FROM: Gwenyth Browning Jones Santagate:
Well, Jerry ... let's see. Where to begin? Let's begin at
birth. ...
When any animal is born its very first instinct is to suckle. This
not only satisfies the bodily craving for food, it also pacifies the oral need to suck.
Nursing produces a feeling of pleasure, safety and contentment. It also produces a bond
between the mother and offspring which is more powerful than any other bond. There are
also endorphins, the body's natural pain killer and calmative, which are released upon
stimulation of the mouth and surrounding facial areas. So, sucking satisfies a number of
physiological as well as mental/emotional needs of the animal.
This stands true for the horse as with any other warm-blooded
animal. The very first point of pleasurable feeling is the mouth. As the foal grows, other
ways of satisfying those needs are discovered ie: eating grain and drinking water.
However, the physical feelings of satisfaction and pleasure still originate in the oral
sensation of moving the mouth, the tongue and the palate.
Many horses are weaned superficially. In other words, horse
owners/handlers force wean the foals. This means that perhaps the foals did not receive
enough of the 'natural' suckling as 'nature' intended. Foals will seek other ways to
satisfy these cravings. One of them is to be very oral with other animals, ie: the human
and their pasture mates. The mares, if the foals are too rambunctious with this behavior
will immediately reprimand the foal. It doesn't take much for the mare to relay the
message to the foal for it to get lost! Just a swing of the head with the ears laid back
is enough to convince most youngsters to back away. Humans don't have the abilities to lay
their ears back, in fact, the ears are *always* laid back! So we have a choice as to how
to handle a foal pestering us with nips and bites. One is to swat them away as in Negative
Punishment. Another more effective way would be to satisfy what the foal is seeking. -
oral stimulation. More oral stimulation will reduce or eliminate the behavior entirely
because that natural need will be satisfied.
The best way I've found to eliminate this behavior is to focus on
"mouth massage". Yikes! you say. You want me to massage a little mouth with
teeth that are constantly looking for a hunk of my arm? Yeah, right! Well,
wait a minute a hear (read) me out ...
This can be done safely and the results are beneficial not only to
the foal but also immensly valuable to the "bonding" between horse and human.
Step by step I will walk you through this procedure ...
1. Have the foal haltered and on a 10' - 15' lead. Ideally, a
rope halter will work better than a nylon web although one must be VERY careful not to
inflict pain with the rope halter. They produce a more precise "feeling" but can
also be extremely painful if used improperly with harsh, unforgiving hands.
2. Hold the halter on top of the nose with your left hand while
facing the foal. Be careful to keep your own face away from the contact range with the
foal's in case it decides to throw its head up. So, you'll really stand in front of but a
bit to the side.
3. With your right hand, begin to do small, quarter-sized light
massages on the neck and around the base of the ears. The pressure you will use will be
just enough to move the skin around by the balls of your 1st three fingers. Start at a 6
o'clock position and go around counterclockwise, past the 6 o'clock position to the 8
o'clock position. Lift your hand and move to another spot. This are quick, little circles
... using just your fingers to move the skin; not using your shoulder or arm and wrist.
4. Keep doing these small massages until you notice the foal is
beginning to relax. Now you may begin to work your way to the face, nostrils and muzzle.
If you reach a point where the foal is uncomfortable with this massage, go back to a spot
on its body where it *is* comfortable and begin massage again.
5. Once you reach the nostrils, take each nostril GENTLY between
your fingers and move it around very gently. Do each nostril. As the foal begins to relax
some more, move to the muzzle.
6. You can administer the massage around the muzzle and the
lips. As you're working around the lips, gently insert your 3 or 4 fingers up under the
top lip onto the gum. Be careful at this point. Again, if the foal is showing
discontentment with this, back up to a spot which is comfortable and begin again.
7. With your fingers firmly but gently against the gumline and lip
connection, rub back and forth. This area will release endorphins and cause further
relaxation and calming. Be alert when doing this and make sure your fingers stay in the
gumline.
8. As the foal begins to drop its head even further (relaxing), you
can then clip your fingers over the bars of the gumline and "play piano" on the
tongue! This causes the foal to really move its tongue and mouth around which
physically affects the brain by sending even more relaxing messages as well as the message
that you are the leader and the foal is 2nd in line. Ever watch a foal clack its jaws to
another horse? This is the sign of the foal saying, OK, you're the leader; please don't
hurt me, I'm just a little guy! As the horses grow older and they begin to
"submit" to us as leaders, you'll notice the "licking and chewing" of
a horse while you are working with it .. the head will be dropping down towards the ground
and the horse is then "submitting" to the handler.
Always remember you need to breathe! *g* Many people will be
concentrating so hard on this massage that they inadvertently hold their breath. This
relays tension to the horse. Before even starting this procedure, you can quietly and
gently "center" yourself and relax ... this will help the horse to relax and not
feel threatened.
This mouthwork is not only great for foals but for *any* horse! It's
helps to get the nervous system sending "relax" messages to the horse's brain
and makes them more willing to hear the handler. As I said above, it also helps to
establish that licking and chewing action that puts everyone "in line" in the
hierarchy of the "herd". Yep, you and the horse make up a herd and one of you
*has* to be leader. This mouthwork helps to establish, in the horse's mind, that you are
the leader. It also helps produce that satisfying feeling from suckling which produces
other pleasant sensations. It releases those endorphins and can really help to turn a
horse's mind around.
I hope this has helped you. Please feel free to e-mail to me with
any questions!
*S* --Gwen
