Thursday, February 2, 2012

It's all in the Brain!

I had some very interesting conversations yesterday, one with our farrier, Bill, and one with my Bestie, Dee. Both about animals, and both really got me thinking.
Let me tell you first about the subject Dee and I wandered upon during a phone call:

Dee was talking about how some animals seem more communicative and interactive than others, and she wondered at the cause. If you have followed my blog for a while, you have read all about how I feel that some horses are "with you and connected" while others are not. All horses are of equal worth, but I do not sense them all as I do Pippi. Sure, the reason might be that I think I feel Pippi, because of my own emotional attachment, but in my opinion it goes deeper than that.
I am a social worker, and human behaviors are quite interesting to me. After many years, oh so many, of working with the generationally poor I could tell you some stories that would have you gasping and/or rolling with laughter. But mostly it makes me sad. The kids I meet are very different than my kids' friends, as they are raised very differently, and have a very different culture. Many of them lack a certain maturity and understanding that leaves me, well, tired. They are somehow stunted, and yes, I know that sounds harsh. I think "who would you have been if.............?"
As you can read in the pic, this is an image of two three year old brains, and the differences are astonishing. There have been extensive studies done on the orphaned children of Romania, that have clearly shown what neglect, abuse and sensory deprivation does to brains. If interested you can read some great info from The Department of Health and Human Services, and pretty good article by The Daily Mail.



Babies are born with Brain functions, synapses, that govern essential body functions, such as breathing, swallowing, rudimentary movement, etc. The development, and strengthening, of synapses beyond that is highly influenced by outside forces.  In other words, intelligence is learned and developed by sensory stimulation, and interactions.

On the Right is a healthy brain, and on the left an abused brain. "Abuse" in this instance would be like that of a neglected brain. One is clearly "brighter" than the other. Isn't it odd that the word "bright" is what we use to signify intelligence?       
So, what we know is that children's brains are very much influenced by their social interactions. (if your kids are bright, pat yourself on the back NOW, and if you are bright this would be a good time to call mom and dad and say "thank you")
It is not a stretch to assume that this is also true for the other mammals we share this earth with. I have many times stood in front a vacant muzzle, and wondered if "anyone was home." If you communicate and interact with your horse, the synapses will develop and strengthen and that horse will communicate back. They will learn and develop an intelligence beyond what is needed for hay, water, poop, and lay down. We know this to be true, because we see it every day. Crinkle the plastic on a peppermint, lift the lid of your treat box, wrap the legs of your horse, and you see behaviors that correspond. Pippi knows that wrapped legs means we are trucking somewhere, and she knows that western saddle means trail ride as opposed to jumping lesson. She also knows to paw her right hoof for a treat when asked, she knows to nod up and down to get her feed, and she moved sideways to give me room with the wheelbarrow when she is in the aisle. None of that came pre programmmed.
Now, where some people may think I am taking a leap is whether we humans can sense the "brightness." I totally and unapologetically say "Hell to the YES!!" Look at the pic above, of course we can sense that kind of electric brain function. And we can sense the lack of it. Probably through a lot of non verbal communications, and lack of it, but also just the actual firing of neurons and electricity surging through the brain.
A few weeks after we met Pippi, I took the Son to the barn and let him walk around seeing the dozen or so horses that lived there. He knew nothing about them, but very quickly told me which horses he liked and which he did not. The reason he didn't like some was because, as he described them, they were "robots." They all stuck their heads out, and looked at him, but some he liked and some he didn't. The Black and White gelding was a "robot", while the giant QH Mare was "really cool." Gelding never dumped a rider, Mare did, by the way. But Gelding also ran right into a wall because rider was not paying attention, hurting himself more than rider, could not walk a straight line (no EPM or other issues, tested several times), and was oblivious to the world at large. Mare placed well at QH Congress, is quite beribboned, and can/will dump any rider that pulls on her mouth or kicks her sides. She is not evil with her dumping, she just seems to "remove riders by the power of her mind" as described by one dumpee. One minute you are on, and the next you are safe and sound on your butt in the sand.

So, as I told Dee, I think animals are as much a product of their environment as any child. Pippi has been treated as though she can communicate, and we have expectations that she meets in that regard. Kevin once announced at a horse show that Pippi had a "head ache," and was quite embarrassed at the certainty in which he made the statement. I just smiled, because I hear her too, and find myself answering her. Kevin no longer doubts this, and calls her "my buddy." And at our barn, no one thinks it odd when I say "no, Pippi I think we will just stay in today" to an unasked question.

I wish we could scan Pippi's brain, because I bet she it is as lit up as a Yule Tree.

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