Horse Brain, Human Brain
The Neuroscience of Horsemanship
Description
An eye-opening game-changer of a book that sheds new light on how horses learn, think, perceive, and perform, and explains how to work with the horse's brain instead of against it.
In this illuminating book, brain scientist and horsewoman Janet Jones describes human and equine brains working together. Using plain language, she explores the differences and similarities between equine and human ways of negotiating the world. Mental abilities--like seeing, learning, fearing, trusting, and focusing--are discussed from both human and horse perspectives. Throughout, true stories of horses and handlers attempting to understand each other--sometimes successfully, sometimes not--help to illustrate the principles.
Horsemanship of every kind depends on mutual interaction between equine and human brains. When we understand the function of both, we can learn to communicate with horses on their terms instead of ours. By meeting horses halfway, we achieve many goals.
- We improve performance.
- We save valuable training time.
- We develop much deeper bonds with our horses.
- We handle them with insight and kindness instead of force or command.
- We comprehend their misbehavior in ways that allow solutions.
- We reduce the human mistakes we often make while working with them.
Instead of working against the horse's brain, expecting him to function in unnatural and counterproductive ways, this book provides the information needed to ride with the horse's brain. Each principle is applied to real everyday issues in the arena or on the trail, often illustrated with true stories from the author's horse training experience. Horse Brain, Human Brain offers revolutionary ideas that should be considered by anyone who works with horses.
About this Author
Janet Jones, PhD, applies brain research to the training of horses and riders. She earned her Ph.D. from UCLA and taught the neuroscience of perception, language, memory, and thought for 23 years. Janet trained horses at a large stable for many years, and later ran a successful horse training business of her own. She has schooled hundreds of green or difficult horses and competed in hunter, jumper, halter, reining, and western pleasure disciplines.
Reviews
"Dr. Janet Jones has written the book the horse world has been waiting for: Horse Brain, Human Brain. It is a game changer." --Tik Maynard, Trainer, Eventer, and Author of In the Middle Are the Horsemen
"You need this book. Whether you have spent your entire lifetime around horses, or just patronize a local barn, or even only are curious about the horses you see standing in a field as you drive past-this authoritative and reader-friendly book will help you get to know horses. We all need this information." --Wendy Williams, Author of The Horse: The Epic History of Our Noble Companion and The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World's Favorite Insect
"Horse Brain, Human Brain gets right at the 'understanding' part of things, because until our brains grasp what the horse's brain grasps so differently, it is easy to think the horse is saying, 'No,' when what he is really saying is, 'I don't get what it is you want.' This book explains the difference." --Denny Emerson, USEA Hall-of-Fame Inductee and Author of Know Better to Do Better and How Good Riders Get Good
"For all my equestrian life I have lived off the statement 'Know your horse,' not only as a species but as an individual. In Horse Brain, Human Brain the author's understanding of this principle is abundantly clear. The last chapter of her book should be read first, last, and then read again. It's a wonderful summary of horsemanship." --Eric Smiley, FBHS, Olympic Equestrian, FEI Judge, and Author of Two Brains, One Aim
"Horse Brain, Human Brain: The Neuroscience of Horsemanship completes my trifecta of horsemanship references, which includes Tom Dorrance's True Unity and Ray Hunt's Think Harmony with Horses. Dr. Jones' book presents facts that are supported by real-time scientific research. It is written so perfectly that virtually anyone can use it as a tool to understand how horses view the world. It's a must for professional farriers to keep in your home office and another for your truck." --American Farrier Journal
"If there was ever a book whose time has come, it has to be HORSE BRAIN HUMAN BRAIN by Janet Jones, PhD. Jones is a cognitive scientist who applies brain research to the training of horses and riders by using the principles of working with horses at the neurological level, that internal space where the brains of two different species interact. ...The book is an absolute gem of thoughtful, intelligent observations about the complexities of cross-species communication." --Horse Journals
"I was expecting to need a scientific dictionary to read this book, but in fact, it read brilliantly, really easy to understand without having previously studied any kind of equine science. When it says it's written in plain language, you can believe it. There is even a convenient glossary at the back for quick reference. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I was drawn into the fascinating facts and managed to finish the whole book in just a few days.... I'll definitely be recommending this one to my horsey friends at the barn." --Horsemanship Journal
"It is difficult to convey just how much I adore this book! I can only imagine that I would have made far fewer mistakes along the way, had I been armed initially with the information packed into this book." --The Literate Equine
"This book is a welcome addition to the world of horses, and will no doubt have horse owners changing up some of their own behaviors and expectations around their horses, and encourage trainers to listen to what the horse is telling them rather than using force or detrimental methods to manipulate their horse's attitude or habits. Well worth a read, for riders at any level." --Catskill Horse
"If the idea of reading about equine neuroscience seems intimidating, Dr. Jones's writing will put you at ease. Her experience, combined with her prose's mastery and clarity in Horse Brain, Human Brain is destined to make this book one of those dog-eared tomes covered in sticky notes, pen marks, and horse dirt that can be found on horse lovers' bookshelves everywhere." --Horse Network
If you want to develop your working partnership with your horse, I suggest you first read Janet [Jones's] book [Horse Brain, Human Brain]. It was only after reading it that I made the connection between my earlier, unsuccessful, and later, more successful training efforts." --Iceland Horse Quarterly
"It is incumbent upon us to discover how best to communicate with our horses in order to handle, train, and ride them in the kindest and most humane way possible. Reading Horse Brain, Human Brain is an excellent start." --US Dressage Federation Connections
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