b'The Slippery Slope toLearnedHelplessnessISTOCK.COMCHRISTA LEST-LASSERRE, MAJ e Men Fous is a French racehorse whose name didnt go over well in the U.K. Bothered by the vulgarity of the expressionessentially a rude way of saying I dont care, akin to I dont give a damnBritish racing authorities required the 3-year-old fillys owners to change the name to something less offensive. For the rest of the 2019 racing season, the bay Thoroughbred has gone by Je Men Fiche, a similar expression thats closer to I dont give a hoot. While it was the expressions rudeness that upset officials, who seek to keep racing fans happy and spectators engaged, perhaps its meaning heralds a cause. Going by I dont care or I dont give a hoot or I dont give a damn, Je Men Fiche could be seen as spotlighting a serious, and seriously misunder-stood, problem affecting domes-Learn to identify and prevent this negative mental state tic horses around the world. Its the problem of learned helplessnessa mental state in which individuals have learned that no matter what they do, they cant stop or control the bad things that happen to them. They tend to give up the fight, so to speak, and they learn to not care about pain or pressure or deprivation or any other negative event, because they cant reverse it. In a way, those suffering from learned helplessness are saying theres no point or even je men fous. TheHorse.com | The HorseOctober 201917'