Start with horse puzzles
Horse Puzzles;
Taking enrichment to the next level
At Equithink, we believe horses are natural learners — and puzzles are one of the best ways to help them think, choose and grow.
We design our puzzles not just for fun, but as powerful tools to build skills and autonomy, step by step. They’re not simply separate puzzles: together, they create a learning journey that can grow with your horse. From slowfeeders to concept puzzles, each new challenge opens up more ways to think, choose and learn through play.
And we’re only getting started; with each new puzzle, we move closer to a bigger goal: helping horses communicate with us and show their preferences— not just in play, but in everyday life.
On this page, you’ll find an overview of all our current puzzle types and a preview of what’s coming next. Whether your horse is just starting or ready for more advanced challenges, there’s something here for every curious equine mind.
Because learning through play is the most natural way to grow — for all of us.
Start here -
The Spinner puzzle
Your Horse’s Puzzle Journey
Start simple, build skills step by step and follow your horse’s curiosity.
The Spinner is the perfect beginning for curious horses
It gives your horse a clear and accessible first experience with puzzling — without overwhelm or frustration. By introducing the Spinner step by step, you help your horse understand how to interact with the puzzle, build confidence and stay motivated to keep exploring. For almost every horse, this is where we recommend starting the journey.
Ready for a bit more challenge? The Crumble Tumble
Once your horse understands how to interact with a puzzle, the Crumble Tumble is a great next step. This puzzle requires more persistence and problem-solving. It builds on the confidence developed with the Spinner, while adding a new layer of challenge and engagement. Some horses love this extra challenge; others are ready to move straight on to the SKILLS system. Both paths are perfectly fine.
Next: SKILLS the Modular Puzzle System
Build your horse’s intelligence, one skill at a time.
Our SKILLS puzzle system consists of interchangeable puzzle tiles—each designed to develop a specific ability like sliding, turning, lifting or pulling. Step by step, your horse learns new movements, gains confidence and starts to think in more complex ways.
Already want to start with SKILLS? Skill 3 is our easiest entry point and can also be used as a first puzzle.
👉 Perfect for building focus, coordination and problem-solving across multiple levels.
Ready to start?
For most horses, the Spinner is where the journey begins.
Introduce it step by step and let your horse discover one of the most important lessons behind every puzzle:
My actions have an effect.
The Spinner Puzzle
A playful first introduction to horse enrichment and problem solving.
- An errorless first introduction to horse puzzling.
- Builds confidence & curiosity
- A game your horse will love
What’s Next at Equithink?
Exploring new ways for horses to learn, choose and communicate.
The musical SKILLS:
Learning through sound —exploring musical choice and interaction
What motivates a horse beyond food?
That question sparked the development of our musical puzzles. We were curious: will horses work for influence over their surrounding? For sound they enjoy? Can music become a meaningful form of enrichment?
There’s plenty of research on the calming effects of music for horses—but most of it involves music playing passively in the background.
For us, that raised another question: what if the horse doesn’t like the music? A radio can be comforting—but also annoying or even punishing when it’s loud, full of commercials or simply not your taste.
What makes music truly enjoyable for many of us is control: choosing what we hear, when and for how long.
That’s what we’re exploring with our herd.
– The Horse Theremin turns body movement into sound.
– The Horse Radio lets horses play, pause or skip tracks on a playlist via large buttons—using a USB stick with music their humans picked for them.
– And we’re developing piano touch tiles, each with a full octave, so horses can create sound themselves, one note at a time.
These musical puzzles are still in the testing phase and not yet for sale—but what we’ve seen so far is incredibly promising. Curious to learn more?
Speech Buttons: Giving Horses a Voice
What if your horse could tell you exactly what they wanted—
not just through body language, but by clearly pressing a button?
At Equithink, we’re preparing for the next step in our exploration of equine intelligence:
a system of touch-activated speech buttons combined with clear visual symbols, so that horses can communicate their preferences in a way that’s unmistakable for us humans.
Inspired by research (like the blanket study, where horses pointed to symbols to show if they wanted their rug on or off), we want to go one step further—combining sound, symbol and reinforcement to give horses a consistent, learnable way to express themselves.
It’s not a magic tool.
Every word must be carefully taught, always linked to the same outcome.
But if we’re thoughtful and consistent, the possibilities are incredible.
Take scratches, for example. Most horses love them.
But what if they could tell us where?
Imagine buttons for “scratch neck”, “scratch belly”, “scratch back”—and imagine what could happen once a horse understands that each button means something specific.
Could they one day use that same system to tell us where it hurts?
We’re still in the early stages, building the technology and preparing to teach our herd step by step.
We’ll start by modeling the buttons ourselves, encouraging them to touch, explore and link their actions to results. This approach has shown real success in other species—now it’s time to see what horses will do when given the same opportunity.
🎥 Of course, we’ll take you along for the ride—sharing what works, what doesn’t and what we’re learning along the way.
Because this isn’t just about teaching horses words. It’s about listening better and giving them real tools to influence their world.
The Cookie Cabinet, heart of the puzzle system
Training when you’re not around
Our horses love their training sessions—so we started thinking: what if they could keep learning, even when we’re not there?
Enter the Cookie Cabinet: a wireless reward station that connects to different puzzles. When your horse gives the right answer, it rings a bell and dispenses a small food reward—just like in training.
It all starts with the One Button Game: a simple puzzle where your horse touches a button to earn a treat. From there, we gradually increase the challenge—adding movement, search behavior, and later even concept learning.
Curious where this leads?
The Smart Stable: Giving Horses More Control
What if your horse could control parts of his own environment?
Turn on a light when it gets dark. Start a fan when he is warm. Choose an activity when he wants something to do.
Most horses in human care have very little control over what happens in their daily lives. We decide when they eat, where they go and what is available to them. Yet having opportunities to make choices and influence your own environment is an important part of wellbeing. Giving horses more choice can have a positive impact on their welfare.
The Smart Stable is our vision for changing that. By combining puzzles, technology and what we learn about equine cognition, we want to create an environment that horses can actively interact with — giving them more opportunities to choose, explore and influence their own daily lives.
Because enrichment isn’t only about giving horses more things to do. It’s also about giving them more say in what happens to them.
What’s Next?
Puzzles that challenge body and mind!
We’re just getting started. Our dream is to create a full range of puzzles that let horses not only train skills independently, but also express themselves, explore concepts and gain more control over their lives.
Here’s a peek at what we’re working on:
Movement puzzles
These puzzles encourage physical activity and problem-solving at the same time. Think: retrieve-and-return games, search challenges, or multi-step tasks that involve movement, coordination and memory.
Concept puzzles
We’re developing games that teach your horse to recognise shapes, sizes, colours and even individual names. Imagine your horse learning to distinguish “big” from “small” or “blue” from “yellow”—and making choices based on that understanding.
These cognitive puzzles are the next step in helping horses understand abstract concepts—while still having fun.
💡 Got an idea?
We’re always developing new puzzles—and we’d love to hear from you!
What kind of challenge would your horse enjoy? Is there a behavior or skill you’d like to develop?
👉 Click here to share your puzzle idea and help shape the future of horse enrichment.
🛒 Ready to get started?
Explore our current puzzles and start your horse’s enrichment journey today.
From confidence-building slow feeders to clever modular games—there’s something for every level.
👉 Visit the Equithink Shop
FAQ
Everything You Need to Know About Equithink Puzzles
1. Are the puzzles safe for my horse?
Yes — our puzzles are designed with durability, horse-safe materials and rounded edges.
But as with any equine equipment, safety comes from design and from how it’s introduced.
Horses are strong, curious animals. While we build our puzzles to withstand daily use, no product is indestructible — and not all horses start at the same level of calm exploration.
That’s why we recommend:
Supervised introduction until your horse fully understands the puzzle
Secure mounting following the instructions in our user manual
Gradual training, so your horse experiences success early
Extra puzzles in group settings to prevent resource guarding
Avoiding use during strong itching or rubbing behavior
In our own open stable, our horses have 24/7 access once they understand the puzzles — they play, disengage and come back later. But every horse is different.
For full guidance, please read our
👉 Safety, Supervision & Common Sense section.
Liability note:
Equithink is not liable for damage caused by incorrect use, unsupervised introduction or misuse. Use as intended and supervise when in doubt.
2. Will my horse understand how to use the puzzles?
Yes — when introduced the right way.
That’s why every horse begins with the Spinner, our starter puzzle designed for calm, frustration-free learning.
To set your horse up for success, make sure to:
start with the feed balls first (outside the puzzle)
use low-value treats your horse likes but doesn’t get overexcited about
ensure your horse is not hungry when you start
offer hay or another option alongside the puzzle
supervise the first sessions until your horse disengages calmly
Most horses understand the Spinner within minutes once they realise:
“My action makes something happen.”
For the full introduction method (Phase 1 & 2), please see the complete guide on the Spinner product page.
3. Which Puzzle should I start with?
For 99% of horses, the Spinner is the ideal first step.
It’s the only puzzle you can introduce almost errorlessly:
your horse first learns the feed balls outside the puzzle, builds confidence, and then recognises them inside the Spinner — making the full puzzle feel familiar, safe and intuitive.
Because of this step-by-step introduction, the Spinner becomes:
easy to understand
frustration-free
highly rewarding
the perfect foundation for all future puzzles
👉 Start with the Spinner — the safest, calmest introduction to puzzling.
4. Can young, old or rehab horses use the puzzles?
Yes.
Young horses: build confidence, curiosity and fine-motor skills.
Senior horses: stay mentally active and enriched.
Rehab horses: stay engaged without physical strain.
All horses benefit from the puzzles.
5. What treats should I use?
No treats — just food.
We recommend using small grass pellets that are low in sugar and starch, such as timothy pellets.
Pellets around 6 mm work best, but always check that the food you use can pass through the puzzle without getting stuck.
Your horse should enjoy the food, but not get overly excited by it — calm, steady eating supports better learning and keeps puzzling frustration-free.
6. Can the puzzles be used outside or in the paddock?
Yes — puzzles like the Spinner and Crumble Tumble can be used outside.
However, we recommend placing them under a small roof or shelter.
When pellets get wet, they swell and can get stuck inside the puzzle. Keeping the puzzle dry prevents this and ensures smooth, frustration-free use.
For the SKILLS modular system, we strongly recommend installing it under a roof to protect both the mechanism and the food rewards.
Wherever you install your puzzle, always follow the installation instructions in the user manual to ensure correct mounting and safe use.
7. How do I clean the puzzles?
Warm water and a mild, horse-safe soap is usually all you need.
Most parts are removable for easy cleaning and drying.
8. How long will the puzzles last?
Our puzzles are handmade in small batches using high-quality, durable materials.
With normal use, they’re built to last for years — even in busy stables or shared environments.
Longevity does depend on correct introduction and installation.
Always:
introduce the puzzle according to our step-by-step guidelines,
mount it securely following the instructions in the user manual,
and supervise your horse until you know they can disengage calmly.
As with any equine equipment, owners are responsible for appropriate use, supervision and safe installation.
When used as intended, our puzzles are designed for long-term, daily enrichment.
9. Are puzzles just toys, or do they really help my horse?
They truly do.
Puzzles develop cognitive skills like problem-solving, memory and decision-making — while also supporting emotional regulation, confidence and independence.
And this isn’t “just play”.
This is education, grounded in what science is beginning to show us.
Recent welfare research* has demonstrated that horses benefit deeply from cognitive enrichment:
they show fewer signs of stress,
display more positive, exploratory behaviour,
and develop better emotional balance when they’re given opportunities to think, choose and solve problems.
Our puzzles are built on exactly those principles — offering meaningful challenge, clear cause-and-effect and real moments of agency.
10. Why do horses need mental stimulation?
Besides food, movement and social contact, horses also need cognitive challenge.
In the wild they spend hours exploring, choosing, solving problems and interacting with their environment.
Our puzzles give them that free behavioural space back:
“My action has an effect.”
The result?
Less frustration, more autonomy and more confidence.
11. Are puzzles suitable for every horse?
Yes — every horse can puzzle.
But every horse starts with the Spinner. It’s the only puzzle you can introduce errorlessly and the perfect way to build early confidence and understanding.
From there, you gradually move through the SKILLS at your horse’s pace, discovering how far they want to go — or what they naturally enjoy.
Some horses love sound and rhythm, so they continue with the Musical SKILLS (coming soon!).
Others show a talent for making choices and expressing preferences, so they move toward Speech Buttons (coming soon!).
And some horses crave more movement, so we’re developing action-based puzzles to give them more physical engagement.
Because every horse is unique.
The path stays the same — start with the Spinner, build gradually, and follow your horse’s curiosity — but the destination is different for everyone.
12. How do I introduce a puzzle to my horse?
Step by step, positively and without pressure.
Let your horse explore at their own pace and reward small attempts.
Always start with an easy puzzle like the Spinner puzzle and follow our introduction guidelines based on positive reinforcement.
13. How long will my horse stay engaged with a puzzle?
It depends on the horse, the puzzle — and how often you fill it.
Many horses return several times a day when the puzzle is available.
Some even keep interacting with it when it’s empty, simply because the process itself is rewarding.
Every horse has its own rhythm, but short, positive sessions tend to create the most motivation and curiosity.
14. Can horses get frustrated by puzzles?
Not when you start at the right level and follow a gradual introduction.
Our puzzles are designed to create early success experiences — from errorless learning (Spinner) to light, manageable challenges (Crumble Tumble and SKILLS).
Your horse stays motivated rather than overwhelmed.
15. From what age can a horse start puzzling?
From the moment a horse can safely stand and eat from a feeding system.
Most horses can use simple puzzles from around one year old, and puzzling remains beneficial throughout old age.
16. Can puzzles be used during training or rehabilitation?
Absolutely.
Puzzles support:
cognitive engagement
fine motor skills
emotional regulation
focus and calmness
They are valuable for sport horses, rehab horses and horses who need more mental balance.