The science of safety in horse training
Understanding how the nervous system works isn’t just a human psychology topic; it’s central to horsemanship, rider development, and equine welfare. Polyvagal theory, developed by Professor Stephen Porges, offers one of the clearest scientific frameworks for why horses learn on some days, shut down on others, and thrive in the hands of some riders but struggle with others. For trainers and riders, it may be one of the most important concepts you haven’t yet consciously applied.
The vagus nerve
At the heart of polyvagal theory is the vagus nerve. This nerve is a long, wandering nerve that runs from the brainstem down through the throat, heart, lungs and digestive system. It is the main pathway of the parasympathetic nervous system, the system responsible for calm, connection and recovery. This system acts as the body’s brake. It slows the heart rate, deepens the breathing, softens the muscles and allows relaxation. This is why the vagus nerve and the corresponding polyvagal theory are so important to our work with our horses.
The opposite system is the sympathetic system, which is responsible for the fight, flight or freeze response. This is the body’s accelerator, and when active, it increases heart rate, muscle tension, alertness and reactivity. In horses, sympathetic activation looks like high head carriage, a tight back and rushing or spooking. Riders with high sympathetic activation, on the other hand, may brace, hold their breath and grip with their legs or hands. It’s easy to see from this, that the parasympathetic state is the preferred one for both rider and horse in terms of welfare, health and also performance.
What is the polyvagal system?
At its core, the polyvagal system describes how the body – human or equine – responds to safety and danger. It explains how both species shift through three physiological states:
- Ventral vagal state – ‘safe, social, connected’
- The horse feels calm, curious, and able to learn
- The rider’s aids make sense; the horse can process information
- Muscles are available; breathing is steady; posture lifts
- This is the learning zone
- Sympathetic state – ‘fight or flight’
- Heart rate increases
- Startle responses rise
- Horses become reactive, tense, and tight in the back
- Rider aids feel ‘louder’ even when they are not
- Thinking disappears and instinct takes over
- Dorsal vagal state – ‘shutdown or freeze’
- The horse appears quiet but is internally overwhelmed
- You may see bracing, learned helplessness, or dissociation
- They go through the motions without true softness or engagement
- This state is often misread as ‘lazy,’ ‘stubborn,’ or ‘unwilling’
Horses move between these states all the time. The goal of good horsemanship is not to avoid stress entirely, but to help the horse return to the safe, connected state quickly and consistently.
Why this matters in training
Learning cannot occur in stress
A horse in fight-or-flight cannot use the thinking part of the brain. It doesn’t matter how talented the rider is – no horse learns a new movement, releases its back, or finds balance when its nervous system is overwhelmed. When your horse seems to have ‘forgotten’ something you have practised before, it’s worth questioning what state they were in when they learnt it.
Posture mirrors state
A hollow back, fixed poll, wide eyes, and tight jaw are not just ‘resistance’; they are nervous-system responses.
Similarly, a loose tail, soft ribs, swinging back, and a lifted base of the neck indicate a horse in the ventral state, who is available for connection and learning.
Contact begins with safety
Good contact is impossible without a regulated nervous system. A tense horse cannot chew the bit, open the throatlatch, or follow the rein. A shutdown horse will fake connection but remain braced through the body.
Ultimately, true connection is not created by the hand; it emerges from the nervous system first.
Your nervous system affects the horse’s
Your nervous system plays a crucial role in this system because horses co-regulate with the people and conspecifics around them. That means your internal state becomes their internal state.
A tense rider creates a tense horse.
A shut-down rider creates a shut-down horse.
A regulated rider allows the horse to return to safety.
Everything you feel in your body – anxiety, frustration, softness, confidence – is transmitted through your:
- breathing
- heart rate
- posture
- muscle tone
- timing
- touch
- intention
This is why some riders appear talented with so-called ‘difficult’ horses. It is not because they are better riders but because they are better regulated, and allow the horse to feel safe.
How horses try to regulate themselves
Understanding the behaviours horses use to self-soothe helps riders choose training strategies that support the nervous system rather than fight against it. It also allows riders to give their horses time to process and down-regulate to ensure optimal performance.
Common self-regulating behaviours include:
- sniffing or investigating
- licking and chewing
- blinking or head-lowering
- seeking contact with the herd
- rhythmic movement (walking, pattern work)
- rolling
- grazing
- regulated breathing through the nose
- soft snorts
These are not ‘distractions.’ They are neurophysiological resets that bring the horse back into the learning zone.
Polyvagal theory in practical training
Here are some practical steps you can take to train your horse in line with polyvagal principles:
- Lower the pressure before asking for more
If the horse is already in a sympathetic state, adding more leg, more rein, or more ‘correction’ escalates the system. Instead, exhale, soften your body, and return to something easy; then try again.
- Use patterned movement to regulate
Circles, serpentines, and figures of eight support nervous-system recovery because rhythm and repetition calm the vagus nerve.
- Reward with releases that lower arousal
A long rein, a small pause, or simply scratching the wither (where the parasympathetic fibres run) signals safety far more effectively than verbal praise.
- Notice shut-down as well as tension
A horse that ‘does nothing’ may be overwhelmed, not lazy. Look for lack of blinking, rigid breathing, fixed posture, or going through the motions without emotional engagement.
- Use connection, not dominance
Training rooted in threat, force or relentless pressure drives the horse into sympathetic or dorsal states. Training based on clarity, fair boundaries and emotional attunement keeps the horse in ventral regulation, which is where real progress happens.
The rider’s self-regulation toolkit
To bring the horse into a safe state, the rider must access their own feeling of safety first. Effective tools include:
- slow, full exhalations
- grounding through the feet
- softening the jaw and tongue
- lowering the shoulders
- widening peripheral vision
- slowing hand movement
- acknowledging emotion rather than suppressing it
A regulated rider becomes an anchor point – a biological ‘safe place’ – that the horse can return to again and again.
What this means for welfare
Polyvagal theory brings welfare and performance into the same conversation. A dysregulated horse is not only harder to train; he is more prone to:
- muscle tension
- ulcers
- behavioural issues
- soundness problems
- conflict behaviours
- shutdown and learned helplessness
A regulated horse is:
- physically softer
- mentally available
- emotionally stable
- motivated to learn
- safer in the long term
- biomechanically capable
As you can see from the above, understanding the nervous system of the horse is not then a ‘soft science’, but rather the foundation of ethical, effective horsemanship.
Final thoughts
Polyvagal theory reframes training from ‘how do I make the horse do this?’ to ‘how do I help the horse feel safe enough to offer this?’
When riders learn to recognise these states – in themselves and in their horses – training becomes easier, clearer, more humane and more successful. The breakthroughs become bigger, and the relationship becomes deeper.