Humane Cattle Pens, Custom Designs and Behavior Consulting
Research Origins
It’s a shame that many professionals worldwide are unaware of the most fundamental aspects of a horse’s nature. For almost 30 years, the scientific evidence has grown from a few research papers to over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles. Every horse owner and trainer, from backyard hobbyists to top professionals, is aware of and works to overcome the behavior every time they ride but has yet to take the time to look at the science on the subject. The subject is why horses prefer to rein better to one side and lunge in a circle better in one direction or why it’s so hard to “balance” a horse and have them perform equally from one side to the other. Countless terms describe the phenomenon, and many solutions have been offered to correct the problem, but they all need clarification. Below, I post a 10-year-old article that outlines an accurate scientific definition in layperson’s terms.
In 1995, Dr. Temple Grandin at Colorado State University and I published the first scientific evidence for “lateralization of the nervous system” in cattle and horses. My independent research, conducted ten years before I met Temple, proposed a theory that hair whorls on the scalp correlate to variations in nervous system reactivity (temperament) and laterality or side preference in animals. I never said I discovered the link between hair whorls and behavior; many people before me observed the phenomenon, but what Temple and I did was accurately define it scientifically. Our research first used cattle because they have similar hair patterns. They were available in large numbers with similar genetics and early experiences that reduced the confounds needed for sound scientific research. Then, we followed with experiments using horses. Since then, every research article published has supported our early work.
Lateralization in the nervous system is an ancient brain function in all vertebrate and invertebrate species in the animal kingdom, including humans, identical to the cause of right and left-handedness in humans. The article below was published just before the second edition of our book, “Genetics and the Behavior of Domestic Animals” (2014) Second Edition. Chapter 7 covers the subject and the supporting evidence from independent scientists worldwide. I first authored Chapter 7, and Temple Grandin was my co-author. In future posts on this page, I’ll provide links and brief descriptions of the subject matter from scientific journal articles published by fellow scientists worldwide.
Follow my page and keep your thinking caps on because you’re about to learn something new.
