with the mighty engine of a Doc Bar butt to match. We were playing with live cattle for the first time, to see whether he’d have any talent for cutting in the future. Turns out he did.
I thought we were just soaking up the milieu. But shortly into our adventure, Dee Sea pinned his ears at a young steer, dropped low, and whirled 180 degrees in a millisecond—every bit as fast as an established cutting horse would turn. I stayed on but accidentally caught his side with the half-inch spur I shouldn’t have been wearing. He bucked high and hard, blasting me head-first into a railroad tie standing vertically as a fence post. This was back in the Dark Ages—harnessed helmets and plastic fencing hadn’t been invented.
I regained consciousness that afternoon, having worked several other horses in the meantime—speaking, walking, tacking up, and riding in a manner everyone called normal. (What “normal” says about my early personality is best left unexplored.) I suffered bouts of amnesia for a couple of years, “coming to” at various times and places with no recollection of how I got there or what I had been doing. And I asked myself how my brain could keep me functioning during complete lapses of awareness that lasted anywhere from two hours to two days.
To answer that question, I began reading about brains between rides, eventually earning a Ph.D. in cognitive science. Don’t worry, “cognitive science” is just a fancy phrase for figuring out what happens inside normal noggins on a regular day. I then taught college students how human brains perceive, learn, remember, communicate, and think. There’s nothing quite like teaching the innards of a neuron to bleary-eyed 18-year-olds at eight in the morning. I had to explain brains in ways that would at least keep these kids awake.
My life ran on two tracks for many years, but horses and brains finally converged in 2014, long after meeting that railroad tie. Leaving my position as a tenured professor, I renewed my equine occupation, running a successful horse training business of my own. Deciphering brain function within the horse-and-human team was now my goal.
The Trail Ahead
Horse Brain, Human Brain is written in five parts. Part One introduces the book and considers the challenges of forming teams between predators and prey, with attention to the pressures of evolution that created our brains.
Part Two focuses on taking the world in—perceiving sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and awareness of body positions. Human egocentrism raises its head right away, with riders often assuming that horses perceive the world just like we do. This incorrect assumption confuses horses and frustrates handlers.
Part Three looks at how horses learn, imitate, solve problems, and remember. Why do equine brains learn best with positive reinforcement, despite the fact that trainers usually rely on its opposite? Why is timing so critical as natural chemicals flow through brain tissue, and why are edible rewards both a blessing and a curse? Why is punishment the worst method of teaching? Once the basics of associative learning are in place, I’ll introduce the power of indirect training. Part Three ends by exploring the dangers that crop up when goal-driven human brains try to command stimulus-driven equine brains.
Part Four homes in on equine attention, emotion, and forethought. We have to capture horses’ attention and regulate their emotions before we can teach them anything. Fear, anxiety, and trust are addressed, in addition to the ways horses express their emotions and interpret ours. We’ll also tackle questions of strategy here. Are equine brains capable of planning in advance? If so, are they culpable for their actions?
Finally, Part Five takes on the topic of true horsemanship. Of course, knowledge and skill are part of horsemanship, but I’m also talking about an ethical philosophy of care. True horsemen—both male and female—put the horse’s needs first and offer a generous spirit even when the animal misbehaves. Horse Brain, Human Brain teaches people to understand the equine noodle not only so that we can ride better, train more effectively, and protect our animals’ welfare. It also applies brain science to horsemanship so that we can understand each animal at a deep level that encourages mutual bonds of trust and responsibility between the two species.
All in All
Throughout this book, you’ll find barn-side applications of brain science. I want you to ride with your brain in real life, not just ponder a handsome theory from your reading chair. Every chapter includes true stories about real horses I’ve worked with, stories that illustrate my successes and failures in trying to understand equine minds. Along the way, I’ll explain how brain cells work when they fire their tiny electric sparks and shoot homemade chemicals around. Source notes appear at the end of this book and are referenced by page number. Illustrations are offered throughout, with drawings of the horse brain enlarged for visual ease. A glossary and index are included, too. That way, you can find information quickly if your horse makes you run from the arena to look something up!
Horse Brain, Human Brain is written for everyone who interacts with horses. Our group includes raw beginners and seasoned experts, practitioners of any equestrian discipline, and members of all equine professions. An understanding of the horse’s brain is pertinent to all of us. Unfortunately, this breadth gives me the opportunity to offend everyone by either talking down to the expert or talking up to the novice. Please forgive me for points that are pitched to alternate skill levels.
Leonardo da Vinci is credited with the quote, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” I hope Leo’s right because no book can convey the full complexity of the human or equine brain. To do so would require many volumes crammed with high-dollar vocabulary. That would dishonor the intent of this project. Explanations here are accurate but simplified, so that we can concentrate on our main character: the horse.
The Horse
Where in this wide world can man find nobility without pride, friendship without envy or beauty without vanity? Here, where grace is laced with muscle, and strength by gentleness confined.
Ronald Duncan, Poet
© Ronald Duncan Estate and reprinted with permission.
With brain-based horsemanship, we have access to the immense privilege of collaborating with an individual of another species, of shaping his brain and allowing him to shape ours. But to succeed, we have to work with the principles of human and equine brains instead of against them.
Chapter Two
Evolving a Brain
Why do we need to know how brains are engineered? I mean, there they are, fully formed, and ready to go. Why not just “shut up and dance,” as the song says? The reason is that the way brains evolved eons ago tells us a lot about how they work today.
Equine brains are engineered to sense and interpret the equine world. Where’s the best grass? Which way is the water? Is it safe to lie down here? What’s that noise? Is my alpha mare concerned? But they are not designed to take in and interpret the human world, and that’s what we ask of them most often.
Not only do we expect them to understand the human world, we also expect them to understand us! Now, I don’t know about you, but even with a human brain I sometimes fail miserably to understand people. Truth be told, I’m not always that great at understanding myself. How can we expect horses to succeed at the task?
Brains—horse, human, or otherwise—are engineered through time in many ways. Some methods of brain design are more easily modified than others. In shaping equine behavior, we need to know which aspects of the brain can be changed and which must be accepted.
Brains evolve first by natural selection, in which a mental ability helps individuals to survive and reproduce. For example, early horses who noticed peripheral movement quickly tended to stay alive.
