Determining Personality

How can a horse purchaser check out elements of a horse’s character at the purchase exam?
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Q. My new horse–my first–is a 12-year-old Thoroughbred. I do not know all of her history, but I understand it has had its rough patches. She was one of a group of underfed broodmares rescued from an abusive owner. Fortunately, she was in two good homes before she came to me. She was very quiet and withdrawn when I purchased her, but now she is blossoming into a more complex character–sweeter, yet more stubborn, with a strong tendency to spook. As far as she is concerned, "unfamiliar" is a four-letter word! The question is this: How can a horse purchaser check out elements of a horse’s character at the purchase exam? Then, when the horse is ours, how can we read the horse’s character as it develops and reveals itself, especially during that first year of ownership?


A. While most mature horses don’t have such seemingly big changes in character over time, some–like your horse–change considerably in new environments. Your question and others like it come up often, not only regarding adult animals, but also regarding the selection of a young prospect.

How can you predict adult temperament? There is no established battery of tests of character and temperament for horses yet. Many savvy trainers will take a horse, work with him, and get a good idea.

This past summer and fall, the students in our lab have been trying to develop a battery of tests for temperament and for general learning ability of horses. Working with horses in some standard learning tests, we see that horses vary considerably on quantifiable measures of temperament and learning ability. We all agree that it will take years of focused research to develop a scientifically based battery of tests

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Sue M. McDonnell, PhD, is a certified applied animal behaviorist and the founding head of the equine behavior program at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. She is also the author of numerous books and articles about horse behavior and management.

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