From Wendy Murdoch:
Every horse owner should read this book! Finally someone has taken the mystery and myth out of how the horse thinks and learns. Dr. Steven Peters clearly describes the anatomy and function of the horse’s brain, which dictates the horse’s actions and behavior. With this knowledge it becomes clear that many of the current myths about how the horse learns and thinks are false. Armed with the knowledge presented in this book you can understand why the horse does what he does but more importantly you can use this information to train your horse in a more positive and productive way.
Allowing the horse the time to get to the “good stuff” (dopamine) makes learning and training a positive experience for the horse. Learning to recognize and observe the signals that indicate the horse is stressed so that you back off and wait for the horse to lick and chew will completely change your relationship with your horse. Instead of pushing him over the edge into “fight and flight” you and your horse horse will “learn how to learn” from each other.
If I had one complaint about this book it is that it needs to be longer! I would love to see an expanded version with more explanation of brain function with examples and the comparison to the human brain.
Creator of the SURE FOOT™ Equine Stability Program & The Murdoch Method Founder
From Mike Kevil:
In short, I like it. The better understanding people have in how a horse works, the easier it will be to work with the horse.
Explaining how a horse acquires memories, the chemistry, the senses etc. I enjoyed it all, but I would like more. Long and short term memories. The chemicals in the brain, where do they come from? Is there a limited supply? How fast do they replenish themselves? Do some horses have a higher release volume? Why? Are two or more chemicals being emitted at once? How many variables in the horses mood depending on what is released? I also think you need an example from Martin for everything you explain in order for the layman to relate it to their experiences. That alone will broaden your reader base.
I take everything with a grain of salt regardless if it’s the good old boy next door or the scientist. Both base their conclusions on only the facts they know and neither know all the facts. Scientist through out history have made mistakes. (The Sun never revolved around the earth!) But it’s usually other scientists that prove them wrong, so I tend to be pro science.
Both Martin and Steve arrived at the same conclusions doing completely different research. Pairing Steve’s science with Martin’s horsemanship is a homerun.
From Frank Barnett:
It’s important to me to be technically sound. This allows my explanations to be clear-cut and logical, and I can get to the point. It appears to me that horses don’t appreciate vagueness or having to guess. But all the technical skills in the world are of limited value if the horse is unwilling to except training.
Evidence-Based Horsemanship and now Exploring Evidence-Based Horsemanship can provide the answers to why we are unable or able to get to the point. Why do we constantly run into the same wall? And it can also inform us when we are on the right track. Why is this working? Now that I am of the same vantage that a lot of my mentors were when I was a young genius and more or less stumbling around in the dark, I can find my successes and all my dismal failures contained in this book and DVD. And that can be very useful to someone committed to the craft.
I have a 60+ reading list from several different disciplines that I recommend to all my clients. If they will read EBH first, it will enhance everything else they read regardless of the discipline. And if you think you’re going to get it the first time you read it then I wouldn’t bother with it.
