How Researchers Judge Horses’ Temperaments

Learn about the “Complete Temperament Test,” which is designed to measure five dimensions of equine personality.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

If there’s one thing owners value more than a horse’s pedigree, gaits, and conformation, it’s his personality. That personality—what scientists call temperament—can determine how your horse learns, how suited he is for certain disciplines, how well he adapts to certain situations and environments, and how well he matches up to his rider or handler.

But how do you describe a horse’s personality? And more importantly, how do you quantify it? If you’re buying, selling, borrowing, training, showing, or breeding a horse, you’ll need to be able to communicate about that horse’s personality. And because research has shown that personality is fairly constant over time, it could be useful to determine equine temperaments at a young age.

That’s why Lea Lansade, PhD, of the French Horse and Riding Institute (IFCE) and the National Institute for Agricultural Research’s (INRA) behavior science department, in Tours, France, developed an equine personality test. Lansade’s Complete Temperament Test is designed to measure five dimensions of equine personality:

  • Fear/susceptibility to emotions;
  • Gregariousness (sociability with other horses);
  • Sensorial (tactile) sensitivity;
  • Reactivity to humans, and
  • Locomotor activity.

Now in its 10th year, Lansade’s test has become a solid analysis of and reliable reference for determining basic personality in horses as young as eight months of age

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Passionate about horses and science from the time she was riding her first Shetland Pony in Texas, Christa Lesté-Lasserre writes about scientific research that contributes to a better understanding of all equids. After undergrad studies in science, journalism, and literature, she received a master’s degree in creative writing. Now based in France, she aims to present the most fascinating aspect of equine science: the story it creates. Follow Lesté-Lasserre on Twitter @christalestelas.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
314 votes · 314 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!