Recognising Trauma in Horses: A Neuroscience Perspective

On Wednesday 13 March at 7pm (GMT) Dr Emma Lethbridge will be joining us to discuss what the term trauma means in relation to horses’ mental state. She will consider how to recognise signs of trauma in horses, how responses to trauma can differ between horses and the implications for managing and training horses who have experience trauma.

Emma will be joined by equine behaviourist Justine Harrison to answer your questions in a live Q&A and by registering beforehand you will be able to take part in that session.

About the presenters: Emma Lethbridge is part neuroscientist, part horse fanatic. She is fascinated by the equine brain and how horses perceive and respond to their world. Emma has 32 years’ experience with horses, having been lucky enough to have been riding since she was four and to have had four wonderful family horses since the age of 12. Emma has studied horses to master’s level, read a degree in neuroscience and obtained a PhD in neuropsychology; she has also ridden in affiliated competitions, worked on professional yards, directed an equine learning centre, taught riding, helped many people with their horse’s behaviour and, more importantly than all of that combined, she has come to love equines not for what they can do for us, but for the wonderful creatures they are in their own right.

Justine Harrison is the founder of Understand Horses and has been practicing as a horse behaviour consultant since 2007. She is a Certified Equine Behaviour Consultant with the IAABC, the organisation’s UK Co-Chair and a member of the Application Review Committee. She is also a registered Accredited Animal Behaviourist and Trustee of the Animal Behaviour & Training Council. Justine is a visiting lecturer on the BSc (Hons) Equine Behavioural Science degree at ARU Writtle (formerly Writtle University College) and also acts as an expert consultant in court cases involving equine behaviour. She holds lectures and workshops around the UK and regularly contributes to a wide variety of international publications – either writing articles, commenting or answering specific questions about horse behaviour and training.