The Maths Of Horse Training And Why It's Important

The Maths behind horse training

To the untrained eye, horse training can seem like a heap of pulling and kicking nonsense. Maybe sometimes it is. However for the greater majority, it is far more calculated than that. There are a few maths problems that id like to share with you, that help remind me what I’m actually aiming for in my horses. These problems are mostly just theories that I try and live by, but the maths problems help me to remember the meaning behind them.

1+1=2 and 2+2=4

The deeper you get into training horses, the more you start to realise that every little thing that you do needs to have a specific outcome. One way that I have heard this explained extremely well is from Nathan Wilson. Nathan explains that when training a horse you should put them in an uncomfortable position and show them the release. This means that asking a horse to complete a manoeuvre or a specific movement should always have the same outcome i.e 1+1 should always equal 2.

Another way I use to explain this is “black and white” a horse has trouble understanding the difference between two similar ques. Therefor especially in the beginning we must make it black and white. A great example I saw of this just recently was an inexperienced rider, attempting to push a horse away from a cow with their leg while working it along a fence. The horse was pushing through their leg because the rider wasn’t being hard enough i.e 1+1=0.5

Action points

Be black and white with pressure. A horse needs to know exactly what your telling them to give you the desired outcome.
Endeavour to keep your cues as consistent as possible.
Don’t make any two buttons the same and expect a different answer.

365 + 365 = cow horse

A common rule that gets passed around in the cow horse community is the 2 year rule (730 days). This rule simply states that it takes 2 years to make a horse into a decent performance horse. That’s 730 rides not 730 days in the paddock for you slackers out there. I give a lot of weight to this rule as I’ve had horses come out and pleasantly surprise me towards the end of the second year of training. The only contentious part that I find in this rule is if you don’t get along with a horse. In this case I will more often than not advocate the owner to move them on. (There are to many good horses out there)

Action points

Unless the horse is a donkey, attempt to give it 2 years of solid training before you decide to sell it.
Horses take time to develop muscle in the areas needed, give it time.
If you don’t enjoy riding a horse then you should sell it.

Bonus tip- Don't shoot the messenger

One thing that I always like to ask myself when things aren’t going to plan is “why is the horse doing this instead of what I’m asking”. Generally what you will find when looking in the mirror is that you aren’t asking clearly enough. Or you haven’t given the horse enough time to figure it out. On most occasions, horses aren’t inherently disobedient and therefor they will move away from pressure when given the option. If this is not the case then you are probably being a poor messenger.