Attention: Key to Your Horse’s Learning

Sometimes improving our horsemanship – a pursuit dominated by the almighty and intangible “feel” – can be like trying to capture dandelion seeds in the wind or bottle fog. How do we effectively translate what we read or watch cerebrally into our daily interactions with […]

The Troubled Horse’s Brain

There’s a reason colt-starting competitions rarely feature rescued horses. It’s the same reason contractors would rather tear down a house instead of restoring it. What’s under the surface can wreak havoc on your wallet, your skills, your patience, and even your equipment and facilities. Troubled […]

Cow Work: Brain Development & Agility Training for Your Horse

Outside of the ranching world, entire populations of riders don’t know and don’t want to know about stockmanship. Ranchers and cowboys are considered reckless, rule-less, a bunch of Yahoos. In my experience, however, some of the savviest horses and riders have ranching backgrounds. These men […]

To Test Smarts: Ask a Horse a Horse Question

If you want to measure a horse’s smarts, don’t give it math problems or ask it to distinguish musical genres. Instead, test its ability to solve horse problems. That’s the message from scientist Frans de Waal of Emory University. Dr. de Waal, who works mostly […]

Of Horses, Cows, and Humans

Recently, Dr. Steve Peters traveled to Idaho to visit informally with stockmen and livestock researchers from Treasure Valley Community College, Oregon State University, and the University of Idaho. He was introduced by local and international stockman Martin Black. The pair co-authored Evidence-Based Horsemanship. They will […]

Close Encounters with the Amygdala

I live in a rural town and don’t travel much. But last month, I found myself driving my truck camper through St. Louis. In heavy traffic. In heavy rain. In darkness. I grew disoriented and nervous. My heart rate increased. My hands gripped the wheel […]

What’s NOT in your Horse’s Head

Horses are not people. We know this is true. But attend any horse event, enter any tack shop, open any horse magazine and you’ll come away thinking otherwise. You’ll be convinced horses have feelings, motivations, and goals. We tend to replace their simple needs with […]

Learning to Embrace Discomfort

“Your circle of comfort and your horse’s circle of comfort – they must constantly expand, otherwise they will shrink.” That’s what horseman Randy Rieman once told me. I’d thought I could hang out in comfort, where my horse and I would coexist blissfully and enjoy […]