is long enough to allow the horse to move freely, but not so long that it can get tangled or caught on something.
Once the rope is properly tied, you can begin the training process. Start by tying the horse for short periods of time and rewarding it for good behavior. Gradually increase the length of time the horse is tied, and provide positive reinforcement for calm behavior. If the horse begins to pull back, calmly and firmly pull back on the rope and speak in a low, firm voice.
If the horse continues to struggle, you may need to enlist the help of a professional trainer. A professional will be able to provide more detailed instructions and can help you tailor a training program that is specific to your horse.
By following these steps, you can help your horse learn to stop pulling back while being tied. With patience and consistency, you can gain control over your horse and create a safe and enjoyable experience for both of you.
How do I stop my horse from pulling back when tied?
To stop your horse from pulling back when tied requires a long cotton rope, a nylon halter, and a sturdy, well-secured snubbing post. The post should not break or give way when the horse sets back. Remember to tie in an area that has good, soft footing in case the horse falls. Place the nylon halter on the horse’s head. Take the long cotton rope and tie it around the horse’s belly just behind the shoulder. It is important that you tie the rope with a bowline knot. The bowline knot will not tighten up on the horse’s belly when it sets back. This will teach you how to tie a bowline knot. You can also watch a . If you don’t know how to tie a bowline knot, it is a good idea to practice before trying it on the horse. Once the knot is tied around the horse, run the rope between the horse’s front legs through the bottom part of the halter under the horse’s chin. Then tie the rope to the snubbing post with a quick-release knot with about 12 to 18 inches of slack, or just wrap the rope around the post twice and hold the end of the rope. Make sure the rope is long enough so that you can stand well away from the horse. This second method allows the rope to slide a bit, which can be less frightening for the horse. When the horse sets back, the pressure will not be on the horse’s head and neck but on his barrel. Once he pulls back, he will come forward as a result of the pressure, so don’t stand in front of the horse or between the horse and the snubbing post. The horse may pull back a few times before he stands still the first time. Once he realizes he can’t break free, he will stand tied. You may have to repeat this several times over several days before the horse learns to stand tied. Another method is to tie to a rubber inner tube that will allow some stretch, again helping the fearful horse. Another method is to use what looks like a half of a snaffle bit (trainer Clinton Anderson uses this). This allows the rope to slip, but the horse does not get free if you are using a long rope. The horse learns there is nothing to be afraid of and will begin standing. For example, you want to teach your horse to stand, but when you approach, it pulls back. Using this ring method, the person approaches, and the horse is allowed to back up until it is comfortable. Bring the horse back up to the post and begin again. Build on this until the horse does not pull back at all.
This is a national Cooperative Extension resource
This work is supported in part by New Technologies for Agriculture Extension grant no. 2020-41595-30123 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
THIS IS A NATIONAL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION RESOURCE
This work is supported in part by New Technologies for Agriculture Extension grant no. 2020-41595-30123 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
Vet Notes – Tying Up in the Athletic Horse
Exertional rhabdomyolysis, also called tying up, Monday morning disease or holyday disease, is a debilitating and painful musculoskeletal condition of multifactorial origin, but most caused by strenuous exercise along with dietary imbalances. It affects horses of any breed, age or discipline.
Tying-up might resemble colic because horses are usually painful (trying to lay down, rolling, muscle fasciculations, excessive sweating, increased heart rate and respiratory rate), but what makes it different is the reluctance to move and the stiff and short-strided gait. Muscles become very tight and sensitive to palpation, mostly over the croup and gluteal areas. In most severe cases, dark, reddish urine can be present. This is due to the excretion of muscle components into the bloodstream which can’t be filtrated by the kidneys and end up coming out through the urine. Horses tend to display signs of anxiety (this is caused by the pain and the inability to move). Clinical signs appear after a sudden increase in work intensity.
The first thing to do with your horse if it’s showing signs of rhabdomyolysis is rest: HAND-WALKING IS CONTRAINDICATED! Doing otherwise can increase the muscle damage and the stress of the horse. If transportation is needed, the trailer should be brought to the horse.
The most useful way to treat this (or any disease) is by diagnosing first! A veterinarian must evaluate the horse in order to establish a proper treatment plan (every patient is different; thus treatments can vary among cases). Usually, this disease is diagnosed based on clinical signs, history and bloodwork. There are two muscle enzymes that will be elevated in the blood sample: Creatine Kinase (CK), and Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST). These enzymes are present within the muscle cells and in the face of cellular damage, they are released into the bloodstream, thus increasing their values in serum. The use of anti-inflammatories such as Bute or Banamine should be consulted with your veterinarian first – this is because NSAIDs tend to be hard on the kidneys and horses with rhabdomyolysis are at risk of developing renal disease. Fluid therapy is the cornerstone of treatment. Most of the time these horses are dehydrated, and replacement of fluid losses is necessary. Sedation can be useful to decrease the anxiety, but its use must also be determined by a veterinarian. Acepromazine is an excellent anxiolytic, but also a great hypotensive; its use is contraindicated in severely dehydrated patients. Xylazine and Dormosedan are excellent choices due to their analgesic and sedative properties.
Horses with rhabdomyolysis must have a low-calorie diet at least for a couple of weeks following the episode. Electrolyte supplementation is also very important because high amounts of sodium and chloride are wasted during dehydration. This can be achieved by adding 30 to 50gr (1 to 3 tablespoons) of regular salt into the water or feed. Hanging a salt block in the stall is another option. Close monitoring of clinical signs for the first two weeks following the episode is very important because horses are more susceptible to relapse. Exercise should start once the muscular stiffness has been eliminated. First, short hand-walks can be done as long as the horse is willing to do it. Muscle enzymes should also be re-checked every two weeks to monitor the healing process.
If the horse has recurring tying up episodes, specialized diagnostics should be performed. There might be a chance that your horse has a genetic disorder that makes it prone to tying up! Quarter Horses and Draft horses can be affected by a mutation of the gene GYS1. This mutation leads to an abnormally high accumulation of calcium in the muscle cells. Genetic tests and muscle biopsies should be performed to confirm the diagnosis. The management of these horses is similar to exertional rhabdomyolysis: rest, controlled exercise, and dietary changes. Always consult with your veterinarian on how to adjust these changes based on your horse’s needs!
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3 Ways to Manage Horses that Pull Back When Tied
Every trainer and clinician is asked for advice about handling horses that sit back when they’re tied.
If you canvass equine experts, you get two basic responses, one that makes sense and one that’s regrettable if you love your horse. This post doesn’t include images of horses sitting back or what can happen when they do. The result can be gruesome.
What Not to Do With Horses that Pull Back When Tied
I found this (unfortunate) online advice from self-labeled trainers answering reader questions about horses that pull back:
Do-it-yourself is popular for home repair and online degree programs, but not always the best option for life with horses. Buying the right horse solves most potential problems while buying existing problems often results in bigger ones. I wonder why this trainer sees a remarkably larger number of horses with this issue?
The regrettable responses from quoted professionals suggest that owners use halters that won’t break and tie horses to something that won’t move. A few online experts endorsed the age-old method of using a belly rope which, I admit, I tried many years ago with success. Breaking horses in the old days was dangerous. Using ropes includes the possibility of injury and unintended consequences and I needed methods that kept client horses safe.
Three Options to Manage Horses that Sit Back When Tied
These responses represent one general way to address horses that pull back – stouter equipment. Thankfully, there are other ways and trainers who know how to teach and use them.
1. Don’t put the horse in situations you already know he can’t handle – like sitting back when left alone on the side of a trailer, etc.
2. Seriously. Unless you have to leave the horse for an extended time why not teach your horse to stay put? It’s right handy, which is why I do it with mine. They tie well, but most of the time I just say, “Sit, stay” without a halter.
Have you tried teaching your horse to ground tie? Teaching the brain is always safer than training the body. Need help? Here’s a helpful article by Julie Goodnight.
If neither of options 1 or 2 works for you, here’s another suggestion.
3. There are dozens of ways to get started, from trying gadgets clinicians sell to doing it the way I do. (If you want details I’ll provide them, but read more first.) The habit of pulling back is a hard one to break because every time the horse fights and gets loose it reinforces the lesson that the answer to the problem is fighting harder.
Horse that fight being tied aren’t playing games. They’re terrified of being trapped; think mountain-lion-on-their-back scared.
Why Some Horses Fight So Hard When Tied
Horses escalate this behavior because they’re rewarded for it. You always get more of what you reward and less of what you don’t. If a horse was first tied with a wimpy web halter and frayed lead rope, it probably pulled back, testing the restraint like any horse new to the experience would, and got away.
The next time the horse was tied with a decent halter and lead rope to a corral panel. The horse pulled back again, couldn’t easily break the halter, and found itself with a fifty-pound corral panel on the end of the line. The fight was on. Eventually the horse pulled the panel loose and got away.
Fear Triggers Old Habits
Every time a horse gets away it learns to fight harder the next time.
When horses react in fear, old habits win. New experiences only trump old ones when they’re stronger than the old ones. That can take months, years, or never. Don’t start down this road unless you’re committed for the long haul. Failure only reinforces the horse’s opinion that it was right all along, and he’ll fight harder the next time.
Don’t think that you’re finished just because your horse ties three time without incident (or twenty or a hundred.) Every new habit has to be maintained, maintained, maintained – especially when they replace an old bad one.
Some Horses Won’t Get Over Pulling Back
Sometimes being a pro means telling folks the truth. Some horses won’t get over pulling back. The difficulty of the repair depends on the severity of the damage. In theory, it might be possible to fix every horse that pulls back, but and aren’t always the same. There are ways to break horses from pulling back, but most quickie options put the horse and trainer in danger.
Never use a fix worse than the problem. Before you try to remodel your horse’s habits, be certain you’re both and to let the process take as long as it takes.
Some horses simply won’t tie once they learn to sit back. The ones that do learn to tie quietly experience one of two things:
The only way to break old habits is to replace them with new ones. That may take months, years, or never. The best way to handle a bad habit is prevention, never letting it begin. I teach horses to tie gradually. Eventually they think being tied up is a cue to take a nap. Fear of being trapped by its head is a nightmare, not reason to doze.
I am also pathologically particular about who handles my horses because I promise them that nothing bad will ever happen – and I do everything in my power to deliver. No one ties one of mine unless I know him or her exceedingly well. All it takes to mess up a great horse is one tragic experience. Fear is a tough emotion to extinguish which is why faith rules in our barn.
What Are You Willing to Invest in Fixing Your Horse?
Unlike mine, most horses are handled by a variety of people, meaning that owners and trainers must make slightly different promises.
If your horse sits back when tied, how much expertise do you have or can you afford? How much time and resources are you willing to commit to breaking the established habit of pulling back, knowing that your commitment must last indefinitely?
Be a good steward and responsible horse owner. Your horse will thank you for it, God will smile, and really, who else matters?
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Lean how to improve the relationship with your horse.
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Lynn Baber
Lynn is a best-selling Christian author encouraging and equipping the people of Christ to live in peace, power, and purpose using simple gospel principles.
Lynn Baber
Lynn is a best-selling Christian author encouraging and equipping the people of Christ to live in peace, power, and purpose using simple gospel principles.
4 Responses
Hi, I see your conversation about not tying up until they’re responsive. However, I do have two horses that will stand all day, and lead perfectly, are light on the halter, but will sometimes pull if they’re suddenly spooked (I also do a ton of natural horsemanship desensitising and they’re really chill horses). They’ve gotten away in the past, and I’ve used a blocker tie ring in the beginning, but now do tie hard. They never get away, but the drama of them sitting back for 5 seconds and then standing calm again, still fries me. Is it okay for them to have a 5 second melt down and then go back to standing? I’m thinking of going back to using a tie ring all the time, so that they can get away a little. I also think it’s wise to know certain horses and not put them in bad situations.
I’m also a christian, but I rarely put it like that to people anymore, as I’m ashamed of our apostate church. I feel that we’ve become like the world and try to hide our issues like everyone else. That the religion can become a cover instead of a solution. Now I say, ‘I’m a true christian’ that believes in dealing with sin daily and openly with my home church; people who actually know how I live, so we can follow the template Paul set up, instead of institution in which we can hide. I believe the time is short, all these peace deals are bringing in the end and a false christ; we’re way too asleep… It’s good with my horses too, I want quick solutions, but forget too easily that I must be manifested daily as a son of God to truly help the animals, as their life isn’t as good as it should be either. My prayer continues to be that we would listen and not be like the Laodiceans. Warmly, Hope K (my name)
Hope, thank your for your comment. Your question is a good one and I agree with your perspective on the apostate church. Two of my books deal with that reality and God is busy! The term “Christian” doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone, just like “natural horsemanship” must be defined to truly communicate. Think about the tie situation in terms of the gospel—the process of sanctification is cumulative, but there’s always another trial. What spooks your horses so they pull back? That’s pertinent to knowing how to continue to make positive progress in relationship. There are things we used to “spook” at but don’t any longer because we trust Christ. Then something new comes along and we react. Over time and with the Perfect Leadership of the Holy Spirit, we learn that nothing is big enough to inspire fear. Surprise maybe, but not fear. If surprise is more what your horses are feeling, then you might consider giving them some room to respond. Aside from the emotional panic, there is a real danger to the atlas and cervical spine from pulling back. I share in our prayer! Blessings, Lynn
Goodday Lynn, My name is Neil, I live in Western Australia, Ik now credentials dont matter much to horses but just for interests sake, Ive been starting horses for about fifty years, also reschooling problem ones too, notching up about a couple of thousand in all. As I said thats not important if i was using methods that traumatised or damaged them. im just wanting to put to you a helpful teaching tip that helps when approaching a situation where a horse has a phobia about hard tying. For a number of years I ran clinics for and with Pat Parelli and spent time with Ray Hunt who is considered to be one of the Fathers of the concept of “Natural Horsemanship” They taught that if a horse could not respond to forward pressure from a halter rope the horse was not ready to be hard tied, so the horse was encouraged to follow a feel, ie if I ran they should not allow the rope to tighten and follow before it tightened, it works a treat. Cheers Neil. P. S. Jesus is my Lord too.
I agree completely, Neil, and appreciate you sharing your deep experience with horses. You describe a well-proven way to teach horses to “follow.” And Amen! to your point – if the horse isn’t soft and following never hard tie. I use the same concept in many ways and teach students that, in every instance except an emergency, to always leave slack in the lead line or rein. I try to suggest turns or direction, create energy to increase energy, and believe that pulling is a crutch that doesn’t serve well in the long run.
Sure, there are conversations to be enjoyed with English or Dressage riders about the right degree of “contact” in their discipline and sometimes a supportive rein is the best choice. I believe that if your horse won’t do what you want without a halter and rope then you have an opportunity to deepen your relationship by going back a few steps. It’s why I teach almost everything at liberty and add the accessories of tack later. That lets me know the horse does as I ask because he wants to, not because he has to.
Jesus doesn’t rope us and make us come. We do as He asks because we love and trust Him. The most difficult request for man or beast to obey is “Come.” May the Lord continue to bless you as you serve those who love horses! God is good. Blessings, Lynn
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Emotional Transfer in Human–Horse Interaction: New Perspectives on Equine Assisted Interventions
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Chiara Scopa
Italian National Reference Centre for Animal Assisted Interventions, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020 Legnaro (Padua), Italy;
Laura Contalbrigo
Italian National Reference Centre for Animal Assisted Interventions, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020 Legnaro (Padua), Italy;
Alberto Greco
Department of Information Engineering, University of Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy; (A. G.); (A. L.); (E. P. S.)
Antonio Lanatà
Department of Information Engineering, University of Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy; (A. G.); (A. L.); (E. P. S.)
Enzo Pasquale Scilingo
Department of Information Engineering, University of Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy; (A. G.); (A. L.); (E. P. S.)
Paolo Baragli
Bioengineering and Robotic Research Center “E. Piaggio”, University of Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Simple Summary
Equine assisted interventions (EAIs) represent an emerging field of animal assisted interventions (AAIs), employing horses in a wide variety of activities with humans. Based on the socio-emotional competences of this species, which evolved sophisticated communicative skills to interrelate with humans, we here hypothesized the occurrence of an interspecific emotional transfer during interventions. The emotional transfer hypothesis suggests a mutual coordination of emotional states of humans and horses, which are going through a coupling process during the interaction. Even though this mechanism is supported by few existing studies on human-horse emotional fine-tuning, it could play a key role in EAIs. We moreover propose to measure this coordination through monitoring physiological variables with a novel multidisciplinary method. In the future, having an insight on emotional states of animals involved in AAIs could be useful to ameliorate the wellbeing of both animal and human subjects and to better standardize operational strategies.
Abstract
Equine assisted interventions (EAIs) include all therapeutic interventions aimed at improving human wellbeing through the involvement of horses. Due to the prominent emotional involvement traditionally characterizing their relation with humans, horses developed sophisticated communicative skills, which fostered their ability to respond to human emotional states. In this review, we hypothesize that the proximate causation of successful interventions could be human–animal mutual coordination, through which the subjects bodily and, most importantly, emotionally come into contact. We propose that detecting emotions of other individuals and developing the capacity to fine-tune one’s own emotional states accordingly (emotional transfer mechanism), could represent the key engine triggering the positive effects of EAIs. We provide a comprehensive analysis of horses’ socio-emotional competences according to recent literature and we propose a multidisciplinary approach to investigate this inter-specific match. By considering human and horse as a unique coupling system during the interaction, it would be possible to objectively measure the degree of coordination through the analysis of physiological variables of both human and animal. Merging the state of art on human–horse relationship with the application of novel methodologies, could help to improve standardized protocols for animal assisted interventions, with particular regard to the emotional states of subjects involved.
1. Introduction
Levinson [ ] in his book mentioned several examples of how animals could help in enhancing therapies with children. Levinson’s statement has been mentioned many times to implement the use of animals in therapeutic interventions and since the 1960s, this practice has become increasingly popular. Nowadays, animal assisted interventions (AAIs) are goal-oriented and structured interventions that intentionally include or incorporate animals in health, education, and human services (e. g., social work) for the purpose of therapeutic, educational, or recreational gains in humans [ ]. According to the aim of the intervention, they are usually classified in animal assisted therapy (AAT), animal assisted education (AAE) and animal assisted activity (AAA), and they are structured and managed by a multidisciplinary team [ ].
In this huge framework, equine assisted interventions (EAIs) are an emerging field, recently nominated as a very popular and novel practice [ ]. EAIs is an umbrella term that includes a wide diversity of methodologies and approaches to improve human wellbeing through the involvement of horses (Equine assisted therapy—EAT; equine assisted education—EAE; equine assisted activity—EAA). EAIs can be adapted to the needs of the patient/beneficiary involved in a wide range of settings [ ] and, for this reason, they are used in many institutions worldwide. In particular, equine assisted therapies (EATs) are often integrated in traditional therapeutic plans for individuals with mental and physical disabilities [ , , ]. Even though their efficacy has not been completely proved yet, some authors claim social, emotional, physical, and educational benefits for several categories of patients experiencing therapy with horses [ , , , , , ]. For instance, EAIs seem to stimulate multiple domains of functioning handling emotional, cognitive, motor, and social disabilities with or without actual riding activity [ ]. Kendall et al. [ ] listed some anecdotal and descriptive hypotheses about how horses lead to positive psychological effects in patients during equine assisted therapy (EAT). Among these hypotheses, it has been suggested that EAT provides an emotional positive context that increases the prospect of beneficial changes in patients. For example, individuals with physical disability may experience a sense of “normality” while riding in contrast with the physical limitations they are used to face in everyday life [ ]. In addition, therapeutic equine interventions are conceived to address self-esteem and personal confidence, communicative skills, and social trust, by literally making the horse a therapeutic tool [ ]. By using unintentional signals (such as vocalizations or facial expressions, but also by seeking affiliative contact), humans and horses progressively sharpened the skills to communicate reciprocal affective states. The bonding process connecting humans with animals starts with physical contact. Information collected through the body are mainly used to anticipate the movements of the partner (both horse and human) [ ]; however, body contact constitutes an emotional connecting channel between interactants as well [ , ], resulting in tangible behavioral and physiological variation. Therefore, human relationship with horses has been prompted by the emotional involvement consistently characterizing their interaction. The occurrence of repeated encounters in the long term is in fact useful for both motor coordination and socio-emotional engagement between the bonding subjects [ , ]. For this reason, most of the interventions imply physical interaction with animals.
The lack of a rigorous scientific approach in the study of these interventions results today as the main obstacle for the development of standardized methods in the field [ ]. Here, we identify two main parallel branches in EAIs’ context both grounded on the same idiosyncratic process, i. e., the occurrence of coordination — — between the interactants. A mutual interaction may in fact result in (I) a motor coordination dynamic or (II) in the coupling of physiological activities (brain/heart/hormonal) of both human and horse [ , ]. In the first case, the movement of the horse’s pelvis during horseback riding provides motor and sensory inputs to the human body producing normalized pelvic movement in the rider, closely resembling ambulation in individuals without disabilities [ , ]. Eventually, the rider’s motion becomes phase-matched with that of the horse, developing in a synchronized gait [ , ]. As for the second case mentioned, investigating horse-human interaction by simultaneously recording their physiological activities (such as heart rate or hormones levels) has been widely employed in the last decades, even though studies mostly focused on equitation disciplines or training [ , ]. Inter-subjects coordination is positively affected by the affiliative nature of the encounter since social interaction and the processing of affective information are suggested to facilitate the mechanism of embodiment (i. e., when body postures and facial expressions arising during social interaction play central roles in social information processing, [ ]) [ ]. Since direct human–horse relationship may significantly influence the emotional arousal of both individuals, consequently affecting their behaviors, physiological variables have been gradually incorporated in this field of study as easily accessible sources to evaluate the stress level or emotional condition of both humans and animals [ ]. Moreover, it has been recently demonstrated that horse’s physiological activities overlap with the human’ ones, as long as the interaction occurs and that this convergence increasingly synchronizes when the interaction get “more intimate” [ , ]. Due to the prominent emotional involvement and the standardized methodologies characterizing animal assisted interventions, EAIs provide an attracting setting to test new approaches to study human–animal interaction. Scientific literature on this topic has been mostly focused on the human side, categorizing contexts and programs in which working with horses resulted effectively [ , , , ]. Nonetheless, those mechanisms implied in relating with animals that lead to beneficial effects on human life, have been a neglected topic in the recent scientific scene.
Based on these assumptions, the present review aims at getting at the root causation of the emotional human–horse coordination. Specifically, the main purposes are (a) to verify in which terms this process could be considered a cross-species emotional transfer and (b) whether physiological and emotional human–horse synchronization represents the key for successful EAIs. We carry out a comprehensive inquiry about how the emotional competences, co-evolved in these two species, fostered the progression of a potential inter-specific emotional sharing, based on the same neurobiological mechanisms.
Firstly, we listed few notional definitions of human–animal interaction, relationship and bond; later, we moved the focus on the concrete side of the process, from the merely physical up to the emotional aspects of interacting, from both human’s and animal’s perspectives.
2.1. Human–Animal Bond: A Theoretical Framework
The human–animal bond has been defined as the mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship between humans and other animals, modulated by reciprocal behaviors that are essential to the health and wellbeing of both subjects involved [ ]. This includes, but is not limited to, emotional, psychological, and physical interactions of humans, animals, and the environment.
In human psychology, the bonding process implies the establishment of a close, interactive relationship between the individuals involved [ ]. Bonding typically goes in parallel with the concepts of attachment and affiliation, whose different degrees of intimacy determine the nature of the interaction. In particular: Affiliation is the simple act of being responsive with other human/animal subjects [ ], but when affiliation requires social engagement and persistent reciprocal interaction with others, it develops into attachment [ ]. According to this logic, bonding is the natural consequence of attachment and it is highly influenced by it in its essence, thus affecting the nature and quality of the bond itself. Bowlby formulated bonding and attachment theories in the sixties of the last century, integrating information that arose from his studies about child development and mother–child attachment. The ‘theory of attachment’ focused on the infant–caregiver relationship and its association to the healthy growth process. In his theoretical approach, Bowlby stated that childhood experiences lacking of a sense of safety and warmth, might influence the responsiveness of the adult in terms of stress and fear [ ]. As for humans, in all mammal species the developmental phase is based on reliability in caregivers, whose nurturing behavior contributes to resilience in facing adversities later in life [ ]. Even owners’ relationship with their pets can be described as parallel to the parental/child relationship [ ]: The caregiver’s role in fact fulfills the people’ intrinsic desire to protect and, on the other hand, pets depend on caregivers for care and protection. This represents a strong component of the human–animal relationship.
Nevertheless, the classification of the multiple ways in which humans and animals come to interact is still under debate; moreover, it is difficult to force every interaction into an exclusive definition regardless of the animal species involved. In their review Hosey and Melfi [ ] pointed out the slight differences between human–animal ‘bond’, ‘relationship’, and ‘interaction’ as previously defined by other scholars. In particular, the first to conceive a theoretical framework in this field was Hinde [ , ] who differentiated between the terms ‘interaction’, i. e., a sequence in which individuals show reciprocal behaviors to each other (which can be both positive or negative) and ‘relationship’ that implies the occurrence of a series of interactions over time. Eventually, Russow [ ] listed some specific criteria that are necessary to outline a fully developed human–animal bond, such as reciprocity and persistence of the encounters. However, human psychological attributes, such as personality traits, empathy towards animals and people, human perception of pain in animals can also influence the interaction, consequently affecting the animal welfare and its cognitive performances [ , ]. Regarding human–animal attachment, in particular farm animals such as horses, three factors have been identified as having major impact on these animals’ ability and willingness to interact with humans: (I) The nature, quality, and frequency of contact with people, (II) the time period, and (III) the social environment in which it occurs [ ].
In conclusion, the inter-specific bonding process clearly presents different characteristics if compared to the intra-specific one; however, they both appear to be based on the same essential mechanisms, i. e., reciprocity and emotional involvement.
2.2. How Horses Perceive Human World
To date the definition of human–animal interaction implied the occurrence of a dyadic encounter, in which the two subjects are recognizable and familiar to each other (as above stated). As properly discussed in Hausberger et al. [ ], experience with humans in early months of life may have a great influence on horses, later in adult life. Such sensitive period of contact could allow a long-lasting reaction of the animal towards humans [ , , ]. Some scholars proposed that early contact with foals could result in positive or negative association with humans, affecting the way in which horses relate to people in adult life and extending their experience to all human subjects [ , ]. It follows that reactions of horses towards people are the result of the interplay between the familiarities acquired with humans, the horses’ temperament, and the temperament and skills of humans [ ]. One can speculate that, through the domestication process (about 2500–5000 years ago [ ]), horses could have developed specific skills to relate with humans and that they consequently might have been selected for their ability to respond to human cues [ ]. For example, horses are able to use human eye cues when deciding whether to follow a command or not. In particular, Sankey et al. [ ] found that in response to a known vocal order horses obeyed with a similar rate to attentive familiar and unfamiliar persons (where the attentive state was evaluated based on the head orientation). Horses however monitored more the unfamiliar person’s attentional level, by turning their head and gazing at him. These results indicate a high individual representation level relying on the presence of sophisticated intra-specific cognitive skills. Since horses are able to form expectations on humans based on their behavior, body orientation/cues, attentional state, and past personal experience, they seem to have a “concept of person” as proposed in [ ]. Horses have previously been shown to use human subtle cues such as gaze and body orientation, also when determining the focus of an attentive human [ ]; still, when it came to use the same cues in an object choice task, horses employed the more basic mechanism of stimulus or local enhancement to get reward [ ]. Thus, horses, similar to domestic goats [ ] and contrary to dogs [ ], are more likely to use the emitted human signal as a simple environmental stimulus rather than truly understanding the communicative nature of the cues provided. In their work, Lovrovich et al. [ ] suggested that horses are indeed able to use humans as proximal local enhancement cue to find food. In this study, the tested subjects seemed to change their behavioral strategy to reach reward based on the experience acquired during the trials (by remembering the location of food hidden by the experimenter after a delay by using the position of the person, close to the target, as a valuable information). The ability to use human pointing indicating the location of hidden objects requires cognitive skills that go beyond the generalization of everyday interaction with humans. Pointing, along with any other way to get the attention of another to pursue a goal or reach something, is a form of referential communication whose success only depends on the audience’s attentiveness [ ]. It has been proposed that referential communication have evolved in those species characterized by complex social systems, in which the use of visual signals play a pivotal role during interactions (for example, in fission–fusion societies, such as the horses’ one) [ , ]. Malavasi and Huber [ ] investigated the possibility that horses would be able to apply referential communication at an interspecific level as well as at the intraspecific one. Authors here suggested that horses could adjust signaling according to the attentional state/presence of a human subject and that, in turn, these animals would be able to manipulate the human attention in order to achieve a goal. This presumed ability implies an overall understanding of the human’s different attentional states since horses seemed to behave differently depending on the degree of the experimenter’s attention.
It has been suggested for non-human primates that referential gestures arose from a ritualization of actions during inter-individual interactions [ ]. Even though it is hard to assess whether these capacities are innate or rather they have been acquired through socialization with humans, the predisposition for intra-specific referential communication in horses can provide an advantage in relying on human visual communicative gestures when it is convenient. Likely, horses acquired these skills by individually interacting with people during repeated encounters.
In its original definition Hinde’s description of human–animal interaction was restricted to dyadic event thus implying that the two interacting members of the dyad should be recognizable and familiar to each other. In this regard, it is worth noting that horses can individually recognize not only conspecifics [ ], but also familiar humans [ , ]. As happened for referential communication, individual recognition has been probably extended from only conspecifics to human subjects as well. In Proops et al. [ ] subjects watched a herd member being led past them before the individual went out of view, and a call from that or a different individual was played from a loudspeaker positioned close to the point of disappearance. The tested subjects looked in the speaker’s direction significantly faster and for a longer time when the visual and auditory stimuli were not coherent (visual stimulus from an associate and auditory stimulus from a different one) compared to when they were coherent (both visual and auditory stimuli from the same associate). This is a clear indication that the incongruent combination violated their expectations. Concerning inter-species recognition, in [ ] horses were presented with two people and then their voices from the speaker, which was at the center of the two people. Authors found that, when presented with familiar people, horses were capable to couple the voice with the person. In both these studies, the violation expectancy method was implemented to demonstrate that horses utilize the cross-modal recognition mechanism, i. e., the ability to integrate information perceived into some form of higher-order representation of a subject [ ]. Therefore, horses are able to remember an individual (person or horse) thanks to their long-term memory and to recognize it later by matching different stimuli [ ]. Discrimination of kin from non-kin, and of individuals within both categories, is probably the core ability underpinning the evolution of social behavior [ , ]; so then individual recognition is the most accurate way to categorize conspecifics. Regarding inter-specific recognition, it is reasonable to assume that horses have developed the capacity to recognize those humans with whom they interact due to the long-time co-evolution of these two species.
3. The Equine Social and Emotional Intelligence
Before analyzing the outcomes of the interaction with horses on human wellbeing, along with the variety of conceivable mechanisms through which it possibly works, it is crucial to carefully review the scientific literature about human–horse communication as the basis for their relationship. As previously mentioned, the bonding process and the development of a positive valenced long-term relationship needs a fertile field to emerge and progress, that is why not every animal can successfully interrelate with humans. Here, we listed those requirements horses should have and which are those that they effectively present, in order to assess their capacity to build relationships with human subjects. Following this path, it would be possible to determine the building blocks constituting the perceptive and communicative strategies underlying human–horse relationship (HHR) and in which measure horses and humans’ worlds overlap while interacting.
3.1. The Emotional Side of Human–Horse Relationship (HHR)
Domestic animals such as dogs and horses have shared many years of co-evolution with humans (about 5500 for horses), thus promoting the possibility to establish and grow inter-specific relationships. As pointed above, the main features of an effective human–animal relationship seem to be the exchange of reciprocal behaviors between the subjects involved and the occurrence of repeated encounters [ ]. To comply both prerequisites, humans and animals evolved the capacity to communicate through a shared interface, which works as a cross-species common platform. The language used is mainly based on non-verbal signals, relying on (I) physical and (II) emotional connection. Physical contact and emotional reactivity represent the emotional channels connecting the subjects (see [ , ] for humans and [ , ] for animals). In their recent review, Payne et al. [ ] gave an extensive summary on human–animal physical contact (I), underlined its pivotal role in bond formation according to the ‘human attachment theory’ [ , , ]. In particular, petting and scratching have been found to actively reduce heart rate and fear indicators in horses [ ] and dogs [ ], even if provided by unfamiliar humans. Contrary to human–dog or human–cat interactions, humans and horses experience high level of body-to-body contact when engaged in an interaction. Even if horses are able to respond to a known vocal order coming from both familiar and unfamiliar humans [ ], the body is the basis from which non-verbal human–horse communication grows, specifically in riding activities, in a sort of “kinesthetic empathy”(as defined by [ ]).
On the other hand, emotional connection (II) fosters the bonding process between individuals due to the activation of a sophisticated mechanism of self-tuning its own emotions on others’ emotions. In humans, this skill called emotional intelligence (EI) [ ], seems to influence inter-individual relationships since higher scores on emotional intelligence tests have been associated with various indicators of social adaptability [ ] and with the development of emotional competencies [ ]. Understanding emotional dynamics may help to anticipate one’s own and others’ emotional reactions and thereby to effectively manage emotions during a tense encounter [ ]. With all due limitations of animal emotional competence, the possibility of the same strategy in human–animal relationship deserves further investigation. By using their emotional competence, horses could have evolved the capacity to foreseeing and accordingly reacting to the human’s emotional state. This ability to cope with emotions is likely to influence the emotional valence of the interaction as a whole. Mendl et al. [ ] argued that animal discrete emotions could be represented in a two-dimensional space (already suggested in [ ]); similarly, each emotional experience is valenced (a) as positive or negative, rewarding or punishing, pleasant or unpleasant, and it comes with a specific level of arousal (b) (from low corresponding to calm, to high corresponding to excited). As for humans, also in animals these subjective experiences come along with neural, behavioral, and physiological changes (facial expressions, activation of neural processes, heart rate variation) which can be objectively measured. In this perspective, depending on the perceived valence (positive/negative) of the encounter, the human–animal relationship could range from reassurance to fear, involving the activation of different cerebral processes that strengthen the positive or negative emotions induced [ , ]. Speaking about rewarding stimulation, seeking affiliative interactions is considered rewarding per se. Phillips [ ] claimed the role of oxytocin in liking and the one of vasopressin in wanting and their unambiguous connection to pleasure in humans. In horses, social grooming has been found to reduce the groomer’s heart rate (i. e., a sign of relaxation and calming effect; [ ]). So that, inter-specific relationships could be used as a mechanism to promote healthy neurobiological development through touching and proximity, evocating rewarding emotions (positive valenced) in both humans and animals. In this perspective, the quality of a relationship in a group acquires an adaptive value [ , ]. Furthermore, Hinde’s definition of relationship [ ] suggests that the core of a successful interaction is the “positive” or “negative” valence of each interaction, which constitutes a step towards the next one; meaning that the nature of the first interaction determines expectations for subsequent encounters.
It has been investigated how horses are able to build a bond and keep positive long-term memory of humans when a positive reinforcement (i. e., reward, in this case food reward consisting of a few hand-given grain pellets) is associated to the interaction [ ]. Not surprisingly, Baragli et al. [ ] demonstrated that horses perceive and respond to humans based on their past interactions. In their report, Proops et al. [ ] described how horses are able to form long lasting memories of specific human individuals only by the previous observation of these individuals’ subtle emotional expressions in pictures. Authors first presented horses with a photograph of a happy (positive valence) or angry (negative valence) face belonging to one of two human models; several hours later, the horses were presented with the same human subject previously shown in the photograph but assuming a neutral expression in this occasion. Results revealed a significant difference in the first gaze, with horses that had previously seen the angry face showing a left gaze (right cerebral hemisphere) bias when viewing the same live subject with the neutral face. In this case, horses remembered the identity of those individuals, which had been perceived as potentially harmful in the last encounter. This refined skill seems to allow horses to use the valence of human facial expression as a basis for future encounters with the same subject, building specific individual emotionally valenced memory to quickly detect intentions and emotional states. It could be argued that, as is the case of humans [ ], in horses those emotions associated to pleasant events decrease in intensity less than the emotions associated to unpleasant events, thus reinforcing the memory of a positive interaction rather than a negative one. Animals share the same central and peripheral neural mechanisms involved in experiencing emotion in humans; for this reason, they will actively seek situations assumed to provide them with a pleasurable experience and avoid those that might be assumed to be negative. Therefore, it is likely that animals experience similar humans’ emotional states [ ].
Finally, even though horses are considered prime examples of human companionship, little is known about horse–human attachment process, if we exclude the huge amount of research limited to equitation. The many aspects of human–animal interaction can be truly acknowledged only by conducting cross-analyses on social and emotional competences of both individuals involved.
3.2. Horses’ Perception and Communication of Emotions
In order to be effectively defined as ‘relationship’, human–horse interaction would need an additional feature, which is the occurrence of transfer of emotions underpinning stimuli, facial expressions, and vocal/non-vocal signals between the subjects. Emotional contagion occurs when the perception of emotion expression induces the same emotion in the receiver as in the producer of the signal and this mechanism is considered the basis of empathy [ , ]. Hence, the assessment of the ability in a given species to express and perceive emotion expressions starts with analyzing its emotional repertoire. Natural selection has fostered those behavioral strategies that promoted affiliative interactions and social stability, with emotional transmission enhancing higher coordination among group members and stronger inter-individual bonds [ ]. Under natural conditions horses live in stable social groups [ ] in which the within-members transmission of positive valenced emotions could contribute to group synchronization [ ] and the rapid transfer of negative ones such as fear may, on the other hand, work as survival strategies for a prey species such as the horse [ ]. As above explained, emotions are characterized by two dimensions: Valence (positive or negative) and arousal [ ]. A signal performed by an individual could induce in the receiver both the same arousal level (i. e., contagion of emotional arousal) and the valence (i. e., contagion of emotional valence). Briefer et al. [ ] evaluated if horses are able to decode the emotional valence and arousal of whinnies performed by familiar or unfamiliar conspecifics and whether any form of emotional contagion occurs. Results showed no clear evidence of contagion of emotional valence; nonetheless, authors demonstrated that horses reacted differently to separation and reunion whinnies when they are produced by familiar conspecifics, but no differences were found when unfamiliar individuals performed them, thus advocating the occurrence of emotional arousal transfer. Therefore, this study suggests that horses are able to convey emotional states using vocalizations and to perceive variation in vocal parameters accounting for emotional valence.
In addition to vocal signals, horses display a wide range of facial expressions [ ]. In Wathan et al. [ ] horses were presented with photographs representing facial expressions of their conspecifics captured in different contexts and their reactions were recorded. Results showed that perception of positive expressions elicited more approaching behaviors (positive valence) and decrease of heart rate (low arousal level) in tested subjects; on the other hand, negative expressions triggered avoidance behaviors (negative valence) and increase of heart rate (high arousal level). The same study was replicated to investigate whether horses enact the same mechanisms when viewing photographs of human positive (happy) or negative (angry) facial expressions [ ]. As already discussed (see ), results of this last study suggested that horses may have adapted an ancestral capacity to perceive and appropriately respond to emotional expressions of conspecifics and throughout their coevolution with humans, they may have extended this ability to communicate with morphologically different individuals, i. e., humans. Finally, in Nakamura et al. [ ], horses matched human auditory (voice) and visual (facial expressions) stimuli, respectively performed by a speaker and a screen. In this case, horses’ heart rate increased when looking at a negative facial expression after hearing a positive voice (incongruent condition), indicating that cross-modal perception of human emotions occurs in a generalized form towards unfamiliar people.
Nevertheless, suggesting the occurrence of the contagion of emotional valence and/or arousal could be an overstatement in these cases, since authors used bidimensional representation of facial expressions (i. e., photographs or screen) which is for sure different then observing a live face. Moreover, Smith et al.’s [ ] work has been highly criticized for the analyses of data and methodological approach (for extensive comments see [ ]). These recent studies, however, shed light on the innate and acquired characteristics that horses deploy when interacting with other individuals. Regardless if they are conspecifics or humans, horses would be perfectly able to develop, manage, and keep a relationship with humans, creating a bond based on reciprocal emotional fine-tuning. After all, it could be argued that interacting with conspecifics mimics interacting with individuals of a different species.
4. Horses in Equine Assisted Interventions (EAIs)
Horses are the most involved animals among AATs, in particular with hippotherapy or therapeutic horseback riding sessions. The riding experience is often used in rehabilitation medicine as complementary activity to improve motor skills in children affected by cerebral palsy [ ] and persons with spinal cord injury [ ] and multiple sclerosis. Therapeutic activities with horses are widely used also in individuals with autism spectrum disorder [ ]. Several positive effects have been reported for patients in terms of social, communication/language, and stress/behavior, as well as a reduction in autism symptoms [ , ]. The benefits to humans of equine assisted therapy have been well-researched also in post-traumatic stress and anxiety disorders [ ]. Moreover, many studies claimed on the impact of equine assisted interventions as a whole on patients living with chronic illness [ ] or eating disorders [ ]. It is worth noting that the potential benefits of equine assisted psychotherapy and counselling have been studied as well, even if potential positive results [ ] emerged along with negative ones [ ]. The most comprehensive work analyzing the application of equine assisted interventions has been recently published by Stern and Chus-Hensen [ ], considering both adults and children treatments across different conditions.
EAIs, as for all AAIs, are based on the emotional connection and evolving relationship between the animal, the patient/beneficiary, and the professional who provides the intervention. The animal subject should be considered as an integrated complement, who helps in building the connection between the patient/beneficiary and the therapist or the care professional who is managing the intervention [ ]. In therapeutic setting, this connection is functional to the onset of therapeutic alliance (TA). TA has been proposed as a pantheoretical factor that accounts for all kinds of therapy with positive outcomes, regardless of the approach and methodology [ ]. Therapist personal attributes such as being honest, flexible, respectful, warm, confident, empathic, and trustworthy contribute to a quick and positive development of TA, as well as the use of some techniques such as exploration, reflection, noting past therapy success, facilitating the expression of affect, and attending to the patient’s experience [ , ]. Some researchers pointed out the role of the animal in therapeutic setting as a mean for shaping or growing the positive nature of interpersonal relationship [ ]. The animal acts as a social lubricant (see [ ]), a facilitator of social interactions with other human beings, that helps the establishment of the bond between the patient and the therapist making the initial resistance easier to overcome and giving a safer perception of the environment [ , ]. This interpretation fits with one of the leading hypotheses regarding the benefits of human–animal interactions, which is the “social support hypothesis” [ ].
A large body of literature supports evidences that the animal contact reduces psychological stress, increases social behavior in humans, ameliorates relational skills, and finally promotes positive attachment and resilience ability [ , ]. Beetz et al. [ ] suggested in an exhaustive review, that the common mechanism underlying the positive physiological and psychological outcomes of both pet ownership and AAIs, is the activation of the oxytocinergic system (OTS). OTS positively affects hormones (e. g., cortisol), neurotransmitters (e. g., epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine) and the autonomic nervous system reducing blood pressure, heart rate and heart rate variability, fear, and anxiety. Some studies documented a role of OTS in social bonds [ , , , ] and in emotional contagion [ , ], even though this last point needs more investigations. Moreover, this mechanism seems to promote TA [ ] and it probably marked the AAIs’ success and popularity among therapists [ ].
Indeed, a number of specialists encouraged the involvement of animals in therapy, not only to build an effective TA with the patient but also to use the relation between the patient and the animal as a tool to unlock delicate issues, such as unconscious worries and fears. For example, therapists could elicit discussions by pairing the patient to an animal that has undergone the same problem (for example, a person who has been physically abused may relate to an animal with an abusive past, projecting his emotions onto the animal) [ ]. Moreover, animals are often laden with many different subjective meanings, since people use them to embody emotions or feelings that are both hard to express and likely to be repressed [ ].
The subjective meaning that animated or unanimated objects assume depends on the type of interaction with the subject; therefore, the same object changes its proprieties according to the subjective universe: “All the properties of objects are actually nothing more than perceptual cues that are imprinted on them by the subject with which they enter into a relationship” [ ] (p. 67). Von Uexküll argued that, when throwing an object at a dog, the object itself switches from a neutral characterization to a meaning-carrier element (a ball becomes a ball for play) as soon as it enters into a relationship with the subject (the dog). Regarding animated objects, animals regularly encounter animals of other species, including humans, thus attributing to these latter new meaning shortly after the interaction. By the same process, animals as well can be significant objects for humans, powering up only through interaction. The nature of previous interactions between horses and humans lead both to attribute a general significance, positive or negative, to each other that were mere neutral objects before the encounters [ ]. The same mechanism may occur during EAIs, where both human and horse acquire a symbolic connotation. In addition, some therapists argue that because horses operate as members of a herd, they have evolved an elevated sensitivity towards others, which makes them active catalysts when engaging in social behavior [ ].
4.1. Exploring the Hypotheses beyond Positive Outcomes of EAIs: The Emotional Transfer Hypothesis
According to the “social brain” hypothesis [ ] the nature and complexity of social relationships reflects the cognitive demands for sociality, which in turn drove cerebral evolution in social mammals. Ungulates represents an ideal group to test theories about cognitive evolution since they display a huge variety of social behavior (ranging from almost solitary individuals, such as [ ], to large stable social group like in [ ]). Indeed, what is more surprising is that the total brain size is not significantly associated with group size in ungulates, but rather with social complexity in terms of inter-individual interactions on a regular basis and different types of relationships across group members. Even though social complexity was not the only factor related to large size of ungulates’ brain, this relation suggests that as the complexity of social bonds progressively increased the cognitive demands required to maintain these relationships, increased as well [ ]. Following this interpretation, it is reasonable to assume that ungulates are naturally shaped to interrelate and to develop dynamic social systems; this skill could have been extended to humans, as they progressively tended to include horses in their natural social groups. Hence, horses may actually own the cognitive plasticity and behavioral flexibility required to manage elaborate relationships and they are likely able to bring into play these competences even when interacting with individuals of a different species. As already pointed out, the modality in which the human–animal coordination can occur during AAI could be conceptualized following two main branches: A mechanical and an emotional one. To date the mechanical line has been gradually more studied and exploited, for example measuring coordinated behavioral patterns (such as locomotor activity) during animal-assisted interventions. The interspecific cooperative side of the interaction, that arose from mechanical synchrony, meets some of the prerequisites also characterizing referential communication, subject–caregiver attachment, and a rudimentary socio-emotional intelligence. Along with mechanical, emotional coordination between the interacting human and animal could be approached as well, by analyzing involuntary responses in nonverbal communication. Whether the EAIs lie more on intentional or unintentional signals is hard to tell, even though one can speculate that, given the type of the interactions, these interventions have an emotional basis and an unconscious nature both belonging, by definition, to unintentional forms of communication. Most of the research on horses and equitation in particular, has been focused on how to maximize horses’ performance using intentional signals, but little attention has been given to unintentional ones. As above mentioned, horses are able to read subtle human cues together with human facial expressions and human emotions. Emotional states however come along with neural, behavioral, and physiological changes, resulting in measurable indicators [ , ], and a flourishing literature is showing how neurochemicals or physiological parameters can be helpful to understand emotional state of both humans and animals (i. e., cortisol level, heart and brain activity, blood pressure). Today’s challenge consists of approaching human–horse duo as a complex interaction of dynamical systems (DS). Specifically, DS are not stationary, hence with continuous modifications of their internal status over the time. Modeling horses and humans as DSs opens a new definition of the way in which the relationship can bear and evolve allowing to better understand this sophisticated inter-relationship.
In order to reach the best-coordinated performance, it would be desirable that non-verbal communication could be shared between subjects; meaning that the duo starts to work as one. The experience of synchronized behaviors has been associated to efficiency of bonding in humans [ ] and, not surprisingly, synchronized neural activities seem to facilitate humans in assuming the mental and bodily perspectives of others, predicting their forthcoming actions [ ], ameliorating communication by gestures [ ], and facial expressions [ ]. Crews [ ] showed that brain maps of horse and human became more synchronized with increased interactions; in particular, horse electroencephalograph signals (EEG) gradually matched with those of human when passing from a total absence of contact (standing close to the horse), to contact (petting the horse), to active interaction (grooming the horse and sitting on it). Moreover, the brain maps indicated more synchronization with familiar human than with the unfamiliar one, pointing out the importance of the quality of the relation. In a recent study, Lanatà et al. [ ] suggested a reciprocal affection of emotional state through human body odors. Human chemosignals in fact produced under concrete emotional conditions may prompt emotional stimulation in other individuals as well, triggering specific physiological parameters (human–human, [ ]; human–dog, [ ]). Results revealed that human body odors induce responses in autonomic nervous system in horses suggesting the possibility of a cross-species transfer of emotions. Researchers monitored electrocardiogram and cardiac activity (such as heart rate variability, HRV) in horses that have been tested with human ‘happy’ and ‘fear’ body odors’ samples. It seemed that emotionally-charged human chemosignals affect the physiological status of horses accordingly, suggesting that horses are able to “read” human emotional states via the olfactory perception system.
So then, since a successful cooperation cannot be accomplished without social synchrony in humans [ , ], the possibility that mutual influence has the same key role in inter-specific encounters as well should be considered. In AAIs, the success of the intervention itself is closely dependent on affiliative, trust-based bond and on the emotional involvement characterizing the human–animal dyad [ , ]; for these reasons, AAIs offer unspoiled occasions to investigate human–animal coordination, particularly on the emotional level. Indeed, human–animal interactions mimic other significant relationships in humans’ lives, combined enrichment environments, and affiliative channels characterizing non-verbal communication. Regarding the current scientific scene, except for few preliminary data investigating physiological synchronized activities towards specific targets (i. e., post-traumatic stress syndrome, [ ]; at-risk youth, [ ]; intellectual disability, [ ]), human–horse emotional transfer remains a path worthy of exploring not only for its immediate applications but also for the potential role in the reconsideration of animals involved in AAIs.
4.2. Measuring the Emotional Transfer: Nonlinear Dynamical Methods Applied to Physiological Human-Horse Signs
Several studies, most of them conducted by veterinaries and animal physiologists, analyzed the heart rate of horses to investigate how they perceive human psycho-physiological state [ ] and how mood changes could be transmitted from humans to horses under different handling and riding conditions [ ]. An indicative example of human–horse emotional transfer is provided by the possibility of characterizing the effect of human actions, such as posture and voice, on horse autonomic responses and hormone/pheromone secretion [ , ]. Another exemplary study showed that horses experiencing discomfort were more aggressive toward humans and could present an increased heart rate and motor activity [ ].
Nevertheless, a rigorous holistic vision of the interspecies emotional communication is yet to be found through an interdisciplinary approach, which is necessary to explore deeper the biological and behavioral basis of human–horse emotional relationship. More recently, a group of veterinaries, ethologists, and bioengineers [ , , ], showed a multidisciplinary line of study integrating ethological approach with the theory of the dynamical systems (DSs) to investigate this complex relationship. Specifically, DS is a system whose state changes over time, and it is governed by a mathematical function that shows the time dependence. An analytical solution of the mathematical law allows to predict about the system’s future behavior (dynamical systems theory). DS theory has been applied to a wide variety of fields such as mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, engineering, economics, history, and medicine [ ].
In their hypothesis, humans and horses could be considered as two complex systems going through a coupling process during the interaction. This coupling is described by analyzing the cardiovascular dynamics through the study of the HRV signal. In fact, human and equine HRV can be considered as random variables [ ], whose relationship can be analyzed by means of mathematical approaches, such as the weakly coupled oscillators (WCO) [ ] and the information theoretic learning (ITL) [ ]. Results of such approach showed that the major contribution to estimate the dynamical evolution of the human–horse relationship lays down the nonlinear interaction between the two systems. Specifically, a deep analysis of linear and nonlinear characteristics obtained by high order moments of the amplitude probabilistic distributions of HRVs were adopted with the aim of: (i) Investigating the statistical and temporal structure of the data (e. g., cross-corentropy, cross information potential, and correntropy coefficient); (ii) quantifying the amount of the coupling process in terms of coherence and synchronization (i. e., magnitude squared coherence, mean phase coherence [ ]); and (iii) evaluating the nonlinear similarity of the HRV responses (i. e., dynamic time warping). Interestingly, when the interaction between humans and horses was more intense, a significant decrease of the similarity among the HRV time series was observed. This suggested that when humans and the horses were exposed to stressful situations, they react differently according to their own natural physiological pathway, which are known to be different in humans and animals.
Another finding evidenced that the emotional relationship among humans and horses is the results of a series of responses to eliciting stimuli, either coming from horse to human or vice versa. This phenomenon involves different perceptive channels such as the visual, olfactory, auditory, and tactile ones, which are under control of the autonomic nervous system. The key to accessing the emotional interspecies exchange is considering the whole of these autonomic responses with a multimodal, multisensorial, and multidimensional analysis. Consequently, this objective should include collaboration between mathematicians, physicists, engineers, veterinarians, ethologists, and physiology experts.
5. Conclusions
This review aimed at providing the key to understand the proximate causation of human–horse relationship, exploring its multifaceted nature from the equine assisted interventions’ perspective, in order to ameliorate the well-being of both the human and animal subjects involved. Starting from the investigation of those mechanisms required for a human–horse encounter to become a ‘relationship’, we defined the socio-emotional world of horses by reviewing the most significant studies on the topic. Eventually, we hypothesized that detecting emotions of other individuals and developing the capacity to fine-tune its own emotional state accordingly with that of others, may have fostered the success of equine assisted interventions, bringing positive effects on both sides. From the body-to-body contact (the most immediate aspect of interaction) up to the emotional transfer (the sophisticated process of connecting individuals through emotions), horses and humans became able to coordinate physiological activities through bonding, which subsequently increased the similarity in the way both perceive and experience their common world [ ].
However, it has been often suggested that horses can “sense” the human mental state of mind when involved in EAIs; this misconception could generate questionable beliefs about horses’ capacity to empathize with suffering people. Instead, the horse is not supposed to be the principal caregiver of a patient, rather it represents the catalyst of the healing process with due regard for the animal’s welfare and need [ ]. We hypothesized here that the efficacy of equine assisted interventions may lie in the capacity of horses to emotionally (and not only physically) interplay with humans, to such an extent that they eventually act together as a unique system. Emotional transfer and connectedness along with mutual beneficial effects of touching and physical proximity, may represent the backbones sustaining the relationship.
The fact that animals could have beneficial influence on people has been recognized from centuries; today it is well known that the deliberate inclusion of animals in a treatment plan lead to an “healing” effect on patients. Scientific research has widely investigated the “human side” of interventions, examining the modalities and the variety of applicability of this specific approach, but what the animal actually feels and which is the unequivocal mechanism who make the intervention effective are still open questions. In their work, Beetz et al. [ ] reviewed several original studies on human–animal interactions and proposed the activation of the oxytocin system as the main cause of the psychological and physiological positive effects on human participants. This model states a reduction of stress-related parameters, an increased trust toward others, consequent reduced aggression, and enhanced empathy. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the existence of an oxytocin-mediated positive loop modulated by gazing between humans and dogs [ ], puts a spotlight on animals’ perspective. Authors hypothesized that that human–animal bond has been promoted by a socially rewarding effect coming from sharing a common non-verbal language, confirming the effect of oxytocin also on the animal side of the couple. Moreover, such oxytocin-mediated loop seems to require the sharing of individual recognition of the partner. Since horses and dogs partly share same features in this case (such as individual recognition of familiar humans), this study offers a promising line for future studies on equines. Yet, research on oxytocin levels in both humans and animals are still quite rare, but the existence evidence clearly points to a bilateral positive effect of interacting, looking at both human’s and animal’s perspective.
According to Brofenbrenner and Evans’s [ ] “bio-ecological theory”, the interacting process fosters the acquisition of skills and abilities of individuals later implemented to convey the behavior in many different developmental domains. Throughout a lifetime in fact, individual’s development takes place in enriched environments, promoting learning and social stimulation; this process does not rely on a unique factor but rather is the result of progressively more complex reciprocal interaction of the individual with other organisms and with the environment. Thus, interacting on regular basis over a certain period is what stimulates growth and change. We could speculate then that both human and horse acted as developing organisms to each other and that their enduring forms of interaction (from domestication onwards) may have contributed to the progression of a bilateral competence: The horse towards the human and vice versa. Animal assisted interventions, in which enriched environments and affiliative prolonged interactions are crucial parts of the practice, probably represents the best setting to observe the byproducts of this convergent human–animal evolution.
In conclusion, the basic concept of “biophilia”, defined as the interest in animals and in seeking a connection with them [ ] underwent a widening re-interpretation during the last decades, witnessing a flourishing increase of scientific studies on the topic, more often focalized on the animals’ side. The next phase should be to bring more attention on the delicate area of animal assisted interventions, moving the focus on how human–animal duo works before getting to practical outcomes on ameliorating human health. In this huge domain, EAIs occupy a relevant niche, considering the peculiar evolutive pathway that horses shared with humans and the constant and growing presence of these animals in human lives.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, C. S. and L. C.; Methodology, C. S. and P. B.; Validation, L. C., P. B., and E. P. S.; Resources, C. S., L. C., A. L., and A. G.; Writing—Original Draft Preparation, C. S. and L. C.; Writing—Review and Editing, A. L. and A. G.; Supervision, E. P. S. and P. B.
Funding
This research was funded by the Italian Ministry of Health, grant number RC2017/15. The funding body had no role in the design of the study or the writing of the manuscript.
Fight the Fidget: Teach Your Horse to Stand Still
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Do you dream of having a horse that stands still regardless of what’s going on around him? Some horses are indeed than others. But the ability to stand still is a skill that shouldn’t be reserved for the show ring—it’s also a matter of safety.
Successful training is built on a foundation of between horse and rider. Good communication is vital!
Horses learn best through positive reinforcement. This means actively looking for behaviors you want to see from your horse and providing rewards.
Refrain from punishing your horse for making an honest mistake. Your horse will make mistakes as he learns, and that’s ok. It would be best if you instead tried always to find ways to help him win and reward him generously when he gets the correct answer.
Similar to humans, horses often have their own emotional baggage or bad habits they’ve accumulated over time. A trainer can help you improve your relationship with your horse safely.
Training your horse to respect your space on the ground is vital regardless of your riding discipline.
If your horse struggles with any of the above, teaching him to follow fundamental cues is one of the best places to start. Start by teaching him to put his head down to the lead rope—this is one of the most basic cues your horse should respond to.
Start by applying downward pressure to the lead rope. Observe for even the slightest downward movement of his head and completely release pressure on the lead rope the second your horse gives.
If your horse crowds you while leading, teach him to move his shoulder away from you when asked. And if your horse lags behind while leading, you can use a lunge whip to gently encourage him to keep pace.
Stay consistent with your training, and you will see your efforts start to pay off in big ways.
With repetition and patience, you should gradually begin to see a difference in your horse’s ground manners. Stay positive and remember to look for those behaviors you can reward rather than punishing mistakes of effort.
If you run into challenges, always consult an expert trainer for help.
The ultimate training goal is a horse that stands quietly regardless of the circumstances. It could be while you’re on his back in the middle of the show ring. Or it might be a grooming session at the barn.
To stop the fidget, you sometimes need to figure out why it’s happening in the first place.
There are several reasons why your horse may be fidgeting. If your horse is young, he may still need to develop the attention or patience to stand quietly. Or, if your horse hasn’t had enough exercise, his need to expend energy can come out as fidgeting.
Spend some time considering the circumstances under which the fidgeting occurs. Does it consistently happen when trying to groom him? Or does it happen when trying to saddle him? Maybe your horse only fidgets at a horse show, when waiting at a cone. There are a huge range of circumstances and stimuli to consider!
If the fidgeting is related to insufficient exercise, ensure your horse gets the wiggles out before asking him to stand still. Once you’ve eliminated all other causes, you can then start to work on training your horse to stand still.
The basic principle behind getting your horse to stand still is to create a situation where the horse sees rest as a reward. Although horses will romp and play out in the pasture, the movement is on their terms.
Although you will ultimately want to be able to tie your horse while grooming, sometimes it’s easiest to start training this skill in a round pen.
Start grooming. The instant your horse starts fidgeting, ask him to move his feet. It can be forward, backward, to the side, or in a circle around you. The key is to make moving a very unappealing option.
After a few minutes, allow him to stop and resume your grooming. If he starts fidgeting again, ask him to move his feet again. If he stands still, great!
Repeat this exercise until your horse understands that standing still is definitely the easiest option. At this point, you should be able to try tying him while grooming. Follow the same procedure of asking him to move his feet if he fidgets while tied.
Training your horse to stand for grooming will also help when it comes time to ride. As with grooming, it’s best to ensure your horse isn’t experiencing any pain that might be causing him to fidget.
Once discomfort has been ruled out, proceed similarly with teaching him to stand at the mounting block. Having someone with you for the first several training sessions can be helpful.
Have your helper position your horse squarely by the mounting block. If your horse fidgets while you’re attempting to mount, have the helper cue your horse to move his feet as before. After several minutes, have your helper position your horse by the mounting block again.
Continue cueing your horse to move if he fidgets while you get on. Once you mount, avoid accidentally cueing him forward by bumping his sides and have him stand for several seconds before giving a definite cue to walk on.
Consult a professional horse trainer if your horse displays aggressive behavior or doesn’t respond favorably to these training suggestions.
Any horse owner will tell you that every horse is an individual. They each have their own personality, attitude, and experiences which can sometimes result in unique training challenges.
Whenever you encounter training challenges, always consider discomfort first. Are there any apparent causes of pain that you could eliminate? If there aren’t obvious signs of pain, it may still be worth a call to the veterinarian.
If your horse is energetic, has he had enough exercise to get his energy out? Some horses naturally have more energy than others.
Another question to ask yourself is whether the request you’re making of your horse is reasonable, given his age, experience, and level of training. Start slowly by setting your horse up so the “right answer” is easy.
Make your training sessions short and as stress-free for your horse as possible. And in some cases, training sessions with an experienced horse who has mastered standing in place may be helpful.
Through repetition and consistency, your horse will eventually learn that the easier option is to stop moving. Your horse will learn that it suddenly becomes a lot more work for him if he decides to move!
Desensitizing your horse to sights and sounds can also help him be more confident and less fidgety. Being kind, patient, and consistent with your horse will show him that you are a leader he can trust and rely on when things go awry.
Horses that pull back when tied generally have either never been taught to yield to pressure or have had a traumatic event while tied. Either way, horses that display this behavior are dangerous to themselves and anyone around them.
Because the horse’s response to tying is fear-based, re-training the horse’s reaction to being tied is challenging. Instead, you can work on ground-tying exercises and teach your horse to yield to pressure in non-threatening situations. Reward generously and make the experience very positive for your horse.
This behavior is dangerous, and you should consult a professional horse trainer for help. And in the short term, do not tie your horse.
Teaching a horse to stand still while driving is similar to introducing him to stand still in other contexts. Start by asking for short periods of standing, then gradually increase the length of time you expect your horse to stand in one spot.
You can also reinforce the “whoa” cue from the ground and the cart. And remember to reward your horse for standing still, ideally with a treat or by verbally praising him.
Sometimes peer pressure can be a very effective teacher! This is one situation where it may be helpful to pair your horse with a solidly trained horse. The younger horse will often look to the more experienced horse for cues about responding in various situations.
Finally, practice driving and stopping in different environments. This will help your horse get used to standing in various places and conditions.
The goal of teaching a horse to stand square is to encourage him to balance himself evenly with all four legs approximately equal distance apart.
This will require patience and consistent practice because horses don’t naturally stand this way. Establish a cueing system with your horse on moving specific parts of his body.
Although you can pick up his feet and apply pressure to his shoulders at home, you will be docked points if you plan to do halter or showmanship classes.
Touch your horse only sparingly to help him understand what part of his body you’re cueing him to move. Keep your practice sessions very short and reward generously!
With patience and practice, your horse will soon be standing square and steady.
Horses can be persistent and pushy when they want something. To teach a horse good ground manners, you must establish yourself as the leader, meaning he must stay out of your personal space.
Start by teaching your horse to yield to pressure in non-threatening situations, such as asking him to move away from you or step aside.
Reward generously with treats and verbal praise when he complies with your request.
Stay consistent with your training and consult an expert trainer if your horse displays pushy or aggressive behavior.
Teaching your horse to stand still is essential in creating a solid bond and a successful riding experience. By consistently rewarding good behavior with treats and verbal praise, you can help your horse understand what behavior is expected of him.
Remember that all horses are different, so patience and perseverance are essential when teaching them new things. If you’re ever faced with a training roadblock, consulting an experienced horse trainer can help.
Aimee B.
Aimee grew up riding and showing in western pleasure and horsemanship through 4-H. She began riding dressage 7 years ago and is currently training her 3.5-year-old Friesian/Quarter Horse.
About Horse Rookie
After 25+ years in the saddle, I bought my first horse at 33.
I love practicing dressage, jumping, reining, trail riding, and cow work with my AQHA gelding, Azteca gelding, and Mini Appy in beautiful Montana, USA.
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Tying-up in Horses
Muscle cramps and tying up are common in performance horses after exercise. Read on for tips on prevention and treatment.
Tying-up and muscle cramps during or after exercise are a relatively common problem in performance horses. Normally, horses tie-up along the back and hind leg muscles, although in some severe cases, horses will cramp in all muscles, including the shoulder. Although the signs of swelling, stiffness and soreness in the affected muscles are well known, the exact underlying causes of tying-up are not fully understood. However, management practices and nutritional deficiencies are strongly suspected of causing the disorder.
First-aid for tying-up
Tying-up can occur during work, or within the rest period immediately following exercise. If a horse ties-up during work, stop further exercise, unsaddle and cool the horse down slowly by walking it for 2-3 minutes to lose heat and work the muscles gently without a load. The muscle groups affected, usually the croup or rump muscles, can be massaged for 1-2 minutes or so, interspaced with walking the horse for 2-3 minutes. Repeat this process until the stiffness or cramps are relieved.
What to do with severe cases of tying-up
If a horse ties-up severely, your vet should be consulted immediately. Where a horse ties-up severely and is obviously very uncomfortable and in a state of shock, it is important not to force the horse to walk or move, as severe and permanent muscle damage may result. If this occurs during training or competition, keep the horse warm and seek veterinary advice as soon as possible. If a horse cannot be walked, it should be transported on a trailer to the clinic if a vet cannot attend to the horse where it stands.
After a serious bout of tying-up the horse should be kept as comfortable as possible, adequate fluids should be provided to drink, and electrolytes, such as a scoopful of morning and evening should be added to feed and the horse monitored under veterinary supervision. The horse should be given at least 4-6 weeks rest with only light work, depending on its recovery. All efforts should be made to find out the reasons for the tying-up in the first place, particularly as it is often a management related problem. The grain ration should be reduced and the horse exercised lightly each day until it is able to move freely again and ready to recommence training.
Prevention of tying-up
As mentioned earlier, tying-up is thought to be largely a management and nutrition related disease. Because the exact underlying metabolic causes are not fully understood, all possible avenues of treatment and preventative measures should be taken, with general management guidelines as follows:
Feeding management to prevent tying-up
If a horse has a tendency to tie-up when fed oats, it is best to reduce the oats by at least half and replace with either steam-rolled barley or polyunsaturated cooking oil. One cup of oil contains the same amount of energy as six cups of oats and is particularly useful in very nervy fillies, as they tend to quieten down on oil-based rations.
When introducing oil, do so in a gradual manner over 7-10 days to allow time for the horse’s digestive system to adjust to the higher fat diet. When oil is added to the ration as a source of energy, a dose of 1,000 IU vitamin E per day (e. g. 1 scoop of ) should be fed to ensure proper metabolism and protection of the polyunsaturated oil in the diet.
Another important dietary factor is the daily provision of an electrolyte replacer, such as 1 scoop of , morning and night. The addition of 1 tablespoon of Epsom Salts, morning and night, increasing in a stepwise manner over 4-7 days up to a maximum of 2 tablespoonfuls morning and night, appears to be of use in some horses that sweat heavily. Doing so tends to reduce their stride length and impulsion in the hind leg and back muscles as if “tying-up” during exercise.
Supplementation with the trace minerals selenium and chromium (e. g. 56 g of ) and vitamin E (1 scoop of daily) may also reduce the incidence of tying-up in problem horses. In addition to tying-up, deficiencies of these nutrients can lead to loss of muscle strength and stamina.
In practice, administration of 50 mL of in the feed daily, is helpful in preventing tying-up in some horses.contains an acid buffer which neutralises the lactic acid produced in muscles during hard or fast exercise. Lactic acid is the major factor which causes muscle soreness after exercise and in horses prone to tying-up, lactic acid accumulation may trigger a cramping attack.
Tying-up is a common disorder that can range in severity from mild cramping to complete muscle “lock-up” which causes severe pain and a total inability to walk for several hours. In severe cases veterinary advice is essential to prevent serious muscle and kidney damage. Because the exact cause of tying-up is not fully understood, no single treatment is available. However, by following the management and feeding program detailed above, the problem can be prevented in about 90% of susceptible horses.
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Overcoming horses that pull when tied, how to de-stress your horse when tied, how to relax cross-tied horse, improve horse’s coping skills when tied
Having a horse pull back when he is tied is not a fun experience. There is risk to the horse, equipment, and anyone in the vicinity when it happens.
Is pulling a behaviour problem or a training problem? Horses pull back for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they are scared and secondly, they know they can. Essentially, it is both a behaviour and a training problem. But even if the horse is pulling because of a learned behaviour, the root of the problem was likely based in fear.
We have all heard that a horse’s strongest instinct is to run. Fundamentally this is true, but you can categorize the flight instinct by the stages of flight. The intensity of the flight instinct depends on the stress level of the individual horse. Horses as individuals have different natural stress thresholds. When a horse hits his stress threshold he will essentially panic – a total loss of rational thought leading to instinctive behaviour taking over his physical response — and feel an overwhelming need to escape. The horse’s feet are his means of escape.
If a horse is under stress at a level below his threshold, we will see movement from the horse but it will not be panicked. Non-panicked movement can be made under stress although the horse is still rational and in control. A mild response to stress could be displayed by the horse shifting his weight, taking a few steps, pawing at the ground, or moving away a few feet before stopping again — I call this a green alert. These signs indicate that the horse could be stressed but is able to cope.
An intermediate response to stress could be the horse moving frantically, becoming very pushy when he is not normally so, becoming increasingly distracted, and showing visible signs that he is highly stressed. His head will be up, eyes wide, and he could be snorting or whinnying. I call this an amber alert; this means that he is barely rational and very close to becoming overwhelmed. In an extreme stress situation the horse totally shuts down mentally. He is determined to escape at all costs and is not concerned at this point about injury to himself or to others. This is totally irrational behaviour solely devoted to basic survival at any cost. Obviously this is a red alert.
If the horse knows that he can move in a manner relative to how alerted his instincts have become, he can often deal with it in a deliberate manner. If the horse feels trapped or unable to move enough to give his mind time to override his instincts, the panic that leads to an extreme flight reaction can be triggered, and in this situation that reaction could be pulling back. We must always be aware of the amount of stress that our horse may feel in any given situation. It is not rocket science; he will tell us if we listen to him. Remember: green, amber, or red alert. Understanding the amount and kind of stress you are putting your horse under should give you a reasonable idea about whether or not the horse will be successful in dealing with it. It is all very predictable if you pay attention to the signs.
If you teach your horse to deal with increasing amounts of stress during the training process and give him viable options to deal with the stress imposed, the horse’s threshold will increase. For example, when I start a horse I usually do my initial teaching with the horse moving unrestrained in a training pen. By allowing freedom of movement I am always giving the horse the option of movement as a coping mechanism for the amount of stress I impose. When I add equipment such as a halter or bridle, I effectively limit the horse’s ability to move, therefore increasing his stress level. If I limit the amount of movement to the point where the horse feels trapped, I have created a situation that has become a red alert.
When I tie up a horse I have effectively taken away his major coping mechanism which is movement. If I allow movement when I are causing stress, I am always allowing the horse an option. The more stress I present or represent, the more movement I must accept from the horse in order for him to deal with the situation. The only time I will intentionally stop his movement is after the horse has panicked; I will try to stop him so that he can regain his composure and find a more acceptable response. I will also take note of what caused the panic and try to keep the stress factors below the level that caused the extreme reaction.
In any situation, if the horse is exhibiting signs that he is mildly stressed (green alert) I will continue after taking note of how well he is coping. If the signs escalate (amber alert) I cannot proceed until the intensity of his actions decreases back to green alert. If I fail to notice how stressed the horse has become and I continue, then I have been the cause of the horse’s red alert frame of mind.
For example, if I have a horse tied up and he is mildly fidgety I will proceed with caution, aware of what I may possibly cause. If I then try to saddle that tied horse and his actions intensify, I must stop or untie him so he can increase his movement to compensate for the amount of stress he feels. If I ignore the signs and do not untie him, continue to saddle him, and he blows up, whose fault is it? I need to make sure that the horse can easily cope with whatever amount of stress I impose without being tied before I can expect him to deal with it when he is tied.
The solution to pulling is to prepare your horse to deal with stress by using movement. Allow him the time to deal with what is stressing him and then he will stand quietly by himself. When he is standing still without coercion he is ready to deal with being tied. He should not be tied when introducing anything new in terms of stress — this is when he needs to be able to move his feet the most. Being tied up is not a natural thing for a horse to deal with. All his instincts tell him that being trapped is life threatening. Do not trap your horse by tying him until you are aware of what he can handle in terms of stress. If he cannot handle much when he is not tied, it will not get better if you restrain him. If he already pulls you have a fair bit of retraining to do before you can change the behaviour.