03/29/2026
Twitching! It's a fascinating behavior because it tells us a lot about where our horse's nervous system is. in the first video you see REM twitching in the eyes, muzzle, ears, and diaphragm. The equine nervous system is doing some AMAZING stuff here. in REM, the nervous system replays memories and learned movements/behaviors, strengthening new and helpful circuits. so you can imagine sleep and down-regulation is very important for young horses learning new skills! REM twitching is also indicative of released emotional load stored in the body, and resolved unfinished muscle sequences. the full diaphragm spasm we see in the video is the mare's nervous system basically running a full diagnostic of the whole motor system, which can then be recalibrated. It's beautiful! this is the kind of twitching we also see during bodywork.
In the second video we see some not so healthy twitching. This occurs when the nervous system is overloaded by something like a chronic or painful condition. Not being able to keep up with the strain of whatever the situation is, the motor nerve gets stuck in a loop, unable to stop firing. It's neurologically the same thing that happens when someone experiencing burn out develops an eye-twitch. it's a nervous overflow instead of the nervous release we see in REM.
