The Autonomic Nervous System: You and your horse

Despite mammoth differences between horses and humans, we share some similarities in the very basic development and composition of our nervous systems. We both have autonomic nervous systems (ANS), the largely involuntary regulators of our organs, muscles, glands, etc.. The parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems […]

Novelty: Key to Horses and Riders

New additions to my herd are Bug and Barry. Bug is a four-year old Utah mustang. During his young life, he’s been passed from one owner to the next, six owners in total, before landing with me. Barry is a ten-year old Tennessee Walker with […]

Lay Down Science

Talking about laying down a horse can be like discussing presidential politics. Some steer clear altogether. Some engage passionately. Many are interested, but wary. Beliefs and traditions run rampant, but science takes a backseat. We’re here to change that with an examination of the brain […]

Place Cells in Action

This week, we hear from BHPS presenter West Taylor who was deep in the backcountry when he decided to conduct some informal experimentation around what he learned about place cells in Horse Head: Brain Science & Other Insights. Read more about your horse’s internal mapping […]

Horse Head Now Available!

Horse Head: Brain Science & Other Insights, the exciting and innovative book by Maddy Butcher with Dr. Steve Peters is now available. Order here. International orders, click here Act now and doubly stimulated! Be among the first to order Horse Head and we’ll send you […]

New Book Coming Soon!

After years of helping readers understand the complicated processes that unfold between your horses’ ears, Maddy Butcher is coming out with a book. Look for HorseHead: Brain Science & Other Insights in coming months. Dr. Steve Peters contributes. Butcher is founder and publisher of Cayuse […]

Horse Brain Doc Hits the Road

Aside from another popular presentation at the Best Horse Practices Summit in Maine this October, Dr. Steve Peters will deliver presentations in North Carolina, Oregon, and Colorado this year. Here are the details: Neuroscience and Horsemanship Clinic with Dr. Steve Peters and Jim Thomas April […]

Cribbing: Understanding the Science

What is a smile or a handshake? The answer is like a Matryoshka doll with another doll inside it and then another doll inside that one. Sure, they’re gestures of welcome. But neurologically speaking, they are the manifestations of a bundle of voluntary and involuntary […]

Knowledge in Pain, Part I

Red heads perceive pain differently than others. This fact, mentioned in The Neuroscience of Pain, an article by Nicola Willey, stopped me in my tracks. We know pain as a universal, yet universally confounding phenomenon. Sure, some people seem “tougher” than others. But that gingers might […]

Serotonin Moments: Martin, West, Amy

As a follow-up to the HorseHead article on serotonin, we visited with several renowned trainers for their observations and experiences around learning moments likely influenced by serotonin. Keep this comment from Dr. Peters in mind as you read of their experiences: “Research on the effect […]