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Janet L. Jones Ph.D.

About

Janet Jones, Ph.D., applies brain research to the training of horses and riders. She earned her Ph.D. from UCLA and taught the neuroscience of perception, language, memory, and thought for 23 years. Janet 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 and competed in hunter, jumper, halter, reining, and western pleasure disciplines. Learn more at www.janet-jones.com.

Books by Janet L. Jones Ph.D.
Recent Posts
Riding horses can be scary, and horses get scared too.
Never Punish Fear
Without thinking, we often punish fear in small ways—by scolding, humiliating, or trivializing. Instead, teach fear management gradually and methodically in people and animals.
Coaching in Layers
Coaching an athlete, teaching a student, or raising a child? To ensure successful growth, we must consider the layers of skill, cognition, and emotion at a minimum.
How Horses and Humans See Color

Color vision differs strongly between horses and humans. Applying this knowledge yields better horse-human performance and fewer injuries.

Color vision differs strongly between horses and humans. Applying this knowledge yields better horse-human performance and fewer injuries.

How Horses See the World

Working in horse-and-human teams, people often assume horses see the world as we do. But they don't.

Working in horse-and-human teams, people often assume horses see the world as we do. But they don't.

Racing for Human Motivation

A Personal Perspective: Horse racing must change to protect equine welfare, but it should be saved for its inspirational effects on human life.

A Personal Perspective: Horse racing must change to protect equine welfare, but it should be saved for its inspirational effects on human life.

An equine brain image, showing the lack of prefrontal cortex or frontal lobe.
Prefrontal Cortex in Horses and Humans

The prefrontal cortex is for planning, organizing, and strategizing in humans. Do horses have a prefrontal cortex? If not, how do they behave in intelligent ways?

The prefrontal cortex is for planning, organizing, and strategizing in humans. Do horses have a prefrontal cortex? If not, how do they behave in intelligent ways?

Horse and rider communication are important.
The Neural Dance Between Horse and Rider

How do horses and riders communicate while performing difficult maneuvers? Body language, the horse's natural form of communication, comes to the rescue.

How do horses and riders communicate while performing difficult maneuvers? Body language, the horse's natural form of communication, comes to the rescue.

Horses can run away when they're scared; most humans can't
Learning About Trust by Observing Horses

By observing horses and applying their prey behavior to victimized humans, we can come to a deeper understanding of trust.

By observing horses and applying their prey behavior to victimized humans, we can come to a deeper understanding of trust.