Are you Focused, or “On the Muscle”?

There's an old racehorse term that I find helpful in describing human behavior as well as equine. A horse is said to be “on the muscle” when he's ready to race. His adrenaline is pumping and he knows something big is about to happen.

He pulls his body up to its full height, and he's ready to react to the slightest stimulation. If you are leading him and don't know what you're doing, you can end up provoking (and often losing) a big fight.

But good trainers know how to finesse an excited horse through the nervous stage. They want him eager to run. But they also want him well controlled so that he doesn't get hurt or hurt someone else. They don't want him to use up his energy by fussing or fighting on the way to the starting gate. Each horse is different, but winning the race requires being fast and focused.

I've noticed that many people operate on the muscle, too. They may equate heightened alertness with a sense of being in control or being on top of things. High levels of adrenaline and related stress hormones make them feel more powerful and better able to deal with whatever comes their way. Perhaps that's part of the attraction with expresso lattes and similar stimulants.

Nothing wrong with having an expresso. But as with the racehorse, just getting revved up won't get you where you want to go.

Here's an important piece to understand about nervousness. The nervous horse or person is trying to take in too much information. He tries to pick up on every little sound or movement. It's easy to see this in a spooky horse or in a hyper dog who has to jump off the bed and bark every time a squirrel drops a nut in the backyard. To the person or animal in that situation, more stimulation seems to be the right thing.

Experienced trainers know that the answer is often to limit stimulation or distractions by repeating familiar routines and sticking to one thing until the horse settles into a rhythm. People can use the same system as well as any number of other calming or stress-relieving techniques.

The important thing is to recognize when you are on the muscle, and focus that energy so that you're not all hyped up but left behind at the starting gate.