SCIENCE BEHIND
Equine Hanna Somatics® (EHS)
What is POSTURE?
Abnormal or Maladaptive Compensatory Posture
Posture is an unconsciously mediated adaptive process of the nervous system that organizes the body as best it can to remain upright and in equilibrium against gravity and environmental factors, moment by moment, within the range of motion allowed by the current levels of resting myofascial tone. (Mayer 2013)
As horses adapt to their environment, they learn to keep various muscles habitually contracted, creating persistent areas of elevated resting myofascial tonus (aka tension).
It is this persistent tension that pulls the horse out of his or her natural alignment, creates postural patterns, and negatively impacts movement, soundness and well-being.
And once it's learned, it becomes the 'new normal' default posture that is maintained by involuntarily mediated motor output coming from the brain stem...
PHOTOS: Horses who presented with various examples of the characteristic maladaptive compensatory habitual postures typically reversible with Equine Hanna Somatics® Education.
REFERENCES
Cacciatore, T. W., Anderson, D. I., & Cohen, R. G. (2024). Central mechanisms of muscle tone regulation: implications for pain and performance. Frontiers in neuroscience, 18, 1511783. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2024.1511783
Criswell, E. & Mayer, A. (2006-2025) Equine Hanna Somatics® Professional Training Program Manual
Hanna, T. (1988) Somatics - Reawakening the Mind’s Control of Movement, Flexibility and Health. Da Capo Press
The PROBLEM
Chronic tension is a natural adaptive response to stress, trauma and repetitive motion. Manual therapy, stretching and strengthening or conscious efforts at controlling posture or 'relaxing' do not address the centrally controlled 🧠 nervous system complexities underlying muscle tone...(Cacciatore et al. 2024)
Vets, bodyworkers, physiotherapists, riders and trainers have always known relaxation and 'releases' were essential, but they were impossible to define, explain or access on demand. UNTIL NOW.
What is PANDICULATION?
Pandiculation, nature's postural reset.
Pandiculation is a natural behavior that contributes to the development and maintenance of a horse's neuromuscular integrity and mind-body integration at all ages and stages of life.
All animals spontaneously pandiculate, typically after a period of inactivity like sleeping or being confined.
Pandiculation can be done standing or laying down (ie. recumbent), and looks like a symmetrical full-body stretch, often accompanied by a yawn - or it can involve just one or two limbs at a time, or one limb and the neck, or wing… there are many variations on the ways different animals pandiculate.
Foals even pandiculate in their mother’s womb, and have been observed pandiculating up to 80 times per day after being born, as soon as on their 3rd day of life!
PHOTO: Aged Arabian mare demonstrating a spontaneous pandiculation reflex.
REFERENCES
A.F. Fraser, Pandiculation: the comparative phenomenon of systematic stretching, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Volume 23, Issue 3, 1989, Pages 263-268, ISSN 0168-1591, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0168159189901172?via%3Dihub
Bertolucci L. F. (2011). Pandiculation: nature's way of maintaining the functional integrity of the myofascial system?. Journal of bodywork and movement therapies, 15(3), 268–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2010.12.006
McGreevy, P. (2012). Equine Behavior, A Guide for Veterinarians and Equine Scientists (2nd ed.) Saunders Elsevier
The SOLUTION
Dr. Eleanor Criswell Ed.D. created Equine Hanna Somatics® (EHS) - a hands-on method of helping horses change their own default posture by resetting their resting myofascial tonus (aka chronic tension) back to NORMAL NEUTRAL LEVELS.
EHS is horse-centric somatic education based on the principles of basic neuroscience and the natural tendency of horses to pandiculate.
VOLUNTARY PANDICULATION
EHS is Pandiculation ON-Demand
Instead of treating the horses body manually, we invite the horse to actively participate in the EHS movements, which allows us to work directly with the root-cause of most muscular tension - the brain and the way it organizes the body for movement.
By working WITH the horse's brain to engage the Pandicular Response on-demand, we can access the existing pathways and programs of the horse's nervous system to efficiently target areas of habitual tension - and facilitate the horse in normalizing them from the inside.
Equine Hanna Somatics® is the only system that teaches you how to safely and reliably harness the power of Pandiculation to help horses effect rapid and permanent changes to their own baseline levels of muscle tension.
ILLUSTRATION: ©2013 Horse Brain by Barbara Chasteen, from Equine Hanna Somatics - Session 1 (introductory course)
REFERENCES:
Criswell, E. (2021) How Eleanor Criswell Created Equine Hanna Somatics (originally published 1997, Somatics Magazine: Journal of the Bodily Arts and Sciences) https://blog.equinehannasomatics.org/post/creating-equine-hanna-somatics
Hanna, T. (1990) Clinical Somatic Education: A New Discipline in the Field of Healthcare. Somatics Magazine: Journal of the Bodily Arts and Sciences, 4-10.
Before we can accurately assess conformation, asymmetry, soundness, strength or behavioral issues, we must identify and address the involuntary habitual tension that is pulling the horse out of alignment and creating the persistent postural deviations, functional weakness and crookedness everyone is trying to correct.
Characteristic Equine Postural Presentations
The most common maladaptive compensatory postures are caused by habituated stress-responses, which typically present in one of three easily recognizable postural patterns:
The Green Light Reflex
The Green Light Posture shows up when a horse is startled, afraid or excited, and is commonly known as "fight or flight." This is the Startle/Action Response.
Habitual contractions above the vertebral column produce spinal extension, downward pressure on the thorax, a camped out limb position, and...
The Red Light Reflex
The Red Light Posture shows up when a horse is withdrawing from their reality, usually because they cannot escape confinement or pain, and is commonly referred to as "shut down" or "introverted." This is the Withdrawal Response.
Habitual contractions below the vertebral column produce spinal flexion, a camped under limb position, and...
The Trauma Reflex
The Trauma/Asymmetry Posture (ie. crookedness) is often mistaken for laterality or "natural asymmetry" and it shows up when a horse is contracting the muscles on one side of their body more strongly than the other. This is an Antalgic (pain-avoidance) Response involving the withdrawal and crossed-extensor reflexes that becomes habituated, or is learned from repetitive motion or asymmetrical bracing...
"The role of Equine Hanna Somatics® is to help a horse's brain recognize inefficient and unconscious muscle contractions that are no longer useful, so they can regain conscious control over their own muscles and, therefore, also regain access to their full range of motion, comfort, strength and endurance.”
- Alissa Mayer, Director of the EHS Professional Training Program
BENEFITS
Case Studies and Published Research
Cognitive Enhancement
Athletic Performance
Injury Prevention
Real-life stories and studies that show the benefits of Hanna Somatic Education on body & mind.
Stretching Horses vs. Voluntary Pandiculation
Even though some of the somatic exercises we do in EHS can look similar to what many bodyworkers, physiotherapists, chiropractors, vets and trainers do or recommend as 'stretches' - Voluntary Pandicul... ...more
Neurophysiology ,What is Equine Hanna Somatics? &Stretching
November 25, 2025•5 min read
Pandiculation vs. Stretching for Horses
Pandiculation is not a 'stretch' but an active process inside the nervous system of the animal... ...more
History of EHS ,Neurophysiology Hanna Somatics (human) &Stretching
April 19, 2025•6 min read
What is the Stretch Reflex (myotatic reflexes)?
Golgi Tendon Organs (GTO) & Stretch Reflexes: What are they and how do we work with them in Hanna Somatics? ...more
Neurophysiology ,Stretching
February 23, 2025•11 min read
EHS is not something that can be done TO a horse by the practitioner, but is a voluntary activity the horse engages in - a conversation the horse has WITH their own nervous system.
GET THE INTRODUCTORY ONLINE COURSE:
Equine Hanna Somatics - Session 1
Equine Hanna Somatics® is the only system that teaches you how to harness the powerful natural reflex of Pandiculation to help horses effect rapid and semi-permanent changes to their own baseline levels of muscle tension - from within.
Disclaimer: Equine/Canine/Human Hanna Somatics is not bodywork or manual therapy, and is not a diagnostic or treatment tool. The information included on this website and in any affiliated programs is is intended for educational purposes only and is not meant to take the place of professional veterinary or medical advice, may not be current, and is subject to change without notice. We encourage all members of the community to seek guidance from a licensed veterinarian, physician or allied healthcare practitioner regarding specific medical concerns or questions about your own or your animal’s health.
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