Is There Such Thing as a Highly Sensitive Horse?

Is it possible that some horses, like people, are born with a highly sensitive nervous system?
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Is There Such Thing as a Highly-Sensitive Horse?
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Q: With people, Dr. Elaine Aron (MA, PhD, a psychologist who founded the study of the temperament trait high sensitivity) has done groundbreaking work on the highly sensitive person (HSP). She believes that some animals, like people, are born with wiring such that the nervous system is extremely sensitive. Do you think this is true for horses? —Lisa, via email

A: Variation in sensitivity has been a topic of casual discussion among animal behaviorists over the last couple of decades, especially since Dr. Aron and others wrote all those popular books about the concept in people.

I don’t think there is any doubt that individual animals, like people, vary considerably in their innate sensitivity and reactivity to stimuli, as well as their ability to recognize subtle details. With advances in DNA analysis, I am certain there soon will be hard evidence for the genetic basis of this in mammals in general, and probably confirmation of it in horses. But not all characteristics of the HSP seem to fit with horses. For example, one of the characteristics of the HSP is the need to get away from other people, noises, and activity. For horses, the need to be away from other horses is not natural. If anything, more sensitive horses seem to do better with company than alone

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Sue M. McDonnell, PhD, is a certified applied animal behaviorist and the founding head of the equine behavior program at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. She is also the author of numerous books and articles about horse behavior and management.

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