This study asked people, via a questionnaire distributed through social media, whether their horse was happy, and whether they felt that they could recognise happiness in their horse. The vast majority of respondents felt that they could recognise when their horse was happy (94%), and that their horse could be described as happy (92.8%). Participants believed that their horses were: happy when they interacted with them (98.3%); when they rode them (83%); when they worked them from the ground (82.7%). In the abstract, the authors state “These results suggest that some equestrians may have overconfidence in interpreting equine affective states. Furthermore, some respondents may have incorrectly perceived behaviours potentially indicating negative emotions as indicators of happiness.”
Given that other studies have shown around 50% of competition horses to be lame or asymmetrical, it’s likely that the results of this study are skewed. It may be that the people who responded have particularly happy horses, or are particularly good at recognising happiness. Or it might be that we have a long way to go in understanding how to recognise happiness in our horses.
Happiness is a subjective feeling and associated with positive affective states that can indicate good welfare. It is becoming increasingly agreed that equestrians’ ability to recognise indicators of positive emotions has the potential to enhance overall horse wellbeing, but research in this area is limited. Therefore, this study investigated equestrians’ perceptions of horse happiness. A survey comprising 25 questions was distributed through equestrian-related social media (internationally) and yielded 332 valid responses. Frequency analysis was conducted within each factor category (e.g., rider type). Pearson chi-squared and Fisher’s exact test determined if differences occurred between the tested factor categories (significance level: P < .05). The majority of respondents believed that they were able to recognise when their horses were happy (94%, n = 332; P < .0001) whilst 92.8% (n = 332; P < .0001) believed that their horses could be described as happy. The majority of participants who indicated that they were able to recognise when their horses were happy also believed that their horses were: happy when they interacted with them (98.3%, n = 295; P < .001); when they rode them (83%, n = 270; P < .0001); when they worked them (i.e., unmounted work) (82.7%, n = 312; P < .0001). The largest respondent proportion believed that horses who were very “forward”/energetic every time they were being ridden could be best described as “rather happy” (36.4%, n = 332). Owners more frequently believed that horses were “rather happy” if they did not react to loud noises/scary objects (30.9%, n = 285; P < .013). These results suggest that some equestrians may have overconfidence in interpreting equine affective states. Furthermore, some respondents may have incorrectly perceived behaviours potentially indicating negative emotions as indicators of happiness.
You can read the abstract and purchase the full article here.
Bornmann T, Randle H, Williams J. Investigating Equestrians’ Perceptions of Horse Happiness: An Exploratory Study. J Equine Vet Sci. 2021 Sep;104:103697. doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2021.103697. Epub 2021 Jun 25. PMID: 34416986.
© Sue Palmer, The Horse Physio, 2021
Treating your horse with care, connection, curiosity and compassion
