Mane Brain: The Science of Smarter Riding
Welcome to Mane Brain, the podcast where neuroscience meets the saddle! Hosted by Audrey Paslow, a board-certified neurologic physical therapist and expert in rider biomechanics, this show dives deep into the brain-body connection that makes great riders.
Each episode explores the science behind balance, coordination, flexibility, strength, breathing, and timing—essential elements for equestrians looking to improve their performance. Through expert interviews, rider fitness strategies, and neuroscience-backed insights, you’ll learn how to train smarter, ride better, and unlock your full potential in the saddle.
Mane Brain: The Science of Smarter Riding
Mistakes Are the Mechanism: How Errors Build Better Riders
In this episode of Mane Brain, Audrey dives into one of the most misunderstood — and most powerful — truths about rider development:
Mistakes are not the problem. Missing the learning opportunity is.
Building on her episodes published in November about finding the learning sweet spot, this conversation explores the neuroscience behind why mistakes are essential for skill development and how riders can use them intentionally to improve balance, timing, and confidence.
🧠 Why the Brain Needs Mistakes
From a motor learning perspective, the brain doesn’t change when things go perfectly. It changes when there’s a mismatch between what it expected to happen and what actually happened — a process known as prediction error. These small, safe errors are the fuel for neuroplasticity.
Audrey breaks down:
- Adams’ Closed-Loop Theory, where sensory feedback and error detection refine movement accuracy
- Schmidt’s Schema Theory, which explains how variability and mistakes build adaptable motor programs
- Modern neuroscience concepts of prediction error, showing how the brain updates movement strategies based on errors
Together, these models explain why perfection slows learning — and why controlled, intentional mistakes accelerate it.
🏋️ Applying Error-Based Learning in Unmounted Training
You’ll learn key ways to use mistakes productively during off-horse work, including:
- Why slowing down helps you notice errors
- How controlled instability improves balance and body awareness
- Why repeating a movement after a mistake matters more than chasing perfect reps
- How changing one variable at a time sharpens motor learning
🎯 The Takeaway
Riders who improve fastest aren’t the ones who make fewer mistakes. They’re the ones who recognize them sooner, stay curious, and use them as data.
If you want to train your brain — not just your body — this episode will give you a completely new lens on what progress really looks like.
Mane Brain Podcast is part of Anchored Seat's mission to bring neuroscience to the saddle! Learn more about training programs and clinic opportunities at www.anchoredseat.com.