Behavior Modification Techniques

By Dr. Jim and Lynda McCall

Copyright © 2003

Lesson Ten

LEARNED HELPLESSNESS

It is not necessary to have a long and close relationship with possums to have a keen sense of the saying "playing possum", but it helps. Those of you that are not intrigued with this North American marsupial have probably heard the expression - " sulled up like a possum" - and no doubt have wondered what that can possible mean.

To the possum lover, this trait has played a large role in the survival of the beloved animal since the age of the dinosaurs. The semi-comatose condition which resembles death to many predators seems to distract them from the frenzy of the attack. Without the adrenaline surge of battle, the predatory process subsides and many would-be killers simply walk away - confused. This leaves the lowly possum to awake into a safer world and muddle on down the road into further mayhem.

It is a similar state of being in a semi-coma that causes a lot of anxiety for horsemen. When a horse enters this mental state, horsemen refer to the horse as being "sulled up". A sulled up-horse usually remains standing but his mind appears oblivious to the world. His mental state resembles a mild coma from which it might be aroused. This is different from a true coma where nothing can arouse the mind from its stupor.

In spite of this major difference, the semi-comatose sull is not a state to be taken lightly. Arousing the blocked-out mind takes some understanding of the condition. Knowing which stimuli are likely to penetrate this barrier to the brain is crucial information.

It has been proven on many occasions that force, pain and anxiety propel a horse into this condition and, therefore, are poor choices for bringing the horse out of this frame of mind.

This lesson was dramatically learned by a man who brought a mule into the veterinary clinic at Texas A & M with third degree burns on his rump. Questioning brought out the tale:

Something the man had done drove the mule into a sull. The mule locked up, refusing to budge and sitting down on its hunches like a dog. The infuriated owner pulled, whipped and otherwise badgered the animal to rise. When all attempts failed, the owner gathered some sticks and leaves and built a fire under the mule.

The mule still refused to move and the completely frustrated mule trainer had to put out the fire to save the mule from being roasted. After leaving the mule alone for about half an hour, the mule came out of the sull. The time-out period also allowed the guy to cool off. He then felt guilty and brought the mule in for treatment of the burns.

While most compassionate souls would not build a fire under a sulled-up horse, many would use spurs, whips, bits and other such devices to try and drive conscious awareness back into the animal's brain and movement back into its body. In most cases where the semi-comatose condition is strong, these antics appear to have little or no effect.

There are only a couple of ways that have repeatedly worked to quickly bring horses out of this state. The first choice is a version of the Chinese water torture; Tap . . .tap . . . tap . . . on the poll or the forehead of the horse. These gentle but crisp jolts must be regularly spaced so that the time in between (a second or so) gives the equine mind the opportunity to arouse from its slumber. It's like waking someone from a deep sleep. You want to bring them back gently in increments - Not abruptly startle them which is likely to trigger a violent reaction.

The critical point of this lecture was missed by one of our college student who had ridden a young horse into a sullen state. Finally, the colt locked every joint and refused to budge in spite of the student's continued flailing and yanking. Arriving at the scene, it was suggested that she try the "tapping routine" on his poll. In her anger and frustration, the young trainer cracked the horse between the ears with the riding crop.

The colt immediately awoke filled with the same ferocity used by his angry rider in delivering the blow. Lunging for the sky, the colt lost his balance and crashed to the ground. Not a pleasant experience for either the horse or the rider but again proving that when training horses, one small step for a horse is better than one giant step by mankind.

Another way to stimulate a semi-comatose horse back into the world of the living requires much less finesse but also usually prompts a violent and abrupt re-entry. The trigger is oxygen deprivation.

By pinching closed the nostrils and restricting his breath, the horse is almost certain to return to consciousness. However, as he re-emerges, he usually lunges forward, often striking with his front feet and/or rearing. The trick is to get close enough to him to pinch his nostrils and to get out of the way so that he doesn't kill you upon re-entry.

If both these methods seem to be harsh or dangerous, there is always the option that worked on the mule with the hot hinny. And we don't mean start a fire under him!

Leave the sullen animal alone for a while and eventually it will awaken from its stupor under its own volition. This approach has the added advantages of not only allowing an awakening without overreacting but also gives the person responsible for driving the horse into that other world time to reflect on what went wrong. For some, this time will let the rational reasoning side of the human brain take control back from the emotional, hot headed, angry tempered side.

The best solution to dodging the trauma associated with sulled-up horses is to avoid the behavior all together. In the context of a training situation, this semi-comatose condition is an acute form of learned helplessness.

Learned helplessness is not limited to horses. Most of us have had experience with this situation at some time. It happens when we can't figure out how to solve a problem. Each attempt to achieve success meets with failure. Finally frustration sets in and we assume that we can not solve the problem.

If allowed, we can give up but if forced to continue, we enter a state of learned helplessness. Personally we have experienced learned helplessness in a couple of physic and calculus classes.

The same thing happens to the horse. And, unfortunately, we see it over and over again.

Take the case of Bob, a young man in his early twenties that we met at a horse show. Being an intense and athletic sort of guy he was intrigued by the kind of horses that participate in reining events. He talked at great length to other trainers about the nature and style of a horse that would be able to run reining patterns with precision and speed.

Duly impressed, the young man decided he would enjoy riding this type of equine athlete. He set off in search of the best reining horse prospect he could find and afford. Soon after he purchased a green-broke gray filly with a sound mind and a natural ability to do well in reigning.

Then the problems began. The young trainer entered the filly in a reining competition. Riding into the arena, he began to ask the filly to perform in the manner of other finished reining horses. He knew the filly was not trained to perform in a winning fashion, but he believed that if he rode her repetitively through the various reining patterns she would become increasingly more responsive and correct in the maneuvers.

This was not the case. A horse cannot comprehend a whole pattern when it does not understand each of the parts.

At first the filly tried to respond to the barrage of signals she was receiving from the rider. Before she could decipher one cue the next one was upon her. There was no relief, no reward for the effort. Consequently, the filly finally gave up trying to figure out the task. She began to look for an escape. Her solution was to try and run through the bit and away from her tormenter. The young trainer snatched her head off. Driven into frustration, the young horse found no escape. Thus began the destruction of a nice filly.

A horse cannot comprehend a whole pattern if it does not understand each of the parts.

In the early stages, learned helplessness can be a mild and fleeting condition. It can be simply a case of the horse not being rewarded in spite of its efforts. Horses, like people, experience frustration in their inability to understand the solution to the problem. Add punishment for all the wrong solutions and, quickly, the student begins to think that no matter what it does, it will be punished.

This is what happens when a trainer and rider ask a horse to perform in a manner beyond its comprehension or physical abilities. Or when someone is inconsistent in his expectations about how they wish a horse to behavior. Both of these situations lead to confusion - which is the doorway into learned helplessness.

Let's examine the case of the gray filly. She was asked to perform well beyond her skill level. Confused though she must have been, at first she tried to respond to the cues of her rider, but what she understood and what he wanted were two different things. The more she tried, the more displeased he became with her performance. During this time, the filly was learned that "trying" produced negative behavior from her rider. So, she tried to do nothing which resulted in more punishment.

To the filly there could be only one other solution. She tried to run away from the unsolvable situation. This also resulted in severe punishment. The young horse had now tried every possible approach to the problem. All her attempts taught her the same thing. No matter what she did she would be punished. Consequently, she quit working and seemed to withdraw to prepare mentally for the inevitable punishment. Her desire to please and to train disappeared.

Asking a horse to perform in a manner beyond its comprehension or physical abilities, or a trainer being inconsistent in his expectations about how he wishes a horse to behave, opens the doorway into learned helplessness.

Pushing a horse deeper and deeper into learned helplessness is when many horses seem to enter the trance-like state that we call, sull. Perhaps, like the possum, this behavior is a throwback to their wild ancestors.

Feral horses, like antelope, zebras, and other plains animals, frequently experience being eaten alive by predators. Mercifully, Nature provided these species with the ability to shut down mentally when there is no escape from pain or trauma. Once in this daze, the animal seems to hear nothing, see nothing, and most important, appears to feel nothing.

The domestic horse driven into the depths of learned helplessness is in such a state. The phrase, "To go into a sull” just does not seem to do justice to the emotionally distressed state. The horse is ready to die. Perhaps death would be preferred rather than the inescapable mental pain and physical stress.

We have seen horses driven deep into the depths of learned helplessness. They become mental vegetables. They walk, eat, graze, but no longer give any feedback to training.

Certain horses are born athletes, but they are made performance horses. Perfection is achieved in stages, and good training gets the horse from one level to the other.

The good news about learned helplessness is that it always can be avoided if you are skillful, consistent and have a clear idea about what you want to accomplish.

Horses are born athletes but they are made performance horses. It is the trainer's job to have a clear picture of how he wants each maneuver to be performed and how to get from a horse's natural ability to the performance on cue. Perfection is achieved in stages through the process of successive approximations and the proper use of operant conditioning. Any time confusion appears, trainers should be prepared to back off and take a good look at the training program.

Remember, the horse is the student and the trainer is the teacher. It is our job as teachers to present the material in the manner that the student can learn. Just like people, all horses are not the same. They do not all learn the same way and one way of teaching a task will not work for every horse.

Become a creative teacher and listen to what your horse is telling you. Use the principles of operant conditioning to develop your training program and positively reward learning through the use of positive reinforcers. Your horses will be glad you did!

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