Janet Jones - Horse Brain, Human Brain: The Neuroscience of Horsemanship

Horse Brain,

Human Brain

The Neuroscience of Horsemanship

Janet L. Jones, Ph.D.

First published in 2020 by

Trafalgar Square Books

North Pomfret, Vermont 05053

Copyright 2020 Janet Jones

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, by any means, without written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer quoting brief excerpts for a review in a magazine, newspaper, or website.

Parts of this book have been previously published in some form in EQUUS magazine.

Disclaimer of Liability

The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book. While the book is as accurate as the author can make it, there may be errors, omissions, and inaccuracies.

Trafalgar Square Books encourages the use of approved safety helmets in all equestrian sports and activities.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Jones, Janet L. (Neuroscientist), author.

Title: Horse brain, human brain : the neuroscience of horsemanship / Janet L. Jones.

Description: North Pomfret, Vermont : Trafalgar Square Books, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: 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. And, by meeting horses halfway, we not only save valuable training time and improve performance, we achieve other goals, too. 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; and we reduce the human mistakes we often make while working with them. 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-- Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020000724 (print) | LCCN 2020000725 (ebook) | ISBN 9781570769481 (paperback) | ISBN 9781646010271 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Horses--Training. | Horses--Physiology. | Human-animal communication. | Horsemanship--Physiological aspects. | Neurosciences.

Classification: LCC SF287 .J63 2020 (print) | LCC SF287 (ebook) | DDC 636.1/0835--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020000724

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020000725

Illustrations by Susan Harris and Jean Abernethy

Book design by Tim Holtz

Cover design by RM Didier

Index by Andrea Jones (JonesLiteraryServices.com)

Typefaces: Berkeley Oldstyle, Perpetua, Avenir

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Dedicated to my father

Gerry Jones

who surrounded me from birth with an exceptional variety of

books, brains, and horses

The Brainis wider than the Sky

Forput them side by side

The one the other will contain

With easeand Youbeside

The Brain is deeper than the sea

Forhold themBlue to Blue

The one the other will absorb

As SpongesBucketsdo

The Brain is just the weight of God

ForHeft themPound for Pound

And they will differif they do

As Syllable from Sound

Emily Dickinson, c. 1862

Part One

Animals in a Human World

Chapter One

The Horse-and-Human Team