A Horse's World: A Neuroscientist's Journey into the Equine Mind

In the spirit of An Immense World and Soul of an Octopus, an award-winning neuroscientist and veteran horse trainer illuminates the mysteries of equine cognition and behavior, through her own extraordinary bond with a horse named True North.

The bond between horses and humans has been treasured for centuries. Horses have served as aids to civilization, subjects of the earliest art, vehicles for global trade, and extreme athletes. Still, their cognitive processes have remained mysterious, even to the humans who love them.

A Horse’s World is the first book of its kind to explore the fascinating science of how horses think, feel, learn, and connect with their human companions. Neuroscientist and horse trainer Janet Jones provides scientific insight into the miracle of the horse-human connection by revealing:

• Common misconceptions that cause us to fault horses for “misbehaviors” that are normal prey-brain responses
• How horses trade a human-style prefrontal cortex—capable of judgment, manipulation, and complex strategic thinking—for incredible memory that supports excellent intelligence
• The role smell plays in how horses interpret the world
• Evidence of horses’ immense expressive capabilities

Tracing the story of one 1500-pound Dutch Warmblood as he learns how to negotiate the human world, Jones reveals surprising lessons about cross-species communication. Horses have so much to teach us about confidence, courage, and compassion, and yet, the first MRI scan of an equine brain wasn’t completed until 2019. Janet Jones bridges that gap, illuminating the ways that equine cognition differs from our own.

Whether you're an experienced rider or simply admire equine beauty and grace from afar, A Horse's World is both a window into horses' hearts and minds, and an object lesson in how to build mutual trust with those whose internal worlds differ from our own.