Category: Training

Proper Training Doesn’t Just Make Horses Faster — It Changes Their Organs

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Proper training of the equine athlete can produce results in more than just muscle mass: it can and should create physiological changes in the lungs, spleen and heart.

Proper athletic conditioning can increase the actual size of the heart, which is a factor in cardiac output. Cardiac output is a combination of heart rate and stroke volume. The more blood that pumps through the heart, the more oxygen arrives at the muscles.

A horse that has been trained properly will have healthy lungs, which can take in more oxygen. The oxygen is then carried by the blood and distributed to the muscles. Called maximum oxygen uptake, this process provides power for a longer time. If all other equine systems are in order, the horse’s performance level is directly related to maximal oxygen uptake, which can increase by 35 times between rest and intensive exercise.

 

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When It Comes To Training Horses, ‘You Get The Behavior You Reinforce, Not The One You Want’

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Much has been written through the centuries about the process of training horses, much of it specific to the type of work a horse is meant to do. In a recent webinar hosted by the British organization World Horse Welfare however, experts reminded horse owners that it’s critical to take into account the way horses learn and process information when setting up a training program for them, regardless of the job they’re intended to do.

Dr. Gemma Pearson, veterinarian and equine behaviorist, said that horses do not learn the way we do. As a species, they have what Pearson called “limited mental capacity” which isn’t to say they aren’t intelligent, simply that they learn best when complex tasks or situations are broken down into very simple steps where it’s clear what they’re being asked. Pearson used complex dressage movements as an example. Many of them start with a horse learning two different cues from a rider’s leg — speed up, or lengthen stride. It helps horses to feel the rider use different part of the leg for each request, so it’s clear what’s being asked. The same is true for rein cues, which can be broken down into different but related questions. As a horse’s training advances, a rider can combine these clear, well-learned instructions for more complicated results.

 

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