meet baxter - the sensory unsound horse
Meet Baxter - The Sensory Unsound Horse
A long post but you will be pleased your read it
It has been over a year now that I have been sharing insights about a dimension of the horse that has profoundly assisted me in working with them and seeing life from their perspective. A dimension pointed out to me by Kerry M Thomas from the USA (www.kerrymthomas.com). Kerry has spent a life time observing horses in the wild, how they interact with each other and the environment. His insights into the dynamics of herds of horses, what knits them together and how they harmonise with the environment is incredibly fascinating. But they also have great practical relevance.
Kerry has coined the term "sensory soundness". Everyone gets physical soundness but little thought is ever considered to how the horse takes in the world from their senses. It is the weaknesses and strengths in their ability to process and interpret the information coming in from their senses that knits horses together. What Kerry is so good at is pointing out that these strengths and weaknesses are still there in our domesticated horses. When you take this lens you start seeing potential sensory processing issues instead of just behaviour. The horse that is struggling with poles on the ground is not being difficult, he is just having trouble interpreting the vision data in this position in time for him to navigate it. Once you see this dimension it gives you so many ways to address problems and support the horse without labelling them with a "difficult" or "sensitive" sticker.
As I travel around the country to my clinics I share this dimension of horses and teach people to see it. So far the consequences of doing this have done exactly as I anticipated - it has massively helped people understand and work with their horse.
Here is a tremendous story by the brilliant Hazel Howie about her very special horse Baxter.
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I have a 'sensory un-sound' horse.
This means my beautiful, willing, hardworking boy, Baxter, has trouble processing any unexpected sights, sounds, smells and even 'feelings' from the world around him, to the point where he will spin and bolt because he's seen/heard/smelt or felt something unusual.
He's not a 'stupid' horse (is there any such thing??), in fact he's probably THE most intelligent horse I've ever come across!! He actively problem solves, he's kind, friendly, hilarious (such a joker), helpful (yep, tries to help me carry trot poles, amongst other things), incredibly sensitive, loves to work (the harder the task, the more he loves it, to the point where, when schooling him he'll often try to do the more difficult movements even when I'm not asking for them). But, he's constantly aware of any little sound etc. And the faster he's moving the harder it is for him to process the information his senses are receiving!
This has caused us both a lot of grief in the past (he's put me in hospital twice) and caused him untold anxiety and stress.
I've nearly given up on him several times but something kept telling me to persevere!
I guess because I know he's not nasty. He's such a kind, friendly, willing horse, I just knew there had to be a legitimate reason for his over-reactions to the things that the average horse wouldn't even bat an eyelid at.
And then, through Dr Shelley Appleton Calm Willing Confident Horses and Kerry Thomas I learnt about sensory unsoundness and, suddenly everything made sense!!
Baxter can't be 'cured' of his sensory unsoundness, any more than you can cure someone of face-blindness (which I have ), but you absolutely can reduce their stress levels which helps them tremendously!
Reduce (or empty) their worry-cup and not only will they be more capable of dealing with new stresses but, if they can't, and they react, their reactions will be so much more manageable and/or less dangerous!!
Now that I know why Baxter reacts the way he does to (sometimes invisible to me) things, I also know how to minimize the stresses that I 'can' control, which helps him better deal with the ones I can't control.
And instead of chastising him for his 'unwanted' behaviour, I've learnt to remain calm and non-reactive and, when he's finished reacting to 'whatever' we just pick up where we left off and everything's fine.
He's definitely a MUCH, MUCH, calmer and happier horse now and I'm a MUCH calmer and confident rider.
I actually gave up competing Baxter a couple of years ago (for a whole 12 months) because it was way too stressful for us both. But after working with Shelley , doing lots of research, and getting help from my wonderful super-coach, Helen Malcolm Rivulet Equestrian , we're both really enjoying our outings.
And, instead of coming last in every event we entered, we're now on a winning streak, lol.
I know there will be times (especially at big comps) where we'll lose the plot a bit, but I also know that if I can remain calm and reduce Baxter's stresses to a bare minimum, we'll both enjoy whatever it is we embark upon!
I cannot recommend researching sensory unsoundness strongly enough!!
It's a game-changer - for the better!
By
Hazel Howie
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I am grateful for Hazel giving me permission to share her very cool story of how learning to see life from Baxter's perspective has helped him immensely.
Kerry M Thomas toured Australia in November 2023 for a month of seminars in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia. So many people were able to meet this truly brilliant yet humble man and let him reveal a dimension of horses that is so practically relevant and effective it is not funny.
