Equine Relaxation

 How do we know that horses enjoy their Pulse sessions?   It’s all  in their body language!  Signs of equine relaxation and even signs of  stress will help make the experience enjoyable for them and  anticipate any fight-or-flight responses.  Relaxation starts in the horse’s brain. Their autonomic  nervous system consists of a sympathetic nervous system, for  fight-or-flight, and a parasympathetic nervous system, for  rest-and-digest.   

The sympathetic nervous system increases their heart rate,  blood pressure, and body temperature. It stimulates the sweat glands and  also increases breathing rates and circulation to the skeletal muscle.  In essence, it prepares the horse to either defend itself or run away  from any threats.  The parasympathetic nervous system acts just the opposite. It  slows the heart rate, increases salivation, allows urination, and  increases circulation. This happens when the horse feels safe and  relaxed.  Horses rely on both systems to function. The sympathetic nervous system  keeps the horse safe, while the parasympathetic nervous system ensures  the body does its crucial internal self-care while the horse is at rest. If you’ve ever been around a horse that spooked at seemingly  nothing, you have seen their sympathetic nervous nervous system in  action! Most equestrians have learned to wait until the horse calms down  before asking any more of the horse, regardless of the situation. Since  horse’s can’t tell us verbally how they feel, body language is the best  indicator of equine relaxation.