Equestrian sports demand advanced skills and can involve extensive physical effort from both horses and riders. No horse is born with the capacity to perform at the highest level, which is where training comes into play. “We want the body to adapt to training,” said Tim Worden, PhD, an equestrian sport scientist located in Toronto, Ontario, during his presentation at the 2025 IGNITE Sports Science for the Olympic Disciplines Seminar, held Jan. 12-13, in Ocala.

But how do you prepare a horse to perform at the highest level of sport? What lessons can be taken from human athlete training and applied to horses?

Lessons for Training Equine Athletes

Lesson #1: Be flexible with planning. “Two steps forward one step back” is the traditional saying, and it’s typically true. Worden said it’s always good to have a plan, but you also need to remember it’s just a framework. Your horse needs daily monitoring. Watch the horse in the stall, during warmup, and during competition or training. Take notice of any changes (good or bad) and be ready to adjust your plan.

Lesson #2: If it matters, measure it. Are you and/or your horse getting better? You need to assess that somehow. Wearable sensors, smartphone applications, and software platforms might help, but it doesn’t have to be that elaborate. You can record your observations in notebooks or spreadsheets.

Lesson #3: Use exercises that must be solved in the desired way. The most effective training exercises mimic what you’ll be doing in competition and stimulate the same muscle patterns but are varied enough to keep routines fresh and engaging. Taking horses out of the arena and doing something faster (like a controlled gallop) than they typically go would be one way to do that, Worden said.

Lesson #4: Guide athletes along the safest possible path. Minimize injury and setbacks by managing risk factors. Worden explained that high-risk events include travel; issues with hoof trimming, shoeing, and conformation; psychological challenges; tack and equipment changes; and stress. The better you manage high-risk activities the more you can reduce the likelihood of injuries.

Take-Home Message

To help advance a horse’s training, observe his behavior daily, watch how he moves during work and around the barn, and understand what that is telling you about his strengths and weaknesses. Track your horse’s progress over time. Utilize exercises that naturally encourage the horse to move in the desired or correct way and, as your primary goal, avoid injuries.