A Horse’s World

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.
 

• “A Horse’s World takes you on a journey into the center of a horse’s being. You will learn what it is like to be a horse. All horse lovers, trainers, and people interested in animals should read this book.” 
  Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation and Animals Make us Human
• "Dr. Janet Jones has written the book the horse world has been waiting for: Horse Brain, Human Brain. It is a game changer."
  Tik Maynard, Trainer, Eventer, and Author of In the Middle Are the Horsemen
• “You need this book. Whether you have spent your entire lifetime around horses, or just patronize a local barn, or even only are curious about the horses you see standing in a field as you drive past―this authoritative and reader-friendly book will help you get to know horses. We all need this information."
  Wendy Williams, Author of The Horse and The Language of Butterflies
• “Horse Brain, Human Brain gets right at the ‘understanding' part of things, because until our brains grasp what the horse's brain grasps so differently, it is easy to think the horse is saying, ‘No,' when what he is really saying is, ‘I don’t get what it is you want.' This book explains the difference.”
  Denny Emerson, USEA Hall-of-Fame Inductee and Author of Know Better to Do Better and How Good Riders Get Good
• "For all my equestrian life I have lived off the statement 'Know your horse,’ not only as a species but as an individual. In Horse Brain, Human Brain the author's understanding of this principle is abundantly clear. The last chapter of her book should be read first, last, and then read again. It’s a wonderful summary of horsemanship." 
  Eric Smiley, FBHS, Olympic Equestrian, FEI Judge, and Author of Two Brains, One Aim
• “A Horse’s World is a seminal and invaluable book about the cognitive and emotional lives of horses. Neuroscientist and horse trainer Janet Jones offers a detailed exploration of these charismatic beings, whose beauty and service we have adored for millennia while ignoring their hearts and minds. Now, finally, A Horse’s World offers us a window into the animals themselves so we can appreciate who they are from the inside out. A riveting read, this wonderful book deserves a global audience.”
  Marc Bekoff, Ph.D., author of The Emotional Lives of Animals
• “Mounting from the left side, overcoming fear, anthropomorphism… in each chapter Dr. Jones addresses common, and not-so-common, problems, myths, and fallacies that exist in the horse world. She also shares her solutions and successes. A Horse’s World is even better than Dr. Jones’ international bestseller Horse Brain, Human Brain. It is a blend of science and stories, humor and love. It is a book for horse people and non-horse people, animal lovers and story-lovers. It made me sad, it made me laugh, and most of all, it made me think.”
  Tik Maynard, three-day event rider, clinician, author of Starting in the Middle and In the Middle are the Horsemen, and two-time winner of the Road to the Horse World Championship
• “’A Horses World’ is a fascinating account of the life, behavior and training of a horse named True, and his development of a deep human-animal bond with his owner, the neuroscientist Janet Jones. Her keen observations, knowledge of the working of the horse’s brain and sensory systems as well as her entertaining storytelling ability make this a must read for anyone interested in horses, or animal behavior in general. Along the way you will learn why she can say ‘A dog gives his trust freely; a horse makes you earn it.’”
  Stanley Coren, author of How Dogs Think
• “If you’ve always wondered how the world looks through a horse’s eyes, or wanted to understand better what underlies the unique and thrilling aspects of the animal-human bond, this fascinating and well-researched book takes the reader on a scientifically grounded journey into the mind of the horse.” 
  Elizabeth Letts, author of The Ride of Her Life
• “Across 5,500 intimate years, horses and humans have forged an unbreakable bond and the most dominant animal dyad in history. Possessing a rare combination of size, speed, strength, and stamina, horses allowed human beings to circumvent our own biological limitations. Janet L. Jones masterfully explores this multifaceted physical, emotional, and cognitive relationship through perceptive observations and skillful storytelling straight from the horse’s mouth (and brain).”
  Timothy C. Winegard, author of The Horse
• “A must-read for every horse-lover; and for animal-lovers in general. Take a journey with horse trainer and neuroscientist, Janet Jones, and her trusty steed, True, as they explore the intricacies of the horse’s mind. Even top horse trainers are likely to be surprised by what Jones reveals about how horses see and think about people and the world in general. And, no, despite all the videos you’ve seen, you cannot train a horse in three days—Jones patiently explains the fallacy of that notion and other wrong ideas about an animal many of us cherish, but don’t correctly understand.”
  Virginia Morell, author of Animal Wise
• “Saddle up and join Jones and her horse, True North, for a fascinating story of how a cognitive scientist trains and bonds with a young colt over the formative years of his life. While packed with cutting-edge equestrian science, Jones writes from the heart and shows the powerful strength of the human-horse bond.”
  Gregory Berns, author of Cowpuppy
• “A wonderful look at the equine mind that propels us to reimagine our relationship with horses and try to see the world from their perspective.” 
  David M. Peña-Guzmán, author of When Animals Dream, associate professor of humanities at San Francisco State University, cohost of Overthink podcast
• “Janet Jones brings us into a deeper regard for these extraordinary animals that not only carry us, make us bigger, faster, stronger, more beautiful, and carry us to our dreams and—when our fragile human egos allow—heal us and bring out the best in us. Indeed, she offers us solid insights into why this almost shamanic effect on the human by the equine might come into being.” 
  Rupert Isaacson, author of The Horse Boy and The Long Ride Home
• “Brilliant! Janet L. Jones has enfolded the latest neuroscience and perspectives on horse behavior into her own journey of training a young horse, while including relevant case studies of other horses to show variations of temperament and approach. This creates a thoughtful, at times entertaining, at times moving flow to the entire book that you rarely see in conventional scholarly works. And yet the scholarship is potent, innovative and immensely valuable. Janet defines equestrian terminology for beginners in a natural, graceful way while still speaking to more experienced riders and trainers. People new to horses will find many surprises here. At the same time, expert trainers will learn much from advanced studies on equine senses that show how far too many training challenges result from a misunderstanding of how horses, see, smell, feel, and process their world. This is a great guide for professionals in the equine-facilitated learning and therapy fields, offering an accessible way for therapists and educators to gain real knowledge about the soulful animals they employ. If all equestrians read A Horse’s World, it would finally close the book on the harsh, stress-inducing training techniques still prevalent in the horse industry.”
  Linda Kohanov, author of The Tao of Equus, The Power of the Herd, and more
• “Inside the mind of one of the most majestic animals on Earth… It's called A Horse's World, and there just aren't that many books like it.” 
  NPR Short Wave
• “A deep and delightful exploration of the magnificent animal that has helped make our civilization possible.” 
  Kirkus, Starred Review
• “This account of one horse’s coming-of-age will deeply touch audiences far beyond the horse-riding community.” 
  Booklist, Starred Review