10/06/2026
Interesting rule of 5
One of the consequences of the horse’s outstanding recognition memory is they remember precise events and do not generalise immediately.
This is known as ‘context-specific learning’.
For example, when you are training a new response, it can be advantageous to ask for it in the same place.
Think of asking for your first canter transitions in the corner of an arena, your horse soon learns to anticipate your cue in this place, and possibly only in one particular corner or context initially.
Competent trainers who train complex movements such as piaffe, know full well the power of context-specific learning.
We want to help our horses to generalise, which means they respond in the same way with similar stimuli.
Because of their extraordinary recognition memory horses are slow to generalise and certainly they do not immediately do so.
Horse people commonly know that if a horse has never seen a white pony or even a donkey, they don’t immediately generalise that its a horse, or non-predator. To that horse, this is not the look of a predator BUT it also doesn’t quite look like a horse!
It makes good sense from an evolutionary point of view to be suspicious of any new stimuli that is different to what they have mentally stored.
In terms of horse training, on average the horse needs to be trained to go through/over at least five different types of the same style of obstacles before he or she generalises (e.g., five horse trailers/trucks, or five water jumps etc.) and shows no hesitation with altered forms and shapes.
We can call this ‘the rule of five’.
This is an excerpt from Modern Horse Training: Equitation Science Principles & Practice, Volume 1 by Andrew McLean.
This book is available for purchase on our webshop and we have a small stock of this edition available for fast shipping in Europe (get in fast though as there are only a few books left).
