Author of Horse Brain, Human Brain

Janet Jones

Janet Jones earned her Ph.D. in cognitive science from UCLA and taught the neuroscience of perception, language, memory, and thought for 23 years. She trained horses at a large stable early in her career, and later ran a successful horse training business of her own. She has schooled hundreds of green or difficult horses, rides many breeds and disciplines, and has competed in hunter, jumper, halter, western riding, and reining. She uses the basic principles of dressage in all horse sports. Janet developed brain-based horsemanship and offers it to horse enthusiasts in Horse Brain, Human Brain. In her latest book, A Horse's World: A Neuroscientist's Journey Into the Equine Mind, she broadens her perspective to invite the general public to learn why some of us love horses so much.

A Horse’s World

Horses have been the objects of books and the instruments of human civilization for several thousand years. But their hearts and minds, their daily lives, have rarely been the subject of human attention. A Horse's World strives to change that by offering a neuroscientist's knowledge of equine cognition, perception, communication, society, and emotion--as told through one young horse's real-life story.

The horse, named True North as a symbol of his central position in the author's life, learns to adapt to human conditions as readers observe the brain-based horsemanship used in his training. Readers share this horse's experience, getting to know his natural world and discovering how starkly it differs from the human world he lives in. In the first six years of their lives together, True and Janet develop a strong bond of mutual trust and the ability to communicate with each other through body language rather than words. As they learn to cooperate, readers share the pair's successes and failures, mistakes and epiphanies, and begin to understand the importance of a close emotional connection for both parties.

Horse Brain, Human Brain

Horse Brain, Human Brain introduces the many differences between horse and human brains. Without this knowledge, we often assume that horses learn, think, perceive, and attend to tasks the way we do. That assumption invites us to work against our horses' brains, expecting them to function in unnatural and counterproductive ways. This book offers the information needed to ride with our horses' brains. Each principle is applied to real everyday issues in the arena or on trail, often illustrated with true stories from Janet’s horse training experience. Written in plain language, Horse Brain, Human Brain is intended for anyone who works with horses.

Since the book's release in June 2020, it has been translated into eight languages and is now available as an audiobook. It was featured in the top eight American books on human brain science for 2021 and in the top two German books on sports for 2022. Horse Brain, Human Brain also won the Japan Racing Association's 2021 Equine Culture Award. The only other American author to receive this award was Laura Hillenbrand in 2004 for her book Seabiscuit.

Hailed as a revolution in horsemanship, Horse Brain, Human Brain has taken Janet all over Europe, Australia, North America, and Asia, introducing her to thousands of like-minded horse enthusiasts--and often, their horses--in presentation locations that range from muddy outdoor corrals to the finest country clubs at the World Equestrian Center.

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Janet L Jones, PhD

Brain-Based Horsemanship

Janet Jones