20/10/2026
This is a free online event for EA members.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18J5kJFcyL/?mibextid=wwXIfr
You released the pressure. But did your horse feel relief?
It sounds like the same thing. Dr Stephen Peters suggests it isn’t.
In training, we often think in terms of pressure and release. The horse responds. The aid stops. Release. But Peters asks us to look a little further.
Did the nervous system actually come back down? Did the horse soften? Breathe? Return toward their natural balance? Or did we simply stop applying the aid while the horse remained braced, anticipating what might happen next?
And that return matters neurologically too. Peters describes the coming back down toward homeostasis as part of how learning is consolidated, with neurotransmitters such as dopamine helping reinforce what has just happened.
His distinction is beautifully simple: “Release isn’t always relief.”
And it raises a question that reaches into almost every form of horse training: Is my release actually creating relief for my horse?
We’ll be exploring ideas like this with Dr Peters live during Horse Brain Science on 29 October.
Attendance is free for all Equestrian Australia members.
Two Athletes. One Future.
Equine Wellbeing • Performance • Longevity
Registration: https://www.trybooking.com/DPRFS
