Laying Down a Horse and Why Desensitizing Works

Is it just me or has anyone else lumped, laying a horse down and teaching a horse to lay down, together? There is a difference. When you lay down a horse you want them to go from being afraid to trusting you in one session. With teaching a horse to lay down, you take your time and you do it over a period of sessions. You don't force the issue. It's like teaching your horse to sidepass. It's just something you want them to know how to do.
I have had no experience laying a horse down. So don't ask me how to do it. I wish I did know how to do it, but I would rather not ruin one of my horses by doing it wrong. I think sometimes it is necessary to lay a horse down. As far as the humanitarian aspect of laying a horse down, I don't know. I've never done it.

So on a slightly related topic I'm going to talk about why desensitizing works. It's actually very interesting. Scientists have figured out something that horsemen have been doing for years. I came across this in a Western Horseman magazine. In the May 2012 issue, page 62. I just thought I'd share it.
There's a structure in the horse's brain called the amygdala which is involved in a horse's fear responses. It's connected to the hypothalamus, which acts like a thermostat to reset the nervous system after the amygdala responds. When one part of the horse's brain reacts with fear another part releases chemicals to bring the brain back to a balanced state.
When we work with horses we gradually apply more pressure so that it gives the hypothalamus time to reset the horse's brain. After the brain is reset it will take more to scare the horse. This is a process called "down regulation." ... or desensitizing.

This article talking about the chemicals in a horse's brain is all about laying a horse down, so I'll just add this little bit from the article as to why laying a horse down works.
When a horse is layed down it is an extremely vulnerable position for a horse to be in. He's in the position he would be in if a predator were eating him. So the horse thinks he's going to die, the amygdala kicks in, nothing happens, and the hypothalamus resets the horse's nervous system. Vwallah you now have a horse that believes nothing will happen when he's faced with anything less than a near death situation.

Interesting, right?,
Lyida Johnson