lempriere1
New User
Moody horses? Depressed horses?
Seasonal Affective Disorder is a condition where the lack of sunlight causes a body to produce Melatonin, a chemical largely responsible for preparing us to sleep and wind down. Imagine having to work throughout the day in 'sleep mode'. You feel groggy, tired and down right fed up - hands up if you did not feel like that this morning and if not, wait until Wednesday after three days of little sunshine. When we take horses out of their natural environment into a stable, this is what happens and this manifests itself in symptoms such as depression, stress, lack of impulsion and performance, distractions etc.etc. Stress and boredom lead to vices such as weaving, box walking, crib-biting, actions which are less apparent when a horse is outside in a sunny field.
Stressful horses are prone to colic which often presents during the winter months and whilst feeding is obviously a factor for colic, it makes one wonder if the lack of sunshine contributes to this.
The symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder in people include difficulty in concentrating, diminished productivity, fatigue, feeling depressed or sad, irritability, lethargy and withdrawal from social activities. Some of my horses were showing some or all of these symptoms and I began to research the possibility of whether horses suffered from SAD. I found that horses do indeed suffer from SAD and were just as susceptible to the reduction in daylight as humans were.
Here is the technical bit, albeit briefly:
Daylight helps us to produce Serotonin which is an important chemical in the brain known as a neurotransmitter which help nerve cells to work together. The reduction in Serotonin can see a range of body functions being affected, including mood. In the summer we are exposed to more light and when the light passes through the eye into the brain, it triggers the body into producing more Serotonin. The increased Serotonin enables a body to function better with an improved mood. During the winter months however, there is less daylight than during the summer and our Serotonin levels drop. Our bodies' response to less daylight is to produce another chemical, Melatonin which helps us to sleep so in effect, during the winter months we are trying to perform our normal activities when we are actually in 'prepare to sleep' mode. The same applies to horses and that is why we see similar symptoms in our equine friends especially between October and April. In short, the lack of Serotonin and the increase in Melatonin can cause a person or animal to suffer from SAD.
Light is used to bring horses into season but this is using lower strength light sources for a long period of time. The special light boxes used to treat my horses are 10,000 lux and emit the equivalent of a spring morning's sunshine in approximately 20 minutes. My horses love it! It improves their mood, wakes them up - naturally - and improves their performance.
Think about it, we have reached a peak in perfecting our race horses in terms of breeding and diet so apart from individual training and rider techniques, what is there left to improve? A quick boost of light therapy to boost their Serotonin levels should see them work, feeling more awake, less distracted and so much happier. And to top it all - TOTALLY NON INVASIVE DRUG FREE THERAPY!!
Seasonal Affective Disorder is a condition where the lack of sunlight causes a body to produce Melatonin, a chemical largely responsible for preparing us to sleep and wind down. Imagine having to work throughout the day in 'sleep mode'. You feel groggy, tired and down right fed up - hands up if you did not feel like that this morning and if not, wait until Wednesday after three days of little sunshine. When we take horses out of their natural environment into a stable, this is what happens and this manifests itself in symptoms such as depression, stress, lack of impulsion and performance, distractions etc.etc. Stress and boredom lead to vices such as weaving, box walking, crib-biting, actions which are less apparent when a horse is outside in a sunny field.
Stressful horses are prone to colic which often presents during the winter months and whilst feeding is obviously a factor for colic, it makes one wonder if the lack of sunshine contributes to this.
The symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder in people include difficulty in concentrating, diminished productivity, fatigue, feeling depressed or sad, irritability, lethargy and withdrawal from social activities. Some of my horses were showing some or all of these symptoms and I began to research the possibility of whether horses suffered from SAD. I found that horses do indeed suffer from SAD and were just as susceptible to the reduction in daylight as humans were.
Here is the technical bit, albeit briefly:
Daylight helps us to produce Serotonin which is an important chemical in the brain known as a neurotransmitter which help nerve cells to work together. The reduction in Serotonin can see a range of body functions being affected, including mood. In the summer we are exposed to more light and when the light passes through the eye into the brain, it triggers the body into producing more Serotonin. The increased Serotonin enables a body to function better with an improved mood. During the winter months however, there is less daylight than during the summer and our Serotonin levels drop. Our bodies' response to less daylight is to produce another chemical, Melatonin which helps us to sleep so in effect, during the winter months we are trying to perform our normal activities when we are actually in 'prepare to sleep' mode. The same applies to horses and that is why we see similar symptoms in our equine friends especially between October and April. In short, the lack of Serotonin and the increase in Melatonin can cause a person or animal to suffer from SAD.
Light is used to bring horses into season but this is using lower strength light sources for a long period of time. The special light boxes used to treat my horses are 10,000 lux and emit the equivalent of a spring morning's sunshine in approximately 20 minutes. My horses love it! It improves their mood, wakes them up - naturally - and improves their performance.
Think about it, we have reached a peak in perfecting our race horses in terms of breeding and diet so apart from individual training and rider techniques, what is there left to improve? A quick boost of light therapy to boost their Serotonin levels should see them work, feeling more awake, less distracted and so much happier. And to top it all - TOTALLY NON INVASIVE DRUG FREE THERAPY!!
