Study on Horse Stress and Inexperienced Riders

Though you might think a horse's stress level would increase with inexperienced rider, they actually don't according to this study posted on Thehorse.com. In equine therapy we have horses that are even trained to be very calm and have very low stress levels. 

"In their study, von Lewinski and colleagues investigated 16 German sport horses and 16 riders in a jumping pattern of seven jumps (at a maximum height of 97 centimeters, or 38 inches). Half the horses had participated in advanced-level show jumping competitions; the other half had just completed basic training and had never completed a full jumping course. The riders themselves were divided into groups of either high-level professional riders or amateur riding students. (All riders had sufficient experience to safely ride the horses over jumps, von Lewinski added.)

Each rider rode an experienced horse and an inexperienced horse over the jumping course, and each horse was ridden by an experienced and inexperienced rider. The researchers evaluated both horses' and riders' salivary cortisol ("stress hormone") levels and heart rates before and immediately after the course. They also measured heart rates during the jumping round.

“The stress response of the horses was not affected by the level of experience of their riders and, in particular, not increased when the horses were ridden by less experienced riders,” von Lewinski said. “But for the riders, both their own experience and that of their equine partner influenced their stress response.”"

Source: http://www.thehorse.com/articles/31587/study-horses-not-stressed-by-inexperie...(TheHorse.com%252b-%252bNews)

When Silence is Enough

Actions do almost always speak louder than words, especially in horse therapy where we use non-verbal communication. Silence might just be thr right thing if someone is undergoing a heavy time of grief. 

"I remember when my grandfather died unexpectedly. I got the call from my parents while I was at my freshman college roommate’s house. My cell phone had no coverage in that tiny Michigan town, so my dad had called my roommate’s parents’ house. My roommate’s mother looked concerned as she handed me the phone. She didn’t walk away.

When I’d heard the news, my roommate’s mother immediately pushed a box of tissues my way and went to the stove to pan-fry French toast, handing me a plate with a fork ready to go. I remember as I cried and took bites of that syrup-drenched bread, she told me stories of when she lost her grandfather. The kindness was real; the words were well-intentioned. Yet I can’t remember anything she said, nor was I comforted by any of it. What lingers is that memory of the French toast, her maternal presence, her action in my grief.

Life’s tragic occurrences pop up more often than we would hope in the lives of the people we love. Yet few people have mastered the art of responding well to heavy news. We’re simply not all trained in the art of listening. Professional counselors and psychiatrists are the ones who know how to listen and what is most helpful to say in response. They understand what kinds of comments a grieving person will receive as helpful, and likewise, the type of comments that will sting, irritate, and fall flat.

I spend a lot of time in the car with nothing to do except steer and soak up radio waves. After I listened to the radio host say “I wish they had never said anything in the first place” so bluntly, I pondered his response. Was it too harsh to react to his friends this way? Did he have a right to request his friends’ silence, like the Biblical character of Job? Job endured endless words from his three unhelpful friends in the midst of losing everything."

Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/03/13/what-to-say-when-theres-noth...

Personal Peace in the Workplace

Maintaining a personal peace in the workplace can be hard sometimes, especially if you work in a stressful enviorment. Even those in equine therapy who work around horses can sometimes run into the stresses of life and it's really helpful to have a way to wind things down again. Psych Central has come up with tips that can help you maintain that peace in the workplace. Here's one of them:  

"A Daily Meditation Practice

A regular meditation practice gives you the foundation for being mindful at work, Halliwell said. He suggested reading meditation books or listening to guided CDs for developing your practice. (Mindful.org has a great list of resources.)

But working with a teacher is best. “In my view nothing beats working with a teacher live, as they can help you work with your own unique situation, guiding you, answering your questions and helping you work with obstacles that will inevitably come up."

Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/03/12/3-tips-for-being-mindful-at-...

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Positivity in counseling is as important as it is in your everyday life. Equine therapy is a great example of how positivity and the interaction with horses can greatly improve one's situation. 

 

Positive psychology often is passed off as pop psychology or New Age-y by those who haven’t actually looked into it.

"The actual theory behind positive psychology was defined in 1998 by Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi [1] and looks at all aspects of a person’s psychology. It does not discount traditional psychology, nor supersede it. Rather than viewing psychology purely as a treatment for the malign, however, it looks at the positive. Positive psychology is a recognized form oftherapy and is offered by some counselors and psychologists.

Psychology has always been interested in where people’s lives have gone wrong, and what has resulted because of it [2]. Illnesses such as depression are well-documented and patterns of depressive behavior well-known. However, until recently, what makes people happy and how they achieve inner happiness and well-being has been a mystery.

Practitioners of positive psychology study people whose lives are positive and try to learn from them, in order to help others achieve this state of happiness [3]. It is a scientific study and not remotely hippie-ish, despite its connotations.

 

Positive thinking is one aspect of positive psychology. Surrounding yourself with a great lifestyle and material goods may seem to lead to happiness, but how you really feel is governed by what goes on inside your head. When you go out of your way to think positively, you actually purge yourself of negative self-talk. [1]"

 

 

"Negative thinkers have four common mindsets:

• Filtering.

  Many negative thinkers will pull the negatives out of a situation and focus on them. Sometimes these people will see only the negative in a situation, to the point where they deny any positive.

• Personalizing.

  Some people make every tragedy about themselves. They will personalize every negative thing and assume that bad things happen because they are unlucky, or as a result of something they did or didn’t do. They will often construct negative situations with perfect logic, providing plausible reasons why negative things are either their fault or set out to hurt them.

• Catastrophizing.

  This involves anticipating the worst. Some people even precipitate it. They can turn a slightly awkward interaction into an overreaction, making the situation worse. If something negative does happen, they will use it to validate their negative assumptions.

• Polarizing.

  This type of negative thinker sees things as black or white. Either a situation is perfect or it is a catastrophe. This type of negative thinking can affect every area of a person’s life. Its effects can be both psychological and physical. By practicing positive thinking, you can actually stave off medical conditions and reap the benefits of having a positive outlook on life."

   

  Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/03/11/positive-psychology-the-bene...