The PolyVagal Nervous System

Most horse owners know that being around their horses is good for their mental health. You will hear them say things like “I always feel better when I am at the yard or with the horses,” or “when I have had a bad day and I visit my horse, and I forget about the stress.”

Then there are the times when our horses stress us out, with behavioural issues and strange illnesses that reoccur or never completely go away. So how much do we really understand about how stress and our shared energy really affects ourselves and our horse?

There is now a lot of information coming to light about the Polyvagus Nervous system or the Vagus nerve, which is starting to explain in technical terms how stress can affect this the largest nerve system in the body for both humans and horses and how our systems interact. There is also controversy about what this does and doesn’t do.

The facts are this:

The Vagal Nervous System is made up of two main nerves which join and branch off, connecting the brain to many organs right down to the large intestine. Also known as the Vagus Nerve (plural) this is the longest nerve system in the body. It subconsciously controls body functions such as digestion, heart rate and immune system, and being part of the nervous system is influenced by stress and anxiety.

The Vagus Nerve controls the parasympathetic nervous response which controls fight or flight and the sympathetic nervous response for relaxation and rest.

Horses are very sensitive animals because in the wild they are prey, to be eaten by predators. As such they need to be aware of their surroundings. They are constantly aware of all their herd mates and their levels of stress or relaxation so that as a herd they are one giant danger detector. This allows them to take it in turns to be on “look out” duty so that they can spend time relaxing and do not need to be constantly stressed.

Being so tuned in to the Nervous system of the herd they also tune in to the people around them.

How this explains what every horse owner knows, our horses make us feel better.

When we go to the yard or are around a herd of horses, we pick up on the relaxation the animals carry. Their slow breathing, the slower heart rate than our own, the sense of peace all help to relax our own Vagus System and with that input our Vagus System can switch from a parasympathetic state, caused by the stress of our day, to a sympathetic state bringing our system into a more relaxed state of being and making us feel better.

This is just one way that horses can help people.

As a horse owner how can it help you to help your horse?

Is your horse stressed?

Does your horse always seem to have too much energy?

Is your horse jumpy and unpredictable?

Does your horse have digestive issues?

Do they get lameness and swellings?

Is the vet constantly visiting but nothing seems to improve?

These could be signs that your horse is stressed and as such living in a fight or flight state most of the time.

One form of stress that people do not always recognise is living conditions. Some horses live in wonderful stables, other horses are on yards where they must put up with the rules. Either way some horses can spend a lot of their lives living in stables with no room to stretch their legs and run free, and no access to other horses to be able to mutual groom or share their space. For a herd animal who needs connection with its herd mates to feel safe this can be very stressful.

How can you help?

Bring your horse some peace.

Just as your horse (or the yard) brings you peace, you can bring peace to your horse.

Stand at rest with your horse in the stable and stop “doing,” if he gets jumpy with you in the stable then stand outside looking in for safety until they understand what you are doing. Watch your horse quietly. Have no demands in your head just stand quietly and watch.

If you are a “doing” person who arrives at the yard with an agenda to do all your jobs and ride just forget all that for 10 minutes and just stand quiet. Once your horse senses your peace they will start to tune into it. They will lower their head. They may yawn or lick and chew, both good signs that they are relaxing. Once they are quiet you can try entering the stable. You may see that the longer you stay in this state the other horses around also tune into the peace. Just stay still and if you have trouble keeping your mind clear of thoughts concentrate on a slow steady breathing rhythm.

What does this tell us about our own lives?

When we are in fight or flight response due to fear, stress, or anxiety this nervous system will send signals to the brain and other organs to do the things we are all aware of like increase adrenalin and raise our heart rate, but they control so much more. They decrease the activity of other things within the body like the digestive and immune systems to allow more of our energy to concentrate on the fight or flight.   

Many people now live in a state of permanent stress because of the lives we live. This means our body is in permanent fight or flight mode and the brain resets so that this becomes the new norm. This means that the other part of the Vagus system that should tell the body to go back to a relaxed state doesn’t work. With our systems in fight or flight as a norm it is not surprising that our bodies struggle with digestion and immune problems as they are trying to work in a suppressed state.

Yawning an aid to digestion?

I found out that yawning is a signal that the vegas nerve is relaxing. Realising I never hardly yawn, I started forcing a yawn every day and my gut issues have decreased. I am also eating a lot less processed food since losing my weight but that didn’t stop the bloating.

If you suffer with gut issues it might be worth trying to yawn daily and see if it helps.

Dolly hated me to ride her when I was stressed.

When I became stressed with life after owning Dolly a while. Dolly was tuning in to my stress and it made her feel nervous.

She had accepted me as one of her herd and when she felt my stress she thought I sensed danger.

This in turn, set her adrenalin going and she became highly strung, which then made me nervous to be sat on her.

When I finally realised what was going on I realised that  this was actually an honour, that she trusted me to warn her of danger. 

She would not want me to mount when I was like this and slowly she helped me learn to be calm, by teaching me mindfulness.

When I did get it right, it was wonderful for us both.