Trauma-Informed Horsemanship - Episode 8 - Interview with Dr. Steve Peters

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Live on location! Sarah and Dr. Steve meet in person for the latest instalment in this interview series. This chat was filmed in August 2023 and features them sharing about their experience on a private full-day tour of Ute Mountain Tribal Park, before delving further into the topic of trauma in equines and humans. Steve shares about a few of his horses and their histories to help demonstrate how common trauma is in domesticated equines, which underscores the importance of an ethological and nervous system-informed lens in supporting trauma recovery.
The topics that Sarah and Dr. Steve cover include:
*Trauma in horses?
*Defining trauma
*Equine ethology and horses in the wild
*Differences between feral and domesticated horses
*Shock trauma and developmental trauma in humans and equines
*Sustainable, survival, and conservation physiology
*Cues of safety, danger, and life threat in relationship
*Adverse impacts of captivity conditions
*Cognitive bias and self-fulfilling prophecies in horse training and horse keeping methods
*Influence of childhood trauma on beliefs about horses and training methods
*Re-patterning neural networks in equines with trauma
*The difference between gentle capture methods and high stress round ups on mustangs
*Sitting with the discomfort of cognitive dissonance and shame without falling into denial (contraction)
*The empowerment of humility, curiosity, and openness to growth and new information (expansion)
*Normalizing the complexity of ttachment patterns, polarized camps, and relational double binds in the horse world
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Somatic Experiencing® is a method that can help with neuroception and growing capacity to sit with the uncomfortable feelings, sensations, and thoughts associated with cognitive dissonance: traumahealing.org
Brainspotting, EMDR, and/or parts work may also be helpful in this regard.
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Blog post about the polarization and "camps" in the horsemanship world reframed as a trauma response: equusoma.com/o...
Facebook post about fact checking, critical thinking, cognitive dissonance, neuroception, and trauma: / pfbid0n5vtgq6cnajbnjqn...
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Equuscience™ Focus Course: The Neurobiology of Learning
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Equuscience™ Master Class
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