The Equine Haven LLC

01/06/2026

Such a good list of positive phrases to encourage and uplift! 💛

01/06/2026

01/06/2026

01/04/2026

Tonic Immobility is a thing that needs to be better shared and understood by the general public. There are too many (not so) "Funny" videos of animals in this extreme state. There are too many trainers who utilize this as a tool in their training.

It seems all species have the ability to go into "Tonic Immobility" when in extreme fear or shock, or when held in a perceived restraint (held upside down or a sensitive body part is grasped).This is a temporary paralysis, the mind/body shuts down all but basic functioning. This mechanism is used by most species as a "fail-safe" this is a way of removing their consciousness from their body, so they don't need to suffer when they think they're going to die. Prey animals are especially sensitive to this, so they don't need to be aware of being eaten. Humans also experience this, they describe the experience as feeling "De-realized" or "De-personalized", like they're removed from their body, or even from reality as a whole. This sounds like a pretty awful state to be in doesn't it?

Some are ignorant to this and find some of these things funny or magical, "they hypnotized the animal!" This is bad enough, but once knowing, why would anyone do this?

Unfortunately it's common practice in training many species, particularly horses. Horse training frequently involves the use of laying the horse down, tying them out, or using a tool like twitches (as a non-emergency restraint). When you see a trainer with a horse laid down through force, especially laid all the way belly up, with the human climbing on them, you know you're seeing Tonic Immobility. Not expert training or trust. Often at some point they no longer need to tools, whips, or ropes to get the horse to lay down, but you'll see the horse's head turn tight to one side and one foreleg come up before they drop, like when using a rope. As opposed to the behavior being marked and reinforced when it happens naturally, and being put on cue.

After an experience or few of these the individual will begin to sink into a state of "Learned Helplessness". This is a general feeling of helpless/hopelessness, they feel as though they have no control, no ability to escape or avoid the awful or obtain the good. They are without hope. Again, why would anyone want this? Because these animals are especially compliant. They have no fight, no flight, no will, just obedience. This can start focused on one situation (like when one tool is in use or when in a certain environment) but the more experiences of Tonic Immobility the more the Learned Helplessness can generalize.

Once the individual has generalized Learned Helplessness, it can be slow and painful to come out of this state. It can also often cause a major emotional and behavioral relapse/problems. The individual is suddenly aware of a whole world they'd shut out, with no learned skills, behaviors, or even coping mechanisms to protect them. They need to start anew and learn about their world with newly opened eyes.

*** Note on twitches:
We all understand that emergencies happen we weren't prepared or able to prepare for. We all know these tools work to get a job done that must be done. The goal isn't to shame the tool, but rather spread awareness about how and why it works so people can make ethical decisions on when and when not to use it

01/02/2026

01/02/2026

Any educators looking for a workshop in Ohio? Join this workshop in Columbus for a combined , , and workshop!

Register here: https://forms.office.com/g/9uxRt15WVL

01/02/2026

Healing doesn’t reset on January 1st.
This is a journey that requires patience, support, and permission to go at a pace your body can handle.
You’re allowed to move into 2026 without big goals or promises to "do better."
Forget the pressure, and start noticing what helps you.
Doing a little more of that, and a little less of what drains you.
Remember: Stability, safety, and support are what create lasting progress.

01/02/2026

"Why I Am Skeptical of EMDR For Trauma Recovery" From an Interpersonal Neurobiology perspective, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) isn’t about eye movements or “reprogramming.” It’s a relational, neurophysiological process that uses bilateral stimulation as a way to engage both hemispheres of the brain while the person accesses distressing material in a context of safety and attunement.

The core mechanism isn’t the tapping or the eye movement itself, but the combination of dual attention and relational safety. The client holds one foot in the past (the traumatic memory) and one foot in the present (the attuned connection with the therapist and sensory awareness of being safe now). That state of simultaneous activation allows the nervous system to integrate experiences that were previously fragmented or frozen in survival mode.

When traumatic experiences happen without adequate relational support, the nervous system stores them as unprocessed threat responses--images, sensations, emotions, and impulses--rather than as coherent memories. EMDR can reopen those stored fragments within a safe enough window of tolerance, so they can finally link up with other neural and relational networks associated with calm, competence, and connection.

So, through an IPNB lens, EMDR is a co-regulated integration process. The eye movements are a gentle rhythm that supports regulation, but the true healing comes from:

The relationship (attuned, safe, co-regulating)

The activation (accessing the memory without being overwhelmed)

The integration (linking the traumatic memory with present safety and broader networks of meaning).

EMDR works when the nervous system learns, within a relational field, that it no longer has to live in the time of threat. The body gets to update its story.

Unfortunately, many EMDR practitioners are trained in the protocol but not in the underlying neurobiological and relational mechanisms that make it work. They’re taught to “follow the script,” but not how to track their own regulation or the client’s shifting state moment to moment. Without that understanding, they often mistake compliance for safety and procedure for healing.

From an IPNB standpoint, it’s the relational synchrony, the living, reciprocal connection, that allows the brain to integrate traumatic material. The therapist’s attunement regulates the client’s nervous system enough to tolerate activation. If that attunement is missing, the process becomes mechanical, disconnected, and sometimes harmful.

Many practitioners were trained in models that separate “technique” from “relationship,” as if the latter is secondary. But in truth, EMDR without deep interpersonal awareness is like trying to dance with someone who’s not actually in the room. The moves might look right, but nothing alive is happening between them.

01/01/2026

YES!

01/01/2026

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12/31/2025

Every New Year’s, we make new resolutions for the coming year.
Riding goals we want to accomplish, New Skills we want our horses to learn, New Heights we want to get to, or Problems we want to resolve.

However, in this year, the year of the horse, I would like to see a change in the equestrian world.
Instead of setting a goal of “what” you want to achieve, set a goal of “How” you want to achieve it.

Specifically, bringing our focus to our horses’ experiences.

Not on how many miles our horse can carry us, how high they can jump, how fast they can run, how quickly they can turn, how well they score, how behaved or tolerant they are, but instead, how do they feel about it? How was it achieved? Did they have a good time learning it? Do they enjoy their work? Did we manage to do it without unnecessary pressure? Without Stress? If we gave our horse the choice to opt out, would they still do it willingly?
These are the questions I’d like to see people ask this year, and to set intentions for achieving our “what” goals, with kind, gentle, and force-free approaches.

In the year of the horse, let’s actually put the Horse first.

Because how we got there is just as, if not more, important than what we’re achieving with our horses.

12/31/2025

Happy ! If you’re feeling triggered or in need of extra support tonight, you’re not alone and help is available. Help yourself & share to help others: samhsa.gov/find-help