Can Horses and Dogs Get PTSD?

My sister's dog Lana

Approximately 5% of the military dogs serving in the US armed forces suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  If the dog cannot be cured, it will be retired from active service. 

Signs of PTSD disorder in military canines is shown by a variety of symptoms such as listless behavior, barking at gunfire that the  dog previous met with silence, and running away from certain situations.

"More serious cases will receive what Dr. Burghardt calls "desensitization counter-conditioning," which entails exposing the dog at a safe distance to a sight or sound that might trigger a reaction—a gunshot, a loud bang or a vehicle, for instance. If the dog does not react, it is rewarded, and the trigger—"the spider in a glass box," Dr. Burghardt calls it—is moved progressively closer until the dog is comfortable with it."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/military-dogs-taking-xanax-receiving-therapy-canine-ptsd-222819057.html

So what does this have to do with horses you might ask?  Temple Grandin, an animal behaviorist, in her book Animals Make Us Human discusses how rough training methods may ruin a horse.  She compares "sacking out" or the exposure of a horse to all manner of new things all at once to overwhelming or "flooding" a horse with new stimuli.  All horses react with fear--some adjust but some do not and are traumatized.  As Grandin states:

"It's a horrible thing to do to a horse.  The hot-blooded Arab-type horse, you traumatize and wreck.   I think you get a post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) effect, similar to a traumatized war veteran.  A horse treated this way can't be ridden.  A less reactive horse, like a quarter horse from a bloodline that's really calm, can take it, but it's still a bad thing to do."  (p. 108)

Grandin recommends habituating horses gradually to new and strange stimuli similar to what Dr. Burghardt calls "desensitization counter-conditioning."

Source: Grandin, T.  (2009).  Animals Make Us Human, First Mariner Book, NY.

Of Monsters and Men--Icelandic Band

My fellow Bad Cowgirl Lora send me a link to an up and coming Icelandic band called "Of Monsters and Men." With the amount of great music coming out of Iceland, it seems like its entire population must be in a band. This indy-folk band has gotten a lot of attention for its music. The vocals of the song "Little Talks" are performed by Ragnar Þórhallsson and Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdótti. This has to be one of the most awesomely weird and beautiful videos that I have seen in a long time. (You may need to sit through a commercial before the video starts.)

There is one Icelandic horse in the video (see if you can spot it). And there are certainly a lot of references to Icelandic trolls, monsters, giant sea monsters, volcanoes, floating glaciers, and flying Viking ships. The video makes you wonder what is going on in the artists' heads.

This band is touring the US during March, April, and May 2012. Here is the schedule:
http://ofmonstersandmenmusic.tumblr.com/
3-2-12 update The more I listen to this band Of Monsters and Men, the more I love the music.  Their album "My Head is an Animal" is due to be released in the US some time in 2012.  As we wait for the album, you can listen to 5 songs Dirty Paws, Lakehouse, Six Weeks, Little Talks, and Love Love Love on the broad cast by NPR. 

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=143197790&m=143212295

As the NPR reviewers state: "Maybe some of us cheated a little bit on our Top 10 lists for 2011. A handful of KEXP DJs and staff just couldn't help including Of Monsters and Men's debut album, My Head Is an Animal, even though it's not due out in the U.S. until next year. But you can hardly blame us: A year ago, we tried to warn everyone that, with its catchy melodies, sing-along choruses, rich orchestration and heartfelt lyrics, the young group would blow up soon enough. We've been waiting for Of Monsters and Men's debut ever since."

"Of Monsters and Men's appeal is no great secret. Its members combine the anthemic exuberance and homespun theatricality of bands like Arcade Fire and Edward Sharpe & Magnetic Zeros. Their style, which also shares a strong male/female dynamic, is typically Icelandic: They combine earnestness and aptitude, which makes for irony-free, feel-good music that's nearly impossible to resist. Just listen to the songs that follow, particularly "Lakehouse" and "Little Talks," and we guarantee you'll be hooked."

Here is a link to Of Monsters and Men's web page:

http://ofmonstersandmenmusic.tumblr.com/

The Great Escape

Once again, horses prove that they are smarter than we think.  Here Bruno and friend escape.  How do horses figure this stuff out?  Once again thanks to Lora for finding this video.