Timing and feel: The key to effective horse training

Timing and feel are two essential concepts in horse training. They go hand in hand, allowing riders to communicate effortlessly with their horses. The good news? Timing can be learned and feel develops through practicing good timing!

Understanding the importance of timing and feel

To refine your timing and develop feel, we'll explore key areas:

• Preparation
• Footfall awareness
• The power of the release
• Developing feel

Preparation for the aid

A horse must be mentally and physically prepared for a request before the cue is given. If a horse is distracted, the request will be ineffective - like asking a student a question while they're daydreaming in class.

Example: 

A rider preparing for a left-lead canter must sit in position left, maintain inside bend and secure the outside rein to control the shoulders. If the horse is bulging its barrel into the left leg, the horse is not prepared to take the left lead. Good preparation set the horse up for success.

Footfall awareness

Even with proper preparation, knowing when the horse is physically able to respond make a difference. You can only influence a hoof that is off the ground!

Buck Brannaman's footfall example

In 7 Clinics with Buck Brannaman, Buck ties a rope to a person's ankle and demonstrates how pressure applied at the wrong moment is ineffective. If pressure is applied when the foot is planted, it won't move. But if applied when the foot is just lifting off the ground, the person can easily follow the feel.

It's the same for horses - proper timing of an aid ensures the horse can respond effortlessly.

The power of the release

Once a horse correctly responds to a request, releasing the pressure at the right moment teaches them they got it right.

Timing the release matters:

• Release too early - the horse learns the wrong response.
• Release too late - the horse doesn't associate it with the correct action.
• Release at the right moment - you create clear, effective communication.

Examples of timing the release:

• Upward transition to trot - the rider uses their lower legs to ask for trot and releases the moment the horse correctly responds. The rider then leaves the horse to travel forward, only briefly applying the aid again to maintain or increase the tempo.
• General handling - a handler applies pressure through body language to ask a horse to move, then immediately softens as the horse moves in the desired direction.
• Groundwork - A handler applies light downwards pressure on the lead rope to ask the horse to lower its head - and instantly releases all pressure when the horse responds.
• Riding - A rider holds even rein contact on both reins until the horse yields, then rewards by releasing all pressure on the reins.

Developing feel: when timing becomes automatic

Feel is the subconscious ability to communicate in perfect timing with a horse. While it can't be directly taught, it develops through experience of practicing good timing.

Have you ever watched an experienced rider and thought, they make it look effortless!? That's feel in action - unconscious competence developed over time. When a rider no longer has to think about when to apply or release an aid, the conversation with the horse becomes effortless - like a dance.

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You might also like to read:

• Rider timing at the walk
• Consistency in horse training: the key to a trusting and willing horse

Learn the WHY. Your horse will thank you.

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