My Recent Obsession With Horse Brains
Some of my students may have noticed my current obsession with horse brains. I have always had a keen interest in the why’s and how’s of life, and over the last few years, a keen interest in human psychology.
I’d just like to note before I write this article that I am NOT a psychologist (even though sometimes running a grazing facility for new horse parents can sometimes require me to be ahahaa), nor am I an Equine Neuroscience Expert.
I have been attending regular sessions with a psychologist since 2018, and it has not only been one of the best things I have invested in generally, but it has had a huge influence on how I work with horses and riders. I have a baseline understanding of how human brains work which I bring to my teaching regularly, but what I am keen to write about today is how ‘brain lessons’ have made me a much better horsewoman - being able to manage my own thoughts, emotions, beliefs, as well as limit states of rushing or overwhelm make this crazy world of horses so much more easy to manage.
For many students that come to Belmont, horses give them a platform to practice MINDFULNESS. What’s ultimately beautiful (and unique) about our collective pastime is our magnificent team mate. To bring our focus to something primal and ‘of nature’ and ‘in nature’ really resonates with so many humans today.
Surely when horses benefit our own state of mind so much, we have a duty to at least have a basic understanding of what goes on between their ears?
What if we as riders, trainers and owners had more of an understanding of the other 50% brain power of our team? Imagine knowing instead of guessing (did I mention your team mate speaks a completely different language and is an entirely different species….). Imagine knowing what motivates your horse, and each of the Belmont Unicorns, instead of presuming.
Here are the 5 most useful things I have learned so far about horse brains:
There’s a part of the horse's brain entirely committed to recognising patterns.
It’s so obvious when you think about it right? They don’t know what time of day it is (Chives certainly doesn’t own a watch) yet they know when you prepare their feed. All of the horses associate the sound of the quad with food. Being consistent with the same aid each time, and the developed timing of removing that aid (release of pressure) is a real training basic - but only repeating this is what’ll make it stick. By simplifying what we are asking and making it clear, and then repeating it several times, should be a staple concept in our riding and training of horses.
2. Processing Periods Are Paramount!
Instead of riding your horse for an hour every few days, you are much better off planning several 20 minute sessions when possible. Why? Because horses need that downtime in between sessions to really process what we have taught them. This is why on a horse like Tucker, you may wait just a few seconds before you repeat what you’re asking as above, whereas with a younger, greener horse (like Chives) you would wait a few minutes. This is why horses learn much more quickly if we are asking them to do something that is similar to something they already know. They have made the synaptic connections to recognize the pattern more quickly. When we try to teach several things over one long session, they can’t utilize the data they have gathered in their brains from other sessions to solve the problem.
3. Humanising horses and presuming their brain is not different to a human brain can be really detrimental to your relationship with them, and your training.
If we compare a horse brain to a human brain we are speaking in a language that they don’t have. When we are unclear, they don’t go into analysing mode. When they feel unsafe, they go up into their sympathetic nervous system… AKA FIGHT OR FLIGHT.
Assuming horses are actively disrespecting you because they don’t like you is scientifically incorrect. They DO however have a natural instinct to survive, and knowing where they sit in the herd (are they above you or below you?) helps them feel safe. The safer horses feel in your presence, the less likely they are to go up to that sympathetic nervous system where they default to fight or flight.
