Equine Responses to Acceleration and Deceleration Cues May Reflect Their Exposure to Multiple Riders.
Authors: McKenzie Jessica, Fenner Kate, Hyde Michelle, Anzulewicz Ashley, Burattini Bibiana, Romness Nicole, Wilson Bethany, McGreevy Paul
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Multiple Riders and Equine Response to Cues Inconsistent application of training cues across different handlers has long been suspected to compromise a horse's responsiveness to standard commands, yet this relationship had not been systematically examined. Using data from 1,819 horses surveyed through the Equine Behavior Assessment and Research Questionnaire (E-BARQ), McKenzie and colleagues analysed how exposure to multiple riders or handlers correlated with three distinct measures of cue responsiveness: acceleration, deceleration, and overall responsiveness. The study found that horses handled by more people showed significantly reduced acceleration responses to leg pressure and whip cues (p = 0.0366), yet became easier to decelerate, suggesting that rein tension cues produce more durable learned responses than leg or whip cues. Notably, the number of handlers did not predict changes in overall responsiveness, indicating a nuanced rather than global effect on performance. For practitioners, these findings highlight the importance of consistency in riding technique, particularly when horses transition between multiple users; the apparent persistence of rein cues may also suggest prioritising standardisation of leg and whip application across different handlers to maintain reliable acceleration responses and mitigate behavioural conflict.
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Practical Takeaways
- •If a horse is difficult to accelerate or readily decelerates, consider how many different riders handle the horse—inconsistency in leg and whip cue application may explain the response pattern
- •Rein cues appear more reliably learned across different handlers than leg or whip cues, suggesting riders should standardize their seat and leg pressure more carefully than they might their rein work
- •Facilities with multiple riders should consider implementing consistent training protocols for basic cues to prevent behavioural confusion and improve horse safety and welfare
Key Findings
- •Horses with more riders/handlers were significantly more difficult to accelerate (p = 0.0366) with a regression coefficient of 0.0148 ± 0.0071
- •Horses with more riders/handlers were significantly less difficult to decelerate (p = 0.030) with a regression coefficient of -0.017 ± 0.008
- •Responses to rein tension cues appear more persistent than responses to leg pressure or whip cues across multiple riders
- •Multiple rider exposure may select for specific behavioural phenotypes or reflect variation in training cue application