Get Back On: The Neuroscience of Remounting After a Fall
From Conversations in Equine Science by Nancy McLean
May 18, 2026 · 19 min · Season 7 · Episode 6
About this episode
Nancy McLean discusses the neuroscience behind remounting after a fall, emphasizing how to manage fear responses in horses.
In this episode Nancy McLean explores a listener question about whether to remount after a fall, using Dr. Stephen Peters’ research and a review by McBride et al. to explain how equine learning, myelination, and long-term potentiation shape behavior. Nancy explains how automaticity, basal ganglia consolidation, and dopamine-driven rewards can help overwrite fearful responses, and she shares a real-life example of calmly remounting to reinforce positive patterns. Key takeaway: when horse and rider are uninjured, a calm remount and rewarded repetition can help redirect the horse’s neural pathways and prevent lasting fear responses.
People in this episode
Host: Nancy McLean
Topics covered
- neuroscience
- equine learning
- remounting after a fall
- fear responses
- behavior modification
Keywords
- neuroscience
- remounting
- equine behavior
- fear responses
- dopamine
- learning
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- Horse Brain Science - Part 3 · April 8, 2026 · 29 min
- Inside the Horse Brain: How Equine Minds Think, Feel, and React · March 20, 2026 · 22 min
- Horse Brain Science: Rethinking Training with Neuroscience · March 7, 2026 · 16 min
- Equine Hoof Trim Research · January 20, 2026 · 19 min
- Trust the Horse: Study Shows Horses Decide When to Wear Blankets · January 7, 2026 · 29 min
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