Hidden Spring Farm

The Art of Not Making It Worse😆

Sensory gating is the nervous system’s filter. It controls how much information gets through so the brain does not get swamped.

When that filter opens too wide, sensory gating failure occurs. Too much comes through at once. Not because something is wrong, but because the nervous system thinks it needs more information to stay safe.

You already know this. Think about driving in fog or heavy rain. The music goes off. No one is allowed to talk. You lean forward like that helps. Less distraction equals better control.

That is not panic. It is competence.

Now imagine that same filter opening because you are tired, sore, stressed, or overwhelmed. Suddenly noise is unbearable and tiny irritations feel personal.

Same filter. Different reason.

Horses are no different. Away from home, separated from the herd, dealing with novelty, fatigue, or pain, their sensory gate opens. They scan, spook, react, and struggle to focus. Not because they are difficult, but because their nervous system is monitoring for risk.

Here is where humans make it worse.

We add more. More talking. More patting. More correcting. More control. More micromanaging. The system is already flooded and we turn up the volume.

This is why “look up and ride somewhere” is such powerful advice. It reduces noise, stops micromanagement, and gives the horse time to feel safe, secure, and able to focus.

If you always seem to end up with spooky, sensitive horses, it might not be bad luck. You may be unknowingly overwhelming their nervous system.

Calm does not come from more control. It comes when the system no longer needs to monitor everything.

Just like driving in fog, you don’t close the filter. You reduce the noise so you can cope with it.

Collectable Advice 113/365
Ideas worth saving, sharing, and thinking about. Not copying. And definitely not running through AI and reposting with confidence.

Jean Bemelmans, master trainer, tells us:“In the end the submission is the most important thing. It comes down to the stop and go, and if the stop and go is very good, then horses get supple. Some horses have a better balance, some horses you have to work on it, and with the transitions, you get balance.”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2021/05/tip-from-the-top-with-jean-bemelmans/