The Big Interview: Dr Andrew Hemmings — Inside the Equine Brain
The Big Interview: Dr Andrew Hemmings — Inside the Equine Brain
with Andrew Hemmings
What really goes on inside a horse’s head? In this fascinating interview, neuroscientist Dr Andrew Hemmings from the Royal Agricultural University explains how the horse’s brain works — and why understanding it changes everything about how we train and care for them.
From the dopamine-driven learning circuits that make clicker training so effective, to the way stress shuts down learning altogether, Hemmings bridges hard science with everyday horsemanship. He also explores why some horses develop stereotypies like crib-biting as a coping mechanism, and how genetics might one day help prevent them.
As he puts it, “Stress is the enemy of learning.”
If we truly want to understand behaviour, he says, we have to understand the brain.
