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Excerpts
Excerpts of HBHB have appeared in Jumper Nation (“Brace Yourself: Your Horse Needs 45 Minutes to See Clearly in the Indoor,” July 23, 2020), and on Horse Network (“What That Whinny Means,” June 22, 2020). Trafalgar Square has created several graphics like the one to the right, illustrating concepts from the book. In October, I posted a pair of drawings from HBHB on Facebook – it got over 36,000 views.
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Eventing USA reprinted a section on equine depth perception with respect to horses’ ability to judge the height, width, and location of jumps (“How the Horse’s Limited Ability to See Depth Should Affect the Way you Jump,” July/August 2020).
And EQUUS magazine excerpted an entire chapter from the book. Titled “The 6 Ways Horses Learn,” it’s featured as the cover article in their Autumn 2020 issue. Many of you know that EQUUS is where I cut my teeth describing the neuroscience of horsemanship, with over 20 articles in their pages since 2014.
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The Blog
Those of you who read my blog “True Training” know that I have a 1250-pound baby to entertain and educate every day. The blog is named after the horse (“True”) and devoted to his training. It contains 24 posts so far, with a new one added every two weeks. They run the gamut of catch training, learning to tie, grooming, groundwork, building trust, establishing pace, the discovery ride, the free burn, killer birds—all with an eye toward how we can work with our horses’ brains instead of against them. You can find the blog on my website (www.janet-jones.com/blog).
Events
One of my most pleasant experiences this fall was to co-teach the Applied Large Animal Behavior course required of all veterinary students at Colorado State University. I love the opportunity to work with current and coming generations of veterinarians—the people who devote their lives to the health and welfare of our magnificent animals. CSU faculty have invited me to bring horse brains back to the second half of their veterinary students in February 2021.
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“Horse Network Reads” broadcast a live video interview of me talking about brain-based training on October 16, 2020. Click on the link and have a look!
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I’ve also been interviewed on three podcasts so far. Listen at these links:
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Most of my presentations for 2020 were cancelled due to the pandemic, but some of my upcoming talks have already been rescheduled for 2021. They include:
- CSU Veterinary School in Fort Collins, Colorado - February 2021
- Equitana USA in Lexington, Kentucky - September 2021
- Equine Affaire in Springfield, Massachusetts - November 2021
- Horse Education and Therapy International (HETI) Congress in Seoul, South Korea - June or November 2021
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Educational Experiences
A bunch of you have asked about clinics and workshops. I offer a selection of about 20 discussion-oriented topics within the brain science of horsemanship. You choose your topics, and I’ll tailor a program for you. These are currently presented online but will also be offered in person (along with mounted clinics, as requested) when travel restrictions ease.
I also provide online consultation to anyone who wants help with specific horses or riding concerns. My clients and I have discovered that it works surprisingly well. If you’d like more information about these experiences, please email me at contact@janet-jones.com.
The Q/A Forum
I get some great questions about horses and thought it would be fun to share a few of them with you. Here’s a recent example:
Q: "The arena where I ride has a very light colored (almost white) silica sand with felt as footing. The glare is unbelievable on sunny days. It’s like riding on a bright white beach. I cannot ride without sunglasses, and I've often wondered how the glare affects my horses. What can you tell me about how the horses’ eyes/vision would be affected by the bright footing? (And it’s an odd glare, as it comes from below, instead of above like a normal sun-type glare would be)."
A: Wow, that’s intense footing! The top of the inside of a horse’s eye contains iridescent fibers that reflect light down into the eyeball. This will make the glare shining upward from below even stronger for horses than it is for humans. Equine eyes take about 45 minutes to adapt from full sunlight to full darkness, or vice versa. That’s nearly twice as long as human eyes require, so by the time your eyes adjust without sunglasses, your horse's eyes are only halfway there. Equine vision becomes 25,000 times more sensitive when fully adapted, so we’re talking about a big difference.
Until adapted, your horses will have trouble seeing. Entering a barn or indoor arena just after leaving this footing will be, to them, like diving into a pool full of black ink. So, give them extra time and plenty of understanding when entering dim areas. Use your voice and hands (touch) in communicating with them there. Consider their safety and yours when asking them to jump, work cattle, or run barrels or poles before their eyes have adjusted to the bright arena. Cool them out in a shady area to adjust partway before entering a barn to be untacked and groomed. Equine goggles do exist for horses with uveitis, whose eyes need protection from sunlight. I’ve never used them, but you might want to investigate.
‘Bye for Now
Thanks for reading! Drop in to my website or Facebook page for further updates as they come in. Please enjoy the coming winter, and give your horses a stroke on the neck for me.
Cheers,
Janet
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