Know Your Freeze Response
Jun 19, 2024
A lot of people are aware of the fight or flight response, but have you ever been aware of a third, the freeze response?
This informal article introduces the topic nicely, and although it is centred towards daily life I thought it was an interesting topic to discuss in regards to performance. Many riders who experience a feeling of numbness, or the inability to physically respond (i.e. put their leg on when asked). Have you ever experienced this? How did it feel and what did you do next?
The image below is a good visual for how we might view the three stress responses, as I often think we hear and talk about the flight or fight stress responses, but we don't necessarily translate it into behaviours. It is essential for riders to be aware of these, and as a lot of our interactions with horses are subconscious, it is good to remind ourselves what sits underneath the surface of these behaviours.
Things to consider as a rider:
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What are your experiences of the freeze response?
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Can you add any behaviours onto the ones listed in the image?
- Have your behaviours changed at all over time?
Keywords:
Read
Stress
Performance