Perceptions of Fear and Anxiety in Horses as Reported in Interviews with Equine Behaviourists.
Authors: Rogers Suzanne, Bell Catherine
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary Recognition of fear and anxiety in horses remains a significant welfare blind spot among UK horse caregivers, with equine behaviourists reporting that many owners struggle fundamentally to identify these emotional states in their animals. Rogers and Bell conducted semi-structured interviews with nine ABTC-registered behaviourists to understand how horse caregivers perceive fear and anxiety, capturing the practitioners' observations of client recognition patterns and common misinterpretations. Three critical themes emerged: caregivers demonstrate extremely poor recognition overall; those who do identify fear tend to notice only overt expressions like rearing and bolting rather than subtle indicators such as facial tension, hesitant gaits, or nuanced avoidance behaviours; and fear-related responses are frequently mislabelled as disobedience, stubbornness, or vice. For equine professionals working in behaviour, farriery, physiotherapy and coaching, these findings suggest a significant gap exists in client education—indicating that systematic development of recognition skills, alongside evidence-based frameworks for discussing fear as a behavioural driver, could meaningfully improve both consultation outcomes and horse welfare. The behaviourists' collective experience documented here provides practical strategies for reframing conversations with caregivers, offering a foundation for improving how the equine sector communicates about equine emotional wellbeing.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Educate horse owners and handlers on the full spectrum of fear/anxiety indicators beyond obvious behaviors—subtle signs like facial tension and gait hesitation are critical early warnings.
- •When discussing behavioral problems with clients, reframe conversations to identify fear as the underlying cause rather than accepting misattributed explanations, improving welfare and training outcomes.
- •Use evidence-based communication techniques from equine behaviorists to help caregivers recognize and respond appropriately to fear responses, enhancing both safety and horse welfare.
Key Findings
- •Horse caregivers in the UK are extremely poor at recognizing fear and anxiety in horses according to ABTC-registered equine behaviourists.
- •When caregivers do recognize behavioral signs, they typically identify only overt signs (rearing, running away) and miss subtle indicators (facial tension, hesitant gait, subtle avoidance).
- •Fear and anxiety-related behaviors are frequently misinterpreted or mislabeled by horse caregivers, representing a significant welfare concern.