人与马之间的纽带背后的科学（上篇）

When I was in veterinary school, the phrase “human-animal bond” had not yet been coined. It was acknowledged but barely discussed in my educational experience. Back then, at Murdoch University, in Western Australia, many of us came from a farming and livestock background with the typical “stockman attitude” that the value of an animal is only monetary. At that time, in large animal medicine (cattle, sheep, pigs) it was generally accepted that the expense of treatment was justified up to the monetary value of that animal…. and not one cent more!
当我还是兽医学校的学生时，“人与动物的纽带”（human-animal bond）这个词还未被创造出来。在受教育过程中，我们虽然知道这个纽带的存在，却几乎没有对此做过任何讨论。当时，西澳大利亚的莫道克大学里，大多数学生都来自农场或者有畜牧业背景，我们身上特有的“畜牧场人的做派”让我们视动物的价值等同于货币。当时，在大动物医学（牛，羊，猪）里有个通识，即：治疗开销不能超过动物本身的货币价值……多一分都不行！

However, when it came to horses, many of us were riders and had owned horses since we were children. If a client came into the university clinic with her horse, regardless of whether it was a little child’s pony or a magnificent champion dressage warmblood, we acknowledged the strong bond between the owner and her animal. We understood emotional attachment to a horse because we experienced it ourselves. You could never guess just how much time, money and effort horse owners would spend on surgery and medicine to heal a sick horse, it was very often far more than the monetary value of the animal.
然而，面对马时，我们中的很多人都是骑手，孩童时期就养过马。如果一位客户带着她的马来我们大学的医院，那么无论这是一匹小孩的Pony马，还是一匹极其优秀的盛装舞步冠军温血马，我们都能理解主人和她的动物之间的紧密联系的纽带。正因为自身有深切体会，我们能理解主人和她的马在情感上紧密联系。你永远猜不到，马主为了治愈生病的马能花费多少时间、金钱和精力在手术和药物上，其开销时常远远高于这匹马本身的货币价值。

The work of veterinarians and psychologists now helps us understand that there are multiple ways of thinking about any experience, and how we think about our bond with our horses can have life-changing consequences for the horse, and ourselves. The benefit for the horse is obvious, if you have a deep emotional attachment to your horse you will be more likely to value its life and make decisions that will enhance the animals living conditions, feeding, training and indeed life-saving veterinary medical treatments.  But do we fully understand the benefit for the human?
现在，在兽医和心理学家研究的帮助下，我们能从不同角度看待自己与马之间建立纽带的经历，以及我们之间的纽带如何改变马的一生，改变我们自己的人生。人和马的纽带能为马带来的好处是显而易见的，如果你在情感上深深眷顾你的马，更珍视马的生命，做出的决定能提高马生活境况，创造更好的饲养和训练条件，选择能拯救马生命的兽医治疗方案。然而，我们是否真的理解这个纽给自身带来的益处呢？

What is “it” that makes us want to own a horse, look after a horse, ride him and groom him, interact with him daily and pay for his upkeep? Is it pure selfish “ego” and “showing –off” ” to our peers so they can see how rich or smart we are? Or, is the human benefiting from a conspicuous display of wealth, for example posting on WeChat“ I am flying to New Zealand to buy 15 horses for five million RMB!”
Those who think like that are missing out on the wider and full value of the horse-human bond and the abundance it can bring to a persons life.
到底是什么，让我们希望拥有自己的马，照顾马，骑马，给马刷毛，每天和它互动，为它们的开销买单？仅仅是出于那个自负的“自我”，向同伴“炫耀”自己所拥有的智慧和财富？亦或是显示财富而带来的满足感，例如在微信朋友圈里更新状态“准备飞去新西兰花五百万购买15匹马啦！” ？有这样思维的人，错过了人和马之间更广泛，更有意义的纽带，错过了这个纽带能为我们生命带来更丰富的色彩。

The new field of science we are discussing explores the human-animal bond and is known as “anthrozoology”. It is defined as… “ the human-animal bond is a mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship between people and other animals that is influenced by behaviors that are essential to the health and well-being of both. This includes, but is not limited to, emotional, psychological, and physical interactions with people, other animals, and the environment.”
探索人类和动物之间的纽带的这项新学科被成为“人与动物关系学”。这门学科的定义是“人与动物的纽带是受到行为影响、互惠互利的、互动的关系，对双方的健康和福利都有至关重要的影响。其影响包括但不限于：情感的，生理的，以及人、动物以及环境的互动。”

Understanding how horse-human relationships evolve and how the relationship can be relaxing, fulfilling and healing is what research is revealing.
Psychological studies have proven how interacting with horses helps people become more resilient. Traits connected with resilience include the ability to make future plans and be goal directed, a belief in self, capabilities, strengths/assets, the ability to communicate feelings/thoughts openly, skills in problem solving and the ability to cope effectively with intense emotions and behaviors. No wonder so many parents encourage their children to care for and ride ponies, what parent would not desire this opportunity for growth helping their child to become a successful adult.
这门学科让我们理解人与马关系的发展历程，并揭示了这种关系所带来的放松，满足和治愈。
心理学研究已经证实了与马的互动能帮助人更有适应能力。与适应能力有关的特征有：制定未来的计划，明确的目标，对自我的信仰，能力，实力，能开放的交流自己的感受，解决问题的能力，能有效适应激烈的情绪和行为。难怪如此多的父母鼓励自己的孩子去骑马，谁的父母会不渴求这样能让孩子成长为成功人士。

China is growing and changing fast. Those human characteristics which helped you be successful today may not be the same as the characteristics your children will need to thrive in tomorrows modern China. Resilience and a strong self belief are necessary for success at any age in any culture.
中国正在迅速的成长，变化。那些帮助你们在现今社会成功的特质未必能让你们的后代在未来的现代中国施展拳脚。韧性和强有力的自我信仰无论在任何时代，任何文化，都是成功必不可少的要素。

Horses Can Heal Your Pain
马能治愈你的痛苦

Using animals as therapy is not new:  the ancient Greeks documented the horse's therapeutic value in 600BC and French physician Cassaign concluded in 1875 that equine therapy helped certain neurological disorders. Dolphins were used in the former Soviet Union to treat nervous disorders and rabbits lower stress levels in American old people's homes. By the 1950s British pyscotherapists were exploring the possibilities of horse therapy for all types of abnormal behaviors in people.
在治疗中运用动物并不是现代创新：据古希腊文献记载，公元前600年就已经存在“马疗法”了；1875年，法国的医师Cassaign总结到“马疗法”能帮助治疗某些神经系统疾病。前苏联就曾经用海豚治疗神经紊乱，美国老人院用兔子降低应激激素水平。在1950年代，英国的精神治疗师探索了马疗法治疗各种人类异常行为的可能性。

We’ve moved a long way in the last 20 years since I graduated from Veterinary School, from intuition-based ideas about the bond, to anecdotal, and now to evidence-based research about the understanding and value of the bond.
从我至兽医大学毕业至今，20多年过去了，关于人与马之间纽带的理解和价值的相关理论研究也在不断深入，从最初的模糊的直觉，传闻，到如今有事实依据的研究。

It stands to reason that the connection between humans and companion animals including cats, dogs, horses, rabbits, birds and even fish is growing. After all, how else to explain the multi-billion dollar industry that has arisen around pet products. In fact, it’s a $55.5 billion industry in the USA. That’s bigger than the GDP of most countries in the world.
人类与“同伴动物”之类的联系在增长，同伴动物包括：猫，狗，马，兔子，鸟，甚至鱼。除此之外，我们何以解释这迅猛发展的价值上亿的宠物产品业。实际上，在美国这个行业价值555亿美元，高于世界上大多数国家的GDP。

The evidence of the health-related benefits of the bond (for humans) is growing too. In March 2013, the American Heart Association approved a statement on pet ownership and cardiovascular risk, and subsequently published it in its journal Circulation. The bottom line? Pet ownership, particularly dog ownership, is probably associated with decreased cardiovascular disease risk. I suspect horse ownership has even a better association as people who ride stay fit and healthy with the exercise they get from their horses.
有关人与动物纽带对健康带来好处的证据不断在增加。2013年3月，美国心脏病协会就批准了一项声明：拥有宠物与心血管风险，该声明随后被刊发在其期刊中。其本质内容是什么？ 拥有宠物，特别是狗，或能降低心血管疾病风险。我推测，拥有马的影响或许更深远，因为骑马的人，因为和马一起运动，变得更健美和健康。

Incredibly, companion animal ownership may even have a favorable impact on cancer rates. There are limited studies, but we do know that one cancer risk is depression. People with animals tend to feel better and less depressed. Horse owners are forced to go outside themselves to interact with their animals, and that may help stave off depression.  
令人难以置信的是，以动物为伴或许对癌症率有利好影响。相关研究有限，但是我们确实知道，抑郁是癌症发病率的诱因之一。有动物作伴的人自我感觉更好，出现抑郁的比率更小。马主们“被迫”去户外和自己的马互动，该行动或能赶走抑郁。

Why Did Humans and Animals Develop This Bond?
人和动物之间的纽带是为何产生的？

The human-animal bond is important for many reasons. When people started keeping dogs ten thousand years ago, they became bonded to them, we can’t say it wasn’t planned; it’s something that just happens. Apart from good vibes, the fact is, the bond is beneficial to all involved. Dogs ate food scraps when they started hanging out with us back in the caveman days. Later on, horses became important for our nomadic ancestors to move from place to place and the bond developed through co-dependence. Ask a Mongloian herdsman what his life would be like without his ponies, very different indeed.
人和动物之间的纽带从多方面看都是重要的。一万多年前，当人类开始驯养狗的时候，虽然是计划外的产物，但纽带就这么自然而然的产生了。实际上，纽带不仅让人感觉好，对双方都是有利的。在原始人时期，狗跟着人类以吃到人们的餐后剩饭。随后，对我们不断迁徙的游牧祖先来说，马变得越来越重要，在这种合作关系中，人和马的纽带产生了。去问问蒙古牧民，假如离开了马，他们的生活将有怎样的变化，天差地别。

Astonishing examples of the bond between humans and animals include service dogs for the disabled. These partnerships have been around for years where dogs assist adults with physical disabilities, alert the deaf and hard-of-hearing to important sounds, and generally enhance independence for children and adults with physical, cognitive and developmental disabilities.
关于人和动物之间纽带的例子实在不胜枚举，包括残障人士与服务犬。数年来，服务犬协助肢体残障者、为听觉障碍者发出重要的警告，帮助儿童以及生理障碍、认知障碍、或者发育障碍的成人增加独立能力。

Horses Can Read Humans       
马能阅读人类

The sensitivity of horses to human emotion, to tiny signs of facial expression and body language, is well documented. In the early 20th century, a horse known as “Clever Hans” became a celebrity in Berlin and around the world when it was shown he could apparently perform complex mathematics. His owner, a maths teacher called Wilhelm von Osten, would ask Hans questions such as “If the first of the month is a Wednesday, what is the date of the following Monday?” to which Hans would tap his hoof six times, or “What is the square root of 16?” to which Hans would tap four.
马对人类的情绪，面部表情的细微变化和肢体语言很敏感，对此我们有丰富的记录。在20世纪初期，有一匹名叫Clever Hans的马因为能够做复杂的数学题而在柏林家喻户晓甚至走向世界。它的主人，数学老师Wilhelm von Osten先生会问Hans一些数学问题，例如“假如一个月的第一天是周三，那么下周一是几号？”，Hans会用马蹄点地6次；“16开平方后等于多少？”，Hans会用马蹄点地4次。

Hans’s feats made the front cover of The New York Times in 1904, and his fame led to an investigation by sceptics. It was found that Hans answered the questions almost as accurately when others, not just von Osten, asked them.
Hans惊人的数学能力让它在1904年登上了纽约时代杂志的封面，怀疑论者也因此开展了调查。人们发现，Hans不光能准确的回答主人Wilhelm von Osten先生的提问，还能回答其他任何人的提问。

Eventually, the explanation was provided by Oskar Pfungst, a psychologist. He noticed that Hans’s success rate fell slightly when the questioner was further away, and plummeted to almost zero when the questioner was hidden behind a screen.
最终，心理学家Oskar Pfungst博士为我们提供了答案。他注意到，当提问者所在的位置相对较远时，Hans的准确率会有轻微的下降；当提问者藏在遮挡物背后时，Hans的准确率则骤降为零。

Dr Pfungst paid special attention to the behaviour of the human questioner. He spotted that the human’s body language, breathing and facial expressions all changed very subtly during the performance, with tension rising slightly each time Hans tapped his hoof. When Hans tapped the right number, the questioner relaxed slightly, which Hans apparently took as the signal to stop.
Pfungst博士特别留意到提问者的肢体行为。他指出，在表演过程中，人们的身体语言，呼吸，面部表情都有相当微妙的变化，紧张程度每上升一点，Hans就用马蹄点地一次。Hans马蹄点地的次数正确时，提问者就稍微放松一点，于是Hans就立刻停止马蹄点地的行为。

So Hans wasn’t an equine maths genius. But he was, as are many other horses, a remarkably intuitive detector of subtle human signs. It has been suggested that the horse – a social, herd animal – detects moods and intentions of other horses through similar signs.
因此，hans并不是一匹具有数学天分的马。但是，和别的很多马一样，它是一个相当优秀的人类微行为观察者。研究认为，作为群居动物，马通过相似的方式观察自己同伴的心情和意图。



下篇预告：

有关人与马纽带的国际慈善组织。
正在转变的观念
人和马的纽带价值多少？
兽医能做的有效之事
人与动物之间要建立紧密联系的纽带，有哪四个最重要的组成部分？
产生并维持人和动物强的紧密纽带过程中有哪些极其困难之处？




来源：关于马的一切——Dr.K的小课堂