Reflex arcs and Voluntary reactions

• 'Reflex reactions in humans are controlled by the reflex arc.' (BBC, undated)
• 'A reflex arc is the nerve pathway which makes such a fast, automatic response possible' (BBC, undated)
• When the safety of an organism demands a very quick response, the signals may be passed directly from a sensory neuron, via a relay neurone, to a motor neurone for instant, unthinking action. This is a reflex action. (BBC, undated)
• It does not matter what you do, you will always react, for example a horse will always lift its foot up if it puts it down on a nail no matter what the horse itself wants to do
• It is a built in behaviour
• Pain inates a response or anything which is uncomfortable - many horses have lost a lot of built in inate responses due to be domesticated and therefore being desensitized. 

Things that can cause fight/flight in horses;

• Predators
• Plastic Bags
• Plant Pots
• Heavy Machinery 
• Birds

Responses which may occur;

• Kicking
• Biting
• Spinning
• Rearing
• Running away
• Backing off

Simple Reflexes which are built in and required for survival include;

• Ability to find food and water
• Ability to find a mate for reproduction
• Ability to find shelter
• Ability to decide whether something is safe/unsafe

Animals can be taught reflexes this is called conditioned reflexes. An example of this is;

• Pavlov conditioned dogs to salivate when he fed them, to do this he had to ring a bell. The dogs began to associate the bell with eating food, this made their bodies associate eating food with salivating which is required when eating. Thus when the bell rang they began salivating. 
• Conditioned reflexes can cause issues in horses - they will learn when they are being fed by associating time of day, the sound of your car arriving at the yard etc. as their time to be fed. When the thing they associate with being fed occurs they get ready to be fed, this may be going to the fence to be brought in to be fed or kicking the stable door. The issue with this is if you are late feeding your horse one day they will begin to build up stomach acid which can cause stomach ulcers. 

• 'The Autonomic Nervous System is part of the Peripheral Nervous System. It controls the involuntary (or automatic) systems. The Autonomic Nervous System has two major systems: Sympathetic and Parasympathetic.
• The Sympathetic Nervous System is the one that governs the "Flight" or "Flight" reaction in a horse. It alerts the horse to danger, stress, or other unpleasant circumstances. The 
  sympathetic nervous system will then send messages to the brain to increase the heart rate, 
  blood pressure, etc to get the horse ready for flight.
• The Parasympathetic Nervous System is the one that governs more pleasant times. These 
  are the times when a horse is resting, sleeping, digesting, and it also governs the body's 
  elimination system. When a horse is really relaxed, it is in it's parasympathetic state. This is 
  great since being relaxed helps to increase blood flow which helps the horse to have a 
  healthier immune system and increases healing.
• The Parasympathetic Nervous System is what we are trying to influence by applying massage and other alternative equine therapies.' (Equine Education Connection, 2008)

• 'Voluntary responses are mainly under conscious control, but some voluntary movements, such as walking, require less conscious attention.' (Aviva, undated)
• 'All voluntary activities involve the brain, which sends out the motor impulses that control movement. These motor signals are initiated by thought and most also involve a response to sensory stimuli. For example, animals use sight and sense of position to help them coordinate the action of walking.' (Aviva, undated)
• 'The sensory impulses that trigger voluntary responses are dealt with in many parts of the brain.' (Aviva, undated)