A few days ago I asked a question at a clinic during a lunchtime discussion. It’s a question that I have never heard from other trainers nor had any of the lunchtime crowd come across the question. It made me and I think most people feel uncomfortable. It may make you uncomfortable too, but if you read to the end of this essay you may feel better.
The question is, do horses or can horses suffer from Stockholm syndrome?
According to the Oxford dictionary, “Stockholm syndrome are feelings of trust or affection felt in many cases of kidnapping or hostage-taking by a victim towards a captor”
Not all psychologists believe in Stockholm syndrome, but most do and there have been many reported cases. The most high profile case that I know is Patty Hearst. She was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974. After her capture she became a sympathiser and willingly participated in several crimes with them.
I don’t know if horses can experience Stockholm syndrome. However, I wonder if sometimes we mistake our horse’s willingness, co-operation, trust and even partnership to be an equine version of the response to them being our captives.
When we bring a horse into our lives we make almost all the important decisions in their life. We decide where they will live, how they will live, who their companions will be, what and (often) when they will eat, how they must behave in our company, their reproductive status, etc. Very little is left to the horse to decide. Can this cause a horsey version Stockholm syndrome?
When we see a horse come up to us in the paddock to be caught, is it Stockholm syndrome at work? When our horse shows a willing compliance to be ridden, shod, tied up, trailer loaded, etc, is it Stockholm syndrome at work?
Can we ever know if the horse that shows all the signs of being happy to work with us is really acting out because we are really good at getting along with horses and fulfilling their needs or because we played our Jedi mind games?
If horses can/do suffer Stockholm syndrome, I feel it would be a different phenomena than in humans. I say this because unlike humans, horse live in the moment. They don’t dream or envision what could be. If we move a horse to a different paddock, they don’t dream of the day they can go back their old paddock. Or if we load them into a trailer, they don’t look forward to getting to their destination. That doesn’t mean that horses can’t experience Stockholm syndrome, but it may not be the same as in humans and may even be expressed as very different behaviours than what is seen in humans.
Lastly, does it even matter? We all apply training techniques to change a horse’s behaviour and the relationship we have. If part of the process involves a form of Stockholm syndrome, does it matter? If they are doing well and appear to show minimum stress and anxiety, does it matter? If the outcome is identical whether we use pure good horsemanship or use a bit of Stockholm syndrome, does it matter?
Me with some of our horses. This an example of Stockholm syndrome at work?