Kasie’s Korner
Horses, Comfort, and PTSD by Kasie Morgan
H
orses are prey animals. What this means is that they are highly in tune with their environment, readily noticing changes in the world around them and be- ing able to respond to what they notice and actively seek what horseman Buck Brannaman describes as their wanting to return to “peace.” When in this en-
ergetic state, their nervous systems are settled and calm. They can readily focus on just being in the world, in the moment, which for them means grazing, moving 20+ miles a day, and relating with herd members. In contrast, when sensing danger, their peace is threat- ened, and their nervous system becomes activated enabling them to react, primarily through flight, although sometimes through fight or freeze, for self-preservation.
If you are a trauma survivor or know someone who struggles with posttraumatic stress, perhaps you can relate. Our bodies have the capacity to do as horses do, react, respond, then calm down and re- turn to “peace.” But, we humans often learned to “stuff,” “repress,” “deny” what happened when all the body really wants to do is release and move through those feelings and body sensations. Doing so ac- tually helps the trauma memory settle in, to release the “charge” that the body stores about what happened. By nature, horses, like all animals, know how to do this.
But, when trauma is still locked in the body and blocked, our nervous systems don’t return to a baseline of calm and peace. Instead, the fight, flight, or freeze that was experienced at the time of the event continues to remain activated, leading one to feel on alert, hyper- sensitive, anxious, easily agitated, or constantly “on,” making it chal- lenging and often nearly impossible to relax.
That said, horses know how to relax. But, they also instinctively know to be alert and flee when threatened. They are preyed upon in the wild and are really in tune to danger, of any kind, including that which threatens their physical and even emotional safety, and that sense of comfort and peace that is their baseline state of being. And if you are a trauma survivor, all you want is peace and comfort as well. And this is just the beginning of why the horse and the trauma survivor may just “get” each other.
In light of the powerful connection between horses and trauma sur- vivors, I am consistently shown the power of horses to help heal hu- mans, especially through the integration of EMDR and equine-assist- ed therapy via this protocol.
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SIRE 928.460.0385 HORSE & AG MAGAZINE I AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2018 35
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