Why We Train Horse Early In The Morning?

Training and workout is an essential part of horse life. In early times horses were trained for warfare as well as for long journeys. Now the scenario had changed and horses are trained for race and leisure purposes. There has been a debate about the optimum time for this training. Most horses are trained early in the morning. It is not for only horses that they are trained during dawn but it holds significance for all the animals. If we talk about training other animals like dogs, trainers prefer to carry out learning activities in the morning time.

Reasons Behind the Early Morning Training Of A Horse

Dawn Affects the Memory of Horse

A researcher (McCall, 1990) at the University of Connecticut found that the best time for training the horse is early morning as the learning ability of the horse is higher in the morning. Horse memory works more efficiently at this time. Moreover, this study reveals that early morning training also increases memory retention in a horse. So the morning is an effective time to train a horse.

It’s Good for Respiratory Health

Training a horse early in the morning is also beneficial for the respiratory health of a horse. A study conducted by (Ivester, 2012) showing that how animal training at a different time is associated with airborne particulates that cause inflammation of the airway. Average particle concentration varied with month and year of sampling but daily variation was not significant. It was found that particle concentration was very low during dawn then gradually keeps on increasing as it sunrises. We can conclude that airway infection can also be prevented by training a horse in the morning time.

Horse Has A High Metabolic Rate In The Morning

Training horses in the early morning also have many metabolic advantages. An experiment conducted by (Stull, 2000)on the metabolism at a different time interval during 24 hours. Metabolism of the horse was found maximum in the morning. In early morning training, there are maximum chances for the removal of toxic metabolites from the body. Moreover, the fewer chances of fatigue to the animal as the metabolism is high and it ensures the equal distribution of nutrients to the body.

Less Interference, More Learning

The peaceful environment of the morning is an opportunity to connect with nature with minimum human interference. Morning time not only prevents environmental stress but also helps the horse and trainer to focus on their activities. Moreover, there is no nuisance which makes it more fruitful to train a horse in the morning.

From the above pieces of evidence, we can conclude that training horse during dawn is beneficial in all aspects. Memory retention and learning behavior are more activated during the early morning. The chances of airway inflammation are less as the air is cleaner. The metabolism is also at a peak and there is low disturbance during the early morning.

References & Further Reading

Ivester K, Smith K, Moore G, Zimmerman N, Couëtil L. 2012. Variability in particulate concentrations in a horse training barn over time. Equine Veterinary Journal. 44: 51-56.

McCall C. 1990. A review of learning behaviour in horses and its application in horse training. Journal of Animal Science. 68(1): 75-81.

Stull C, Rodiek A. 2000. Physiological responses of horses to 24 hours of transportation using a commercial van during summer conditions. Journal of animal science. 78(6): 1458-1466.