In human bilateral eye movement therapy and bilateral body tapping therapy, the patient is asked to envision a new outcome for his or her trauma during a series of visualizations and verbalizations guided by the therapist. We bypass the language overlay in horses altogether, which is a decided advantage in reaching the horse’s fear. Humans can do many disservices with language during therapy, not the least of which is lying about the situation. What we are asking the horse to do is to take out his old slide memory and replace it with a new one. Why is this so?
Humans think in videotape format and that’s why we can replay, rewind, edit, create new endings and perform leaps of imagination. A horse is a pattern recognizer, perhaps the best in the animal kingdom, and he analyzes each situation in relation to an exact or similar memory in his mental filing cabinet. Let’s see, the last time I saw a big off road vehicle whiz by me I spooked and ran. That motorbike sure looks like an off roader to me. Outta here! The point of comparison (slide memory) is what makes him spook. It’s what’s kept him alive for untold ages in a world filled with predators. Lucky for us, when we give him a new point of comparison with ESCT, the old slide is lost quickly. The old behavior then extinguishes because the new comparison is embedded through integration after ESCT sessions. Let’s see, the last time I saw an off roader I calmed myself because this two-legged was tapping me as it came by. Let’s just stay right here and watch as that noisy thing passes me by.
In humans, with the use of language to define our world and our identities, we bring a big egoic legacy into therapy with us. Many people are in therapy at the behest of family, not of their own free will. Others don’t want to lose their identity such as it is – warts and all. “Who will I be if I give up my neuroses? Again, lucky for us, horses don’t ask these questions or have these ego attachments. They simply want to feel good and belong to the herd, so their first imperative is to find homeostasis – to seek the high ground where they feel good. ESCT does this for them quickly. They have nothing to lose, only their fear, which they are more than willing to give up.
