Every sport demands physical changes from its athletes. Tennis players have to teach their bodies to accelerate a ball from 0 to 120 mph in a second or two. Judo players learn to be thrown to the ground again and again without harm or pain. Ice skaters practice spotting the same location with their eyes to keep from becoming dizzy while spinning. All of these changes occur in the muscular contractions of the body—but they depend primarily on changes in the grey matter of our brains.

Equestrians are no exception. Our brains learn to isolate specific muscles living in large groups that normally function in collaboration. For example, to ride well, we sometimes need to apply physical cues to horses with only one small muscle of the inner thigh, while holding all the other inner thigh muscles at bay. But perhaps the........

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