Neuroscientist | Board-Certified Clinical Neuropsychologist | Equine Neuroscientist

Dr. Stephen Peters is a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist and internationally recognized equine neuroscientist. With more than three decades of experience in brain research, diagnostics, and clinical practice, he bridges human and equine neuroscience to foster more humane, effective, and evidence-based approaches to horsemanship.

Dr. Peters completed his practicum at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, internship at Danbury Hospital, and a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in neurotrauma, neurosurgery, and neurology at Hartford Hospital.

He went on to serve as Chief of Neuropsychological Services in a large neurology practice and later as Clinical Director of the American Fork Hospital Memory Clinic and the Utah Valley Hospital Clinic for Brain Health.

As founder of Horse Brain Science Clinics, Dr. Peters has generously shared his knowledge and expertise since 2010 across the United States—from large conference stages to training facilities and local venues—as well as internationally in Canada, Europe, and Scandinavia, including by invitation at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. He has also collaborated in educational programs with leading horsemen and practitioners, including Martin Black, Mark Rashid, Warwick Schiller, Jim Masterson, Jillian Kreinbring, and Dr. Andrew McLean. His clinics combine classroom learning, live horse demonstrations, and equine brain dissections, offering rare, science-based insights into horse behavior and welfare.

Dr. Peters is the author of Horse Brain Science: The Neuroscience of Ethical Horsemanship. He co-authored with Martin Black the influential book Evidence-Based Horsemanship (2012), and together they have a new volume currently in preparation, The Science and Practice of Evidence-Based Horsemanship. He is also the author of Neuropoetry and co-author with Mark Rashid and Crissi McDonald of A Horse’s Life: The Neuroscience of Equine Welfare, also currently in preparation.

A sought-after speaker, Dr. Peters was the keynote speaker at the 2025 Horses and Humans Research Foundation Conference and will again serve as keynote speaker in 2026 in Kissimmee, Florida. By popular demand, he has given multiple presentations at Warwick Schiller’s Journey On Podcast Summits as one of the featured keynote speakers. He has also been featured in several documentary films.

Dr. Peters lives in Colorado with his wife Michelle and their seven horses and three Australian Shepherds, where daily observation and study continue to shape his work.

Because of the Horse...

I’ve been able to bridge science and horsemanship—taking what we know about the brain and using it to create trust, connection, and clearer communication between horses and humans.