Horse Crazy Multiplication

About 15 years ago, my now-25-year-old stepdaughter was in about 4th grade and I was the one in our home primarily assigned to helping her with math. Like most kids, she would practice the math facts, and then when we got to the dreaded Multiplication Word Problems, her brain just froze. The glaze fell over her eyes. The guessing began, after which the frustration and tears quickly followed.

I finally learned what worked for her - TALKING about something that was close to her HEART - her pets. So, we discussed how many cups of cat-food a day that all of her cats ate. Or, we lined up her stuffed animals to represent animals and discussed what their needs and activities were. It was amazing how quickly the answers came to her when we discussed something that was close to her heart.

Now, my almost-10-year-old daughter is at that same age. And, we're homeschooling. This daughter is more visual than verbal, so we draw lots of pictures. And, she LOVES HORSES. She rides, competes in horse shows, reads horse encyclopedias - you get the idea - a regular horse crazy 10 year-old girl.

So, the other day, I am explaining the concept behind how we manipulate the numbers in a 2-digit times 2-digit multiplication problem. She will absolutely do any numerical manipulation you ask of her, but understanding the concepts behind the manipulation is crucial or else the concept will never be truly grasped.

Anyway, we had exhausted the explanation in the book, and the two explanations that my mind offered, and finally, I remembered (again) to use something that spoke to HER HEART - HORSES.

Well, we made 18 small (and quickly drawn) symbols for our 18 horses who each needed 12 bales of hay. And, we drew the 10 bales of hay like big boxes and the 2 bales of hay (thus making the "12" bales) as little boxes. Then I asked her to count the bales of hay. I told her to make sure that she didn't let any horses go hungry.

Guess what? Those horses got all 216 bales of hay that they needed. Not 36. Not 180. But the full 216. Then she counted all of those little pictures several different ways - counting by the big "10s" bales, then the little "2s" bales; counting 1-by-1; counting by "12s". And, we did the number manipulation. And, we matched the number manipulation with the pictures and then - VOILA - the multiplication concept lightbulb was lighted and there was no stopping her!

Multiplying by 2 and 3:
6, 8, 21, 9, 18, 27, 14, 30, 12

Multiplying by 5 and 10:
5, 40, 35, 15, 10, 30, 45, 80, 20

Multiplying by 4:
20, 32, 24, 40, 16, 4, 12, 28, 36, 8

Multiplying by 6:
48, 36, 42, 36, 24, 18, 12, 48, 60, 54

Multiplying by 7:
28, 14, 63, 70, 49, 56, 21, 28, 21, 56

Multiplying by 8:
40, 24, 48, 32, 16, 80, 56, 72, 64, 48

Multiplying by 9:
18, 36, 27, 81, 54, 72, 45, 63, 81, 9

You can just highlight, copy and paste all of this onto a Word document and then you will have all of the above-noted word problems in one place. Then, you can add your addition and subtraction problems, and re-arrange the problems, if you'd like.

Multiplying by 2 and 3
Alex's barn has 2 horses in it. Each horse's tack box has 3 brushes in it. How many brushes are there altogether?
Each of Alex's two horses' hooves need to be cleaned. How many hooves does Alex need to clean?
If it takes Alex three minutes to spray and comb one horse's tail, how long will it take Alex to spray and comb the tail of seven?
Alex and two friends went to the barn to go riding. They each put 3 peppermint treats into a bag, to give to the horses as a treat when they were done riding. How many peppermint treats were in the bag?
Alex needs to put hay in the stalls of six horses. It takes her three minutes to put hay into a stall. How long will it take Alex to give hay to all of the horses?
Alex was grooming nine horses to get ready for tomorrow's show. She put three bows into each horse's mane. How many bows did she use altogether?
Alex was riding the best horse at the barn. Alex rode the horse around the ring 7 times in the left direction. Then she rode the horse around the ring 7 times in the right direction. How many times did the horse ride around the ring altogether?
Today, only one horse can practice in the ring at a time. Alex and two friends want to practice for ten minutes each. How long will they be at the ring practicing altogether?
Alex likes to give each of her two favorite horses the same number of carrots each (or else they get jealous). If she gives them each 8 carrots, how many carrots does she need to get from the refrigerator?
How many legs do three horses have altogether?

Multiplying by 5 and 10
Alex groomed five horses. It took Alex ten minutes to groom each one. How many minutes did it take Alex to groom them altogether?
Every morning, Alex visited each of the eight horses in the stable. Alex gave each one an apple and talked to it for a little bit. Alex spent five minutes with each horse. How long did it take Alex to visit with all of the horses altogether?
Alex and four friends went on a trail ride. They each took seven snacks with them. How many snacks did they have altogether?
If Becky goes to the barn every day after school for five days, and rides for three hours each day, how many hours of riding did she do altogether?
Five girls owned two horses each. How many horses did they own altogether?
Five horses were in the barn. They each ate six cups of oats every day. How many cups of oats did they eat each day altogether?
The barn uses nine bales of hay each week. How many bales of hay will it use in five weeks altogether?
A barn spends $10.00 each month on cleaning supplies for each horse. If the barn has eight horses, how much does it spend each month on cleaning supplies?
Alex spends $4.00 for each horse competition that she enters. If she enters ten horse competitions this year, how much will the entry fees cost altogether?
Ten riders are all wearing tall black boots. The barn's dog, Penny, sniffed every single rider's boot. How many boots did Penny sniff?

Multiplying by 4
Alex spends 4 hours horseback riding each day, five days a week. How many hours does Alex spend riding horses each week?
Alex bought a bag of apple treats for each of her eight horses. Each bag of treats cost $4.00. How much did Alex spend on horse treats?
Alex put a wrap on each leg of 6 horses. How many legs did Alex wrap altogether?
The horse barn has ten stalls. There are four windows in each stall. How many windows are in all of the stalls together?
If the horse barn holds four horses, and each horse needs four bales of straw for bedding, how many bales of straw does Alex need to put new bedding down for all of the horses?
If it takes Alex one hour to clean all of the tack for one horse, how many hours will it take Alex to clean all of the tack for four horses?
The vet came and saw three horses, and gave each horse four shots, then how many shots did the vet give to the horses altogether?
The riding instructor teaches riding lessons for seven hours every Saturday. If there are four Saturdays this month, then how many total hours will the riding instructor be teaching this month?
A riding instructor is paid $9.00 per hour. She gave riding lessons for four hours on Wednesday. How much money did the riding instructor earn on Wednesday?
Alex polished the name plates on the front doors of each stall for four horses. Each stall door had two name plates - one plate said the name of the horse, and the other plate said the name of the owner. How many name plates did Alex polish altogether?

Multiplying by 6
Alex and 5 friends all horseback riding on a trail ride. Each of them ate eight grapes afterwards. How many grapes did they eat altogether?
Alex and 5 friends wanted to meet next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. to practice riding. But, they each had to do six pages of math homework before they met. How many total pages of math homework got done before they all met at 1:00?
After a riding lesson, Alex got hungry and went to the kitchen to get a snack. Alex got six celery stalks and topped each celery stalk with peanut butter and seven raisins. How many raisins did Alex use altogether?
Alex and 5 friends went to see the Horse Show at the State Fair. Each of their tickets cost $6. How much did they spend on tickets altogether?
On Saturday, Alex and 5 friends went to the horse tack and apparel store to buy new crops. Each crop cost $4.00. How much money did all of the crops cost altogether?
Alex and 5 friends went to horseback riding summer camp together. While they were there, they each made three horse crafts projects. How many crafts projects did they make altogether?
After a long trail ride, Alex and 5 friends got really hungry for pizza. They each ate two slices of pizza. How many slices of pizza did they eat altogether?
While mucking out stalls, Alex and her 5 friends listened to music. Each of them took turns selecting eight different songs to listen to. How many songs did they listen to altogether?
Alex and 5 friends got together each Saturday during the summer to do their summer reading. Over the summer, each of them read ten books about horses. How many horse books did they read altogether that summer?
Alex and 5 friends went to the movies to see "Secretariat." Each movie ticket cost $9. How much did they spend on the movie tickets altogether?

Multiplying by 7
Alex rode around the ring seven times every day. How many times did she ride around the ring after four days?
Alex owned seven horses. She rode each horse for two miles every day. How many total miles did she ride every day?
A new brush costs $7.00. Alex needs a new brush for each of the nine horses at the barn. How much will Alex spend on the new brushes?
Ten horses needed to be brushed and groomed. If Alex spends seven minutes brushing and grooming all ten horses, how long will that take?
Seven girls got mounted onto seven horses for an afternoon riding lesson. During the lesson, each girl asked the trainer seven different questions. How many questions did the girls ask altogher?
Alex has been in seven horse shows. Alex has scored eight points in each horse show. How many points has she scored altogether?
Alex gave three apples to each of seven horses. How many apples did Alex bring to the barn?
Four horses each gobbled up seven cups of oats. How many cups of oats did those horses eat altogether?
Alex and 2 friends took three horses on a trail ride. If they each took seven snacks with them, how many snacks did they take altogether?
Eight boys went horseback riding on Friday. They each brought with them seven cups of water in case they got thirsty. How many cups of water did they have with them altogether?

Multiplying by 8
Alex made a $8.00 profit on each of the five riding jackets that she sold at the Used Riding Clothes store. How much was Alex's total profit?
Alex made a $8.00 profit on the snack shop on each day of the horse show. The horse show lasted 3 days. How much was Alex's total profit?
The barn's eight horses each have six blankets. How many total blankets are in the barn?
The barn's eight horses got all of their legs wrapped. How many wraps were used?
The horse trainer worked with eight different horses each day. If he worked on both Saturday and Sunday, how many horses did he work with in one weekend?
Ten horses each ate eight carrots on Wednesday. How many carrots did Alex need to bring to the barn on Wednesdays?
Seven girls each paid $8.00 to go on a short trail ride. How much did it cost for all of them together?
At the horse show, cheese-steak sandwiches cost $8.00 each. If Alex went to buy a sandwich for each of the nine trainers, how much money did she need?
The stable owner had eight different visitors come to look at the stable each day for eight days. At the end of the eight days, how many visitors had come to look at the stable?
There were eight long benches placed around the outside of the show arena. Six people could fit on one bench. How many people could fit on all of the benches together?

Multiplying by 9
Nine horses are all saddled up. Each saddle has two stirrups. How many stirrups are there altogether?
There are nine stalls in the barn. Each stall has four hooks on the door for halters and tack. How many hooks are there in the barn?
The judge at the horse show really liked coffee with lots of sugar. He put three sugar packets in each coffee. He had nine cups of coffee during the horse show. How many sugar packets did he use?
Alex earned $9.00 every time she exercised a horse. If she exercises nine horses on Saturday, how much will she earn on Saturday?
The stable is having nine horse shows this year. They will need six differ