Associations between Owners' Reports of Unwanted Ridden Behaviour and In-Hand Behaviour in Horses.
Authors: Romness Nicole, Fenner Kate, McKenzie Jessica, Anzulewicz Ashley, Burattini Bibiana, Wilson Bethany, McGreevy Paul
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary Dangerous ridden behaviours such as bolting, rearing and bucking pose significant welfare and safety concerns, yet their underlying causes remain poorly understood. Researchers analysed data from 1,584 horse owners responding to the Equine Behaviour Assessment and Research Questionnaire (E-BARQ), using statistical modelling to identify which in-hand behaviours predicted safety from these three specific ridden problems. Several key associations emerged: horses showing greater social confidence with both horses and other animals, better in-hand compliance, improved tolerance of restraint, and tolerance of haltering/bridling all demonstrated reduced likelihood of bolting, rearing and bucking under saddle, whereas loading difficulties correlated with increased risk across all three dangerous behaviours. These findings suggest that a horse's ground-based temperament and training directly inform ridden behaviour, providing practitioners with quantifiable risk indicators during initial assessment and highlighting that investment in humane in-hand training—particularly building social confidence and teaching tolerance of handling—represents a practical, preventative approach to mitigating dangerous ridden behaviours before they develop.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Assessment of in-hand behaviour—particularly compliance, tolerance of restraint, and haltering ease—can help identify horses at risk of dangerous ridden behaviours before issues escalate under saddle
- •Building social confidence through groundwork with the handler and exposure to other animals appears protective against bolting, rearing and bucking; prioritise this in training programmes
- •Horses showing loading problems warrant careful evaluation as they present elevated risk for multiple dangerous ridden behaviours; address underlying anxiety or compliance issues on the ground first
Key Findings
- •Social confidence with horses and other animals was significantly associated with reduced bolting, rearing and bucking behaviours (OR 1.06-1.08 for bolting and rearing)
- •Compliance in-hand and tolerance of restraint were protective factors against all three dangerous ridden behaviours studied
- •Loading problems were consistently associated with increased risk of bolting, rearing and bucking (OR 0.94-0.95)
- •Tolerance of haltering/bridling specifically predicted reduced bucking behaviour (b-value = 0.016, p = 0.010)