Behavior Modification Techniques
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 students 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
reining.
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 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!