The Development of a Novel Questionnaire Approach to the Investigation of Horse Training, Management, and Behaviour.
Authors: Fenner Kate, Dashper Katherine, Serpell James, McLean Andrew, Wilkins Cristina, Klinck Mary, Wilson Bethany, McGreevy Paul
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary: The Equine Behaviour Assessment and Research Questionnaire (E-BARQ) Researchers from an international panel spanning equitation science, veterinary medicine, animal behaviour, and elite coaching have developed a comprehensive questionnaire instrument—the E-BARQ—designed to capture quantitative data on the interconnected domains of equine training, management, and behaviour. The team piloted their 218-item questionnaire across 1320 horses with approximately 1194 owner/caregiver respondents, then applied Rotated Principal Component Analysis to identify redundant or poorly performing items; this statistical approach revealed 65 underlying components, of which 36 demonstrated robust internal reliability, whilst 43 items were discarded for failing to meet inclusion criteria (85% response rate and variance ≥1.3). The refined questionnaire distils the domain into three practical categories—horse temperament (17 components), equitation (11 components), and management and equipment (8 components)—ultimately producing a 97-question final version with 214 items grouped into matrices alongside demographic variables. For practitioners, the E-BARQ represents a validated framework for systematically evaluating how training and management modifications influence behaviour over time, establishing baseline data on what constitutes normal equine behaviour, and identifying actionable factors that enhance both rider safety and horse welfare. This tool enables the equestrian community to move beyond anecdotal evidence and contribute meaningfully to citizen science initiatives that can drive evidence-based improvements in ethical horsemanship.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •The E-BARQ provides a validated research tool for quantitatively assessing how training and management changes influence equine behaviour and welfare outcomes
- •Practitioners can contribute to citizen science initiatives and evidence-based equitation by participating in such questionnaire-based studies to improve safety and ethical practices
- •The questionnaire's multi-domain structure (temperament, equitation, management) allows holistic evaluation of the factors influencing horse behaviour and performance
Key Findings
- •A pilot questionnaire collected data on 1,320 horses from 1,194 respondents to develop the E-BARQ instrument
- •Rotated Principal Component Analysis extracted 65 components from 218 items, with 36 demonstrating high internal reliability
- •43 items were excluded due to failing Rotated Principal Component Analysis criteria (response rate <85% or variance <1.3)
- •Final E-BARQ questionnaire comprises 97 questions grouped into 36 validated components across temperament (17), equitation (11), and management/equipment (8) domains