SEPTEMBER 2020 THE RIDER /27 ^Between The Ears^ Touch and the Risks Imprinting of Foals The Over Looked Vital Importance of


towards the horse, it actu- ally increased the heart rate of the horse in the first few minutes. This was studied back in 1996 and also showed that there was no difference between males and females. In 1998 a study was


performed to determine if there were differences be- tween breeds and, no sur- prise here but the Quarter Horse was found to be the most obedient and patient in handling. Now this does not


By Ellie Ross Touch has been scien-


tifically proved to me more important than food. That’s right, more important. In hu- mans, back in the 1940’s an experiment was done with newborn human babies. Half the group was provided all the necessities such as food, bathing, clean envi- ronment etc. That group was considered healthy and all needs met, except touch. The other half were pro- vided the same but included being cuddled, communi- cated with etc. The touch deprived babies were found to be physically healthy yet half of them died by four


linked to a lack of touch all of which, have been shown to be remarkably decreased by healing touch. Seniors at a time of


forced social distancing, have suffered immensely as well.


Overall, lack of touch


is a major cause of mental health issues so how does this affect horses It affects horses in much the same way that it affects humans. Have a horse you don’t ride and just show up to feed him a carrot now and again at the boarding stable? Guess what? You could be depriv- ing your horse of an essen- tial need. I have seen many a retired horse look de-


mean that foal imprinting is something I would encour- age. In studying horses that had been imprinted as a foal, there was no dis- cernible differences in the ability to handle and man- ageability to be found, how- ever, there was the potential for harm. There has been sufficient evidence to show that the intense handling of a newborn foal interferes with the bonding of mare and foal and can lead to re- jection of the foal. A French study concluded that new- born foals that had been im- printed, often developed insecure attachments with their mothers. Foals were more likely to wander away from their Moms and this creates stray foal hazards. There was also evidence that the imprinting dimin- ished the investigative be- haviours, which is what leads them to find the teats for nursing. In imprinting proce-


dures, the ‘trainer’ will physically restrain the foal and their idea is not let go until the foal ceases the struggle. This is not a win for the trainer. It is more along the lines of tonic im- mobility, which is the last resort for survival where the animal perceives that death is imminent. The greatest benefits in


months of age while the group that were held, thrived and none died. Now let’s look at ado-


lescent humans with behav- iour


issues such as


aggression and violent ten- dencies. The teens that were provided massage therapy had a remarkable reduction in the above behaviour. Touch deprivation has


also been linked to cause the person to avoid future touch and isolate themselves from others. Depression, anxiety, bad moods etc., can all be


pressed and that look gets incorrectly perceived as ‘old’. Regular grooming and scratching are a vital need to our equine friends, just as it’s a need to you and I. The impact of touch on


horses has been studied and when horses are wearing a heart monitor, their heart rates decreased an average of 10 beats per minute when being scratched around the withers and rubbed. Interestingly enough,


if the person stroking the horse, has negative feelings


foals, came from touching and grooming the mare and providing treats to make your presence in front of her precious foal, more accept- able and welcomed. The foal’s observations, in the research conducted, showed that the foals were more likely to investigate the han- dler and were easier to han- dle and even accept a saddle pad placed on their backs. The study went on for


5 days but the benefits were present for up to a year fol- lowing this. Of the foals in the group that didn’t have the 5 days of observing their mothers being groomed etc., they showed a much higher flight response and avoid- ance of humans. The horses that appear


to not like touch, have learned to be detached and this is often the result of early weaning and of course there are other variables such as traumatic experiences etc. There can also be a diet component whereas protein is too high leading horses to touch sensitivities but that is another topic altogether. My own recent experience of having a foal that had


human interference postpartum, is in line with the re- search results. My foal suffered trauma at birth resulting in surgical intervention and procedures for the first five days of her life. This unavoidable interference has led to detachment between mare and foal. Luckily, there is no rejection, which is a risk in imprinting, but there is a chronic hazard with the foal straying far from the mare. My foal appears to be far more attached to me than she is with horses and could be described as desperate to be touched. Her mother does not touch her, she is simply the milk supply. On days when I groom, stroke and scratch the foal, she appears happy and content. On days where time is limited, she appears displaced, anxious and upset. Touch for her is just as important as feeding..


Sierra Acres Equine Assisted Learning Centre Make Your Intentions Known Nancy, a client, and I were


standing observing my herd. Standing off to my left was Molly; and about twenty feet to my right were Charlie and Watson. All were enjoying a beautiful day, grazing on sweet grass. Then Molly walked straight


over to Charlie and Watson, moving them apart to get to some grass on the other side. Nancy said ““Did you see that?” “Molly walked right between those other 2 horses!” I explained to Nancy, that while


her comment was what she saw, Molly’s intent was clear before she took one step forward. Horses can raise our awareness


about the clarity of our intent. When Molly raised her head, looked at the other horses, she walked with purpose. About halfway towards Charlie and Watson, who were not paying atten-


tion, she raised her head, increased the energy in her walk, but never stopped moving forward or diverting her gaze. By the time she was six feet from them, they simply split apart respect- ing Molly’s intent to move on through! Many times, my horses have


demonstrated to me a client’s intent, or in more cases, the lack of intent. They are powerful partners in relation- ship and leadership development. They provide honest feedback on our intention if we are humble enough to listen. As one client said “…have to let go of the ego to learn from horses”. A clear intention is one which, by def- inition, brings us the result we really want. However, if we only focus our intention just on our self-centred ex- pectations of the task, we automati- cally sacrifice the relationship. For


example, when clients want to groom a horse, if the intent is to have the cleanest horse in the arena, they will not notice the subtle movements a horse will make, showing the human where they want to be rubbed or scratched; or sometimes just hang out. Setting intentions and commit-


ting to them are powerful tools for self-growth, positive change, and joy- ful, purposeful living. Horses will let us know whether what we say we want is aligned with our deeper self and matches what we are doing.


About the Author: Anne Porteous, owner of Sierra Acres Equine Assisted Learning Program can be contacted on Facebook, or anneporteous@sym- patico.ca For more information about services go to www.sierracres.ca


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