The Psychology of Performance Horses

but that more extensive research in this area is needed before standardized assessment techniques can be established.
Our comprehension of equine mood and emotional reaction while critical to understanding how a horse perceives and reacts to his environment can be elusive. There is still a greater need to understand the effects of the riders emotional state on the horse.
According to McBride and Mills Horses are known to react differently when stroked by someone with a negative attitude to them compared with a more positive attitude and so they may detect changes in rider behaviour due to such things as competition anxiety.
However another study conducted by a research team from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna Austria in collaboration with the Ecole Nationale dEquitation in Saumur France indicates that a riders emotions might not have such a great impact on the horses performance. This study consisted of measuring the changes in various stressrelated parameters including stress hormone levels in saliva and regularity of pulse rate in both the horses and their riders in a specific competition. Measurements were taken first during the warmup away from spectators and then again during the actual performance in front of an audience of one thousand people.
According to the research report entitled Cortisol release heart rate and heart rate variability in the horse and its rider Different responses to training and performance which was published in the February 2013 issue of The Veterinary Journal the initial results of the measurements were congruent with what the researchers had anticipated. Symptoms of stress higher cortisol concentrations in the saliva and a more irregular heartbeat were recorded in both the horses and their riders with riders showing significantly higher levels of stress when performing in front of an audience. No surprise there. Even experienced riders get stage fright.
The horses however were unaffected by the presence of spectators. Their reaction to the course they had to navigate was independent of whether an audience was there. These results came as a surprise to the research team because they implied that riders do not communicate their heightened anxiety to their horses. This lack of transfer of emotions between rider and horse was completely unexpected.
We started with the assumption that the riders stress would affect his horse but this does not seem to be the case said Christine Aurich at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna. Nevertheless we should bear in mind
that we were working with experienced horses and highly skilled riders. Our findings cannot be generalized to inexperienced riders who might be less able to prevent their horses from being stressed by the situation.
Research into performance horse psychology particularly with regard to the interrelationship of horse and rider emotions is clearly a work in progress. Undoubtedly the future results of those studies will be of great benefit to riders and their horses. For time being it is safe to say that todays level of competition and performance in the world of equestrian sport puts great expectations on each horse and rider pair. A performance horses physical and psychological traits should be taken into consideration when predicting his success in a given discipline and when designing a training regimen for him that includes mechanisms for reducing overemotional reactions on competition day and for coping with any negative experiences that might arise and influence an emotional response.