How do Spiders and Horse Training Relate?

Let me tell you about a horrible experience I had and how it reminded me of common practice horse training. 

Recently, I was driving in my car. It was an uneventful ride until something caught my eye that made my heart drop into my stomach!

Right along the edge of the windshield was a spider, crawling dangerously close to my face. It was not an average spider. I might have been ok if it was. THIS spider was between the size of a nickel and a quarter. It was also thick, hairy, and big enough to see that it had blue/green eyes!

Panicking while driving 40 MPH is never a good thing. I pulled over as soon as I could.

At first I couldn’t find where the spider was hiding. Then, I saw those hairy legs and blue/green eyes peering at me from a tiny opening where the windshield meets the ceiling. Adding to the chaos was the fact that I had somewhere to be and was running late.

My mind was racing. I had to call a family member for moral support and advice. Unfortunately, we decided I had to get in the car and drive the five minutes to my scheduled destination.

It was torture to be stuck in a car with a huge spider that I couldn’t 100%  keep my eyes on. 

I was on high alert the entire time. I was focused on the road and scanning the inside of my car, freaked out that the spider could land on me at any moment. This was a horribly dangerous situation.

When I stopped at my destination I whipped open the door and practically threw myself out of the car. I made it, but there was NO WAY I’d be able to drive all the way home with the spider still in the car with me. 

For the rest of the experience, I needed the support and encouragement of my family member again. The entire time I felt a tremendous amount of panic. I’m not embarrassed to say, I was constantly on the verge of tears. It was awful.

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As I was driving back home, I was thinking about my fear of spiders. A lot of people share my fear, but a lot of people would not see the issue and wouldn't have reacted the way I did. Some might say my fear of spiders is “silly and that it’s no big deal” or I just have to “get over it.” Some people would see the way I reacted and laugh or roll their eyes. 

This happens in the horse world as well. Horses are often laughed at, punished, or their feelings are dismissed over a fear they have. Humans aren’t afraid of plastic bags, tarps, or saddles and might think those are silly things to be afraid of.

What would it take for me to get over my fear of spiders? Anyone who thought my fear was silly might think I just need to hold a spider or stay in the car long enough to get beyond my fear. This is a form of desensitization called flooding.

Flooding is a type of exposure therapy in which someone is exposed to their fear full force, and without a way to escape until they stop reacting. Although flooding does work, there are a lot of downsides and risks. Some examples are high levels of distress, exhaustion, increased anxiety and fear in other areas. Flooding can also fail and cause the learner to be more afraid. It is the most unethical form of desensitization and can send the learner into a state of learned helplessness.

If I were to jump right in and hold a big spider, I’m sure I would realize nothing was going to happen. But at what cost? I would probably be screaming, crying, shaking, breathing, heavy, have a very high heart rate and feel sick. Is that something I want to go through? Absolutely not!

If I wanted to get over my fear of spiders, I could do so, in a much more calm, positive, gradual, and non-fear provoking way.

In general, I would start with an increment as small as I needed it to be. So small that I could handle it and not be afraid. I might look at a tiny spider from far away or just a picture of it. Then I might start looking at it from a closer distance or for a longer periods of time, working my way up as I am comfortable. I would then work towards being near bigger spiders and repeating the process of getting comfortable. I wouldn’t move to the next level of intensity until I felt 100% comfortable with the steps prior. The goal is for me to not feel fear.

Let’s use the example of desensitizing a horse to a tarp.

If we took the approach of flooding, we might strap a tarp to the horse or hold the horse with a halter and lead while the handler holds a tarp. Either way, the horse would be unable to escape while being exposed to the tarp. Doing so would likely result in the horse frantically running, bucking, rearing, spinning, and breathing heavily.

It is unnecessary to put a horse through such a traumatic experience in order to get beyond a fear. We could expose the tarp in a small and systematic way to ensure the horse is always confident and below threshold. Generally, at first we might expose the horse to the tarp from a comfortable distance and work on the horse moving closer to the tarp. Then we would add very small movements to the tarp and work on moving it closer to the horse’s body, etc. I would also personally add positive reinforcement and counterconditioning, to make the experience even better for the horse.

We never want to get to a point where we are triggering the horse’s fear. We want the process to look very boring.

A lot of consideration should go into the decision of using flooding as a desensitization technique. There are other, more ethical ways of helping horses through their fears. It is unnecessary to put our horses through such trauma. Instead, we can use forms of desensitization that prioritize the horse's well-being and emotions, not causing any damage to the horse, and actually making it a fun, positive experience.