By Caleigh Copelin
Riding lesson horses are suggested to have poorer welfare, illustrated by higher levels of abnormal behaviour, “depressed-like” posture, injuries and health issues compared to pleasure horses. Incidences of injury and death of lesson horses vary greatly among barns, suggesting that management may impact health and longevity. To understand current management practices, an online survey was distributed to the operators of Canadian riding lesson facilities to collect demographic information about the respondents, facilities, lesson horse populations, management strategies and observed behaviours in their horses.
Responses (n=153 facilities representing 1501 lesson horses) were analyzed using descriptive statistics and two-tailed Fisher’s exact tests to examine associations between variables. Facilities with fewer than six lesson horses reported lower levels of horses who were reactive when tacking up (p=.0012), bit their handlers (p=.0009), bucked (p=.0043) and pinned their ears under saddle (p=.0261) compared to facilities with six or more horses. Longer maximum daily working hours were associated with higher levels of kicking out under saddle (p=.0448). Facilities with larger herds (13+ horses) were more likely to have longer maximum working hours per horse (over 3h/d) compared to smaller herds (less than 2h/d; p=.0056). Greater use of flash nosebands was associated with increased levels of horses kicking out at handlers (p=.0346) and bolting under saddle (p=.0211). Standing martingale use was associated with higher levels of horses evading rider aids (p=.0444) and kicking out under saddle (p=.0066). These results identify herd size, daily workload and equipment use as risk factors for conflict behaviours in lesson horses. In particular, lesson facilities with smaller herds may be able to better attend to the individual needs of their horses, potentially mitigating levels of conflict behaviour. This insight into the effects of management practices and specific stressors for lesson horses can inform future strategies for protecting lesson horse welfare and longevity.
