Is Your Equine Athlete Happy?

Scientists are on the hunt for reliable objective measures of positive emotions in horses being ridden and trained.
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If you’ve ever watched one of Olympic gold-medal-winning dressage star Valegro’s performances, you might have thought, “Now that’s a happy horse that loves his job.”

But in reality, can we actually recognize happiness in riding horses? It’s a question Natalie Waran, BSc (hons), PhD, and her colleagues have been looking into, and she presented on the topic at the 11th International Society of Equitation Science Conference, held Aug. 6-9 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

In 2004, the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) introduced into its dressage rules the phrase “happy athlete” to describe the ideal dressage horse.

“Happiness is perceived as a positive state of mental well-being and is correlated with having a good life,” explained Waran

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Alexandra Beckstett, a native of Houston, Texas, is a lifelong horse owner who has shown successfully on the national hunter/jumper circuit and dabbled in hunter breeding. After graduating from Duke University, she joined Blood-Horse Publications as assistant editor of its book division, Eclipse Press, before joining The Horse. She was the managing editor of The Horse for nearly 14 years and is now editorial director of EquiManagement and My New Horse, sister publications of The Horse.

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