Is Your Horse Happy According to Research?

If you are a horse enthusiast and love the smell of horse poop, like riding horses, and whispering to yourself and the horse then you may be interested in the study below. As a horse enthusiast I love to be with horses and spend a lot of time around my four-legged tail whipping friends. However, I often wonder if they are truly happy.

Yes, they do snort, and I have read a study saying that because they snort that is an indication of happiness. I would suspect that if they come by you when you show up, they are also somewhat friendly. However, some of the other cues and behaviors can be misinterpreted.

Consider the study Is Your Horse Happy?

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Research Indicates that Polo Player and Horse Personality Impact Performance

Many polo coaches have discussed how horses and players have certain personalities that interact. Those interactions could have an impact on handicap and play. However, it is hard to describe how that happens. According to the research below there is a definate interaction between the two.  

Do Horse And Human Personalities Affect The Game Of Polo?

-Player neuroticism and openness had negative main effects on player handicap and level of play by horse.

-Positive interaction between player neuroticism and horse neuroticism. 

-Positive interaction between player openness and horse intellect in outcome of player's handicap. 

-Positive interaction between horse intellect and player openness in level of horse performance

Weise, A. & Johnson, T. (2009). Do Horse And Human Personalities Affect The Game Of Polo? [Dissertation] Edinburgh Research Archive, https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/3558

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