EQUINE STRESS CONTROL THERAPY (ESCT) and harmony horseworks
ESCT Beginnings with Victoor (aka Vic)
ESCT was developed at Harmony HorseWorks in 2002. The acronym stands for Equine Stress Control Therapy and works to desensitize a horse to its automatic startle response (ASR), an inherent reaction in prey animals such as horses and other herd animals, with bilateral (left/right) brain integration techniques.
No doubt you’ve heard stories about people meeting horses that, for some unknown reason, instantly attracted them and life partnerships were formed. They compare this encounter with falling in love instantly, not knowing why. Perhaps you have met a horse this way. There is a saying – when the human is ready, the horse will come. No explanation seems good enough to clarify that connection, that inner knowing. It just happens. That's how I came to know Victoor PF, a then 3 year-old Arabian horse show reject purchased for a nominal sum at a kill auction in Fallon, CO. My daughter forced my arm up during the bid and the auctioneer yelled sold. Amor fati is the Latin saying, love your fate.
Vic revealed himself to me quickly after that. Even though he had behaved impeccably in the auction ring and trailered beautifully, he spooked and startled at everything around him once in his new environment. The stately demeanor he had presented at the auction was probably due to his high comfort level in show rings since he had been on the halter circuit for most of his young life, at least since the age of 6 months, info gleaned from sketchy background details. The show ring was a familiar environment to him.
Away from it, he was as crazy as he was beautiful in a tragic way because he did not want to be frightened. He tried so hard to be “good” and I could feel the shaky tension inside of him each time he failed. Of course, he never really failed me because I knew better than to judge as he must have been treated in some unusual way to behave like this. Or, he could simply have been unseasoned and unskilled due to lack of exposure to a life outside the show ring. Maybe his spooky and erratic behavior was due to genetics, or a combination of factors. But I knew already that DNA does not rule a horse’s destiny, as it does not rule mine. I began searching for something to help me overcome his fearfulness.
Natural horsemanship worked well up to a certain point when his environment was quiet and predictable and the routine was familiar to him after much practice. Anything new environmentally that was presented to him, any new training techniques, would bring out his ASR. So the methods I tried to help this distracted, dangerous and unreliable horse, including many traditional and natural horsemanship techniques and processes and other holistic regimens, did not work. After almost two years of trying with measured success, I truly was at a loss but was just as determined to keep on looking for a solution to his behavioral problems. He was not outgrowing his fears as he aged and behavior modification and operant conditioning worked only so far. Instinct told me there was an answer and all I had to do was find it. There is an old saying in spiritual circles – if you can ask the question, the universe has the answer. I was completely open to finding something new and untested, but I had no inkling I would be the one to receive the information from “out there.”
It happened that I had experienced Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a therapy that is useful in integrating the left/right brain waveform into balance to restore a sense of equilibrium in therapy. I investigated the human eye movement protocols and modified them for the horse. I also studied bilateral body tapping using the EMDR protocol and eventually began using the EMDR pulser on the headstall of the horse while riding. Taking all the elements of EMDR and body tapping, save those that had to do with language, I wrote a protocol for Vic and then tried it on him. It worked. I was nonplussed, flabbergasted and crazily happy. I was also immediately overcome with the burden of responsibility to perfect and disseminate this knowledge, something I had simply not bargained on.
And so here we are many years later, Vic retired at 26 at a nearby stable leading a quiet and comfortable life.
NOTE: Working with horses is an inherently dangerous endeavor. You do so at your own risk. Barbara Wright and Harmony HorseWorks cannot be held responsible for any accident or injury befalling you in your work with horses using ESCT. We make an effort to explain the safety procedures and risks involved in ESCT to the best of our ability. We suggest you wear hard-soled shoes, a helmet and, if riding, a safety riding vest. Check your equipment. Have someone work with you. Be safe. The rest is up to you.
ESCT PROTOCOLS
Bilateral Eye Movement
- While human therapy uses one eye movement technique, horizontally across the field of vision at the level of the client’s pupils, equine eye movement therapy employs three techniques with equal effect.
- It is important to maintain a steady and metronomic rhythm while doing the eye movement process on horses, with the therapist standing relaxed and gazing away from the horse, not staring it down. (Horses do not share prolonged gazes like humans do).
- Horizontal left/right eye movement on frontal vision across the field of vision out into peripheral vision. (See photo at left).
- Vertical up/down eye movement on peripheral vision performed simultaneously with both hands.
- Vertical up/down eye movement on the peripheral vision performed alternating with left and right hands.
ESCT PROTOCOLS
Bilateral Body Tapping
Tapping is done left/right on the bony structure of the horse. Tapping on muscle is not as useful as the signal does not reach the brain as quickly or clearly as if conducted through the bones.
When tapping on or near the head, the touch is light. Once you travel away from the head on the body, you can tap a bit harder. Whatever feels good on your body at that particular point would also feel good on the horse, so use yourself as a test if you are uncertain about how to tap. It should never be invasive. A left, the hose is being tapped on the facial crest, ledt/right.
Rhythm is important. Keep your other hand off the horse and let only your fingertips touch the horse as you tap for less sensory interference coming through the horse’s body, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the tapping.
ESCT Protocols
The Harmony Pulser
- A pulser similar to this has been used in human EMDR therapy for many years.
- It is equally effective on horses and is a part of the Harmony HorseWorks ESCT protocol.
- It works by sending electronic pulses (vibrations) through the wires to the lozenges attached to the horse’s head gear. (No electric shock involved).
- A hand-held unit has speed and intensity controls and an on/off switch. Battery operated.
- The little pulsers can be attached left/right to the horse's halter or bridle with masking tape.
- The hand unit can be attached to the underside of the halter or bridle for groundwork.
- The hand unit can be attached to the saddle or riding and easy access.
- It can be ordered by contacting Harmony HorseWorks.
