Through scientific study of how horses learn, the methods and techniques that allow for effective, successful training of horses have been distilled into ten basic principles. Every good horse person uses these principles without knowing it. There will be no wasted time or confusion during training when these principles are followed.

The first five principles pertain to the nature of horses and list things that a trainer should be aware of while training. Understanding the first five principles informs the use of the next five principles that discuss training.

Five Horse Principles

  • Horses are large and unpredictable. They use fight, flight, or freeze to cope with stress or perceived danger. The safety of human and horse is paramount when training. Nothing that compromises human or horse safety should be attempted.
  • Horses have different needs than we do. They need social interaction with other equines and require foraging and freedom. We can also be seen as a threat by horses, and how we act around horses should minimize the possibility of being perceived as a danger. Avoid assuming a dominant role over the horse.
  • Horses’ brains are different from ours. They think, see, and hear differently than we do. It can be easy to overestimate horses’ mental abilities (like saying, ‘he knows what he did wrong!’) or underestimate them (like saying, ‘oh, it’s only a horse’).
  • Horses can feel. They can suffer, and they can be content; they can become attached to us or be afraid of us. What we do affects horses’ long-term physical and mental well-being.
  • Constant pressure is bad for horses. Our end goal should be that the horse does what we have trained it to without having to be constantly reminded. This is self-carriage, and preserves the horse’s ability to think and act on his own, avoiding the extremes of learned helplessness and hyper-reactivity.

Five Training Principles

  • Horses have to get used to perceived threats in order to survive. They can’t always be wasting energy by running away. We can systematically habituate horses to things they tend to be scared of using the lowest levels of arousal.
  • Horses learn by trial and error. When the result of a certain behaviour is something they want, they are likely to repeat it. When the result is something they don’t want, they are less likely to repeat it. Horses don’t learn well from punishment, and it should be avoided.
  • Horses easily make associations. When one event predictably happens before another, the horse strings them together in its mind. These can be good or bad associations. Using this principle helps create light, unobtrusive cues. Horses get progressively better with practice. If they practice something we don’t like and it is somehow rewarding, they will get better at it just as much as practicing behaviour that we do like. ‘Deleting’ unwanted behaviour with a more desirable response is effective. Behaviour can be ‘shaped’ from a good try to getting progressively closer to the end goal.
  • Horses need clear consistency. They rely on the cues we give them, whether the cues are intentional or not. They must always be able to tell what we are asking of them to avoid confusion.

Conclusion

These ten principles are put forward by the founders of equitation science. Equitation science is not a training method, instead it explains what makes methods work and why. Any training
technique that aligns with these principles is safe to use and is very likely to be effective. These principles take into account that every horse is an individual and give an excellent starting place for the training of every horse in any discipline. Find out more at equitationscience.com.

Written and edited by Claire Sandercock