Kathleen’s Horse: A Behavior Analysis

Kathleen:

?ℎ?? ?? ????? ??????. ?ℎ? ?? ? ????????? ????? ??? ℎ?? ?????????? ??????? ?? ?ℎ? ???ℎ? ??? ????????? ?? ?ℎ? ???ℎ? ????. ? ℎ??? ???? ? ??? ?? ℎ???? ?? ???????????? ???? ??? ????? ?ℎ?????. ?ℎ? ?? ??????? ?????? ??? ?? ?? ???? ?????. ?ℎ? ???? ????? ?? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ?ℎ???? ?ℎ? ???? ???ℎ ℎ?? ???ℎ? ???. ?ℎ? ?? 6 ????? ???. ?ℎ? ??? ??????? ???? ? ???? ??? ?? ???? ?ℎ?? ?ℎ? ??? 2 ??? ?? ????ℎ ?ℎ??? , ??????? ??? ℎ??? ?? ????ℎ. ? ??? ℎ?? ?? 3 ??? ????????? ?????? ℎ?? ?? ? ????? ??? ??? ???? ℎ?? ?? ? ??????? ℎ?????. ?? ?ℎ? ????? ??? ??? ????? ??? ℎ?? ???????????. ?ℎ? ???????? ?? ?ℎ? ???? ???ℎ ℎ?? ℎ????ℎ?? ??. ?ℎ?? ????????? ???ℎ?, ?ℎ? ????? ???? ?ℎ? ??????? ???? ??? ????? ????????. ?ℎ? ℎ?? ???? ????? ?? ℎ?? ????, ??????? ?? ????? ℎ?? ℎ??? ℎ??ℎ ??? ?? ?ℎ? ???? ?ℎ?? ????? ???ℎ?. ?? ? ????? ?? ??????? ?? ?ℎ? ???ℎ? ??? ?? ??????? ??????. ? ?? ? ???????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ????????? ??? ??????? ?? ? ??? ? ??? ?? ???? ??????ℎ? ?ℎ??? ?? ?????? ℎ????. ?????? ???? ???? ?????? , ?????? ???ℎ? ???? ???? ??? ???????. ???????? ?? ℎ???? ?ℎ? ????? ?? ?????? ???ℎ ?ℎ? ???ℎ? ?ℎ??????, ??? ?ℎ? ????. ? ???????? ?? ?ℎ? ??? ???? ?????????. ??? ? ?????????. ??? ??? ?ℎ? ????? ???ℎ ???? ????. ?ℎ? ????? ??? ?ℎ?? ?ℎ? ??????? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ? ℎ???? ????????? ???ℎ? ?? ?ℎ? ℎ???. ???? ?????ℎ??? ??????? ???????. ? ???’? ?????? ?? ??? ?ℎ? ????, ?? ??? ????? ? ???? ??? ? ??? ?????, ?ℎ?? ???? ? ????, ?ℎ?? ? ?????? ???? ?????. ?ℎ? ???? ?????? ?????? ? ????? ?????? ????? ?ℎ? ?????? ???? ?? ℎ?? ????…. ???’? ???? ?? ?ℎ?? ?? ????????.

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Hair Whorl: The whorl is located on high right, far right from the midline. Annie is what I refer to as a left-handed horse. The position indicates right brain dominance, strong side preference (laterality), and a preference for the left lead. Right-brain dominance is related to strong emotional reactions. For example, left-handed people are significantly more likely to have depressive symptoms than right-handers (National Institutes of Health, 2009). Lesley Rogers reported left-handed Marmoset’s potential vulnerability to stress and depressive symptoms (Behavioral Brain Research (2015) volume 287. Marmosets are small-squirrel-like monkeys known to be left and right-handed.

In post #2, I described the emotionality of my right hair whorl horse Sam. The right side of the brain controls emotional responses in many mammals.

???????? ??????????: Kathleen described rescuing her horse from a kill pen. She was 2, in rough shape, fearful, and hard to catch. Nothing more is known about Annie’s experiences before the age of two. The fact is, Annie ended up in a kill pen at 2 years old for a reason. My post dated August 6th describes how forcefully handling foals can negatively affect behavior, especially in foals with highly reactive nervous symptoms. Her early history was possibly less than ideal.

?????????? (???? ??????????): Kathleen described Annie’s crookedness and difficulty bending to the right and cantering on the right lead (side preference is primarily and initially caused by fear). One side of the brain and one eye are geared to watch out for danger. When Annie’s right eye was to the inside of the circle, her fear made her want to look to the outside of the circle to defend herself from potential threats. In circle work, horses that consistently cross-flex by traveling in a circle with the head turned to the outside develop biomechanical imbalance (back pain, neck pain, etc.). Kathleen used BEMER therapy (magnetic horse blankets for pain management and recovery) and described some success. Still, BEMER therapy does not address the fear that caused the crookedness in the first place.

???????: At the end, Kathleen said, “She also barely breaks a sweet except under the saddle even on hot days….” In this case, sweating indicates psychological stress (fear stress) and a generalized fear of humans. Horses can develop specific fears of certain people or general fear of people. Fear generalization occurs when a fear response acquired to a particular stimulus transfers to another stimulus. In response to her good intentions, Annie’s general fear of Kathleen is attenuated (lessened or weakened) but still remains. Given Annie’s emotional nature, I suspect that when someone broke Annie to ride, the experience was particularly dramatic. To end up in a kill pen, she likely hurt someone in her defense and was deemed too dangerous. Her earliest experiences led up to that response, which may have pushed her over the line into the maladaptive behavior she still conveys today. As I explained in post #7:

“?? ??????? ?? ℎ???? ??? ?????? ????ℎ?????, ??????????? ??ℎ????? ???????? ?? ???? ?????? ??????????? ?? ??? ???? ????????. ?????????, ???ℎ??????, ??? ??????? ?????????? ??? ???????? ?? ??????????? ??ℎ??????. ??????’? ?? ?? ?? ?????’? ???? ???????? ?? ???? ?? ? ?????? ???ℎ??? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ?ℎ??? ??? ??????? ℎ?????? ????? ?ℎ? ??? ??? ?????? ???????, ??? ????? ????????? ?????? ?? ???? ???????????. ?ℎ? ???? ???ℎ ? ???? ??? ????? ????????? ?ℎ??? ????? ?????? ?ℎ?? ??’? ???ℎ ?????? ?? ?? ?????? ??????’? ?ℎ?? ?? ?? ℎ?? ???? ?????????”

???????????????: I suspect Annie suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). I have previously worked with veterinarians by using the antidepressant Fluoxetine 20MG/ML orally, either short or long-term, to calm horses long enough to start training over without the prevalent fear of the past getting in the way of learning anew. Fluoxetine is thought to produce its antidepressant effect primarily by fluoxetine increasing the extracellular concentration of serotonin in the brain. While similar to dopamine, serotonin creates a long-lasting feeling of happiness or well-being. To be effective, administer Fluoxitine for 4 to six weeks and then start training in the round pen at a slow walk in the counter-clockwise direction (left lead) until she is comfortable and moving steadily forward. Then, switch to the clockwise direction (the right lead she has difficulty with), but if she starts to cross-flex, stop and turn her back onto the left lead until she relaxes again. Once relaxed, try the right lead again and hope for a few good steps without the cross-flexing. Each time this is done, she will gain confidence that she’s not being made to do something she fears. It takes patience and persistence, but once she walks several rotations around the circle, start the process over at a slow trot.

I succeeded with this method with young horses that were not chronically one-sided, like Annie, without antidepressants (for example, read my post dated August 6th, “The Science of Hair Whorls and Laterality, Part 5, Lateralization in the Nervous System).

But with Annie Oakley’s age and emotional nature, antidepressants may be necessary to break through the fear long enough for her to learn not to fear the right lead. If progress is made, I would recommend 6 months of treatment, then wean her off the antidepressant and see if the effect remains. If not, she may need to be on it for life.