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Home / Equine Research Bank / Animals (Basel) / Increased Rider Weight Did Not Induce Changes in Behavior an...
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2020; 10(1); 95; doi: 10.3390/ani10010095

Increased Rider Weight Did Not Induce Changes in Behavior and Physiological Parameters in Horses.

Abstract: Recent studies have reported significant alterations in horse physiological and gait parameters when exposed to increased rider weight during moderate to high intensity exercise. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of increased rider weight (+15% and +25% of the regular rider's bodyweight) on horse behavioral, physiological and gait symmetry parameters during a standard dressage test. Twenty rider-horse equipages performed the same test three times in a randomized, crossover design. Salivary cortisol (SC), heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), behavior and gait symmetry (GS) were measured. SC concentrations increased from baseline ( < 0.001), but there was no significant treatment effect (difference from baseline (ng/mL): Control: 0.21 ± 0.1; +15%: 0.37 ± 0.1; +25%: 0.45 ± 0.2, = 0.52). Similarly, there were no overall treatment effects on HR or HRV variables (avg HR across treatments (bpm): 105.3 ± 1.3), nor on GS parameters. There was large individual variation in conflict behavior but no effect of weight treatment. We conclude that increasing the weight of the regular rider by 15% and 25% did not result in significant short-term alterations in the measured parameters. Maximum rider:horse weight ratios were 15-23% and the exercise intensity was relatively low; thus the results should not be extrapolated to other weight ratios and exercise intensities.
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Publication Date: 2020-01-06 PubMed ID: 31935981PubMed Central: PMC7023133DOI: 10.3390/ani10010095Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research article is a study that examined the effects of increased rider weight on horses’ physiological and behavioral responses. The main finding was that a rider’s weight increase of 15% to 25% did not lead to any significant short-term changes in horses.

Study Design and Methods

  • The research involved twenty horse-rider pairs who completed the same dressage test three times. This was done in a randomized, crossover design to control for potential biases.
  • The study primarily focused on assessing changes in behavior, physiological responses, and gait symmetry with increments in rider weight. Rider weights were increased by 15% and 25% of the regular rider’s body weight.
  • The physiological responses were measured through parameters such as salivary cortisol levels and heart rate variability.
  • Behavioral changes were assessed through observation, and gait symmetry was evaluated as a performance indicator.

Results and Observations

  • After performing the test, it was observed that salivary cortisol concentrations did increase from the baseline. However, this rise was not significantly affected by the increase in rider weight.
  • Also, no treatment effects were observed on measures such as heart rate or heart rate variability. This points towards no significant short-term physiological alterations in response to changes in rider weight.
  • Gait symmetry parameters were also largely unaffected by the increase in rider weight.
  • In terms of behavior, while individual variations in conflict behaviour were observed, there was no significant effect attributable to the change in weight.

Conclusions from the Study

  • The researchers concluded that an increase of 15% and 25% in the weight of the rider did not lead to significant short-term changes in horses’ physiological or behavioral responses.
  • It’s important to note that the researchers considered only low-intensity exercise in the study, and the maximum rider-horse weight ratios were between 15-23%. These conditions imply that these results might not be extrapolated to more intense exercises or other weight ratios.

Cite This Article

APA
Christensen JW, Bathellier S, Rhodin M, Palme R, Uldahl M. (2020). Increased Rider Weight Did Not Induce Changes in Behavior and Physiological Parameters in Horses. Animals (Basel), 10(1), 95. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10010095

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 10
Issue: 1
PII: 95

Researcher Affiliations

Christensen, Janne Winther
  • Department of Animal Science, Aarhus University, Blichers Allé 20, 8830 Tjele, Denmark.
Bathellier, Suzie
  • Agrocampus Ouest, 65 Rue de Saint-Brieuc, 35042 Rennes, France.
Rhodin, Marie
  • Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7011, 75007 Uppsala, Sweden.
Palme, Rupert
  • Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinärplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, Austria.
Uldahl, Mette
  • Vejle Hestepraksis, Fasanvej 12, 7120 Vejle Oest, Denmark.

Grant Funding

  • No number / Foreningen KUSTOS af 1881
  • No number / Hesteafgiftsfonden
  • No number / Dyrenes Beskyttelse

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

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Citations

This article has been cited 6 times.
  1. Pratt-Phillips S, Munjizun A. Impacts of Adiposity on Exercise Performance in Horses.. Animals (Basel) 2023 Feb 14;13(4).
    doi: 10.3390/ani13040666pubmed: 36830453google scholar: lookup
  2. Domino M, Borowska M, Trojakowska A, Kozłowska N, Zdrojkowski Ł, Jasiński T, Smyth G, Maśko M. The Effect of Rider:Horse Bodyweight Ratio on the Superficial Body Temperature of Horse's Thoracolumbar Region Evaluated by Advanced Thermal Image Processing.. Animals (Basel) 2022 Jan 13;12(2).
    doi: 10.3390/ani12020195pubmed: 35049815google scholar: lookup
  3. Kongsawasdi S, Brown JL, Boonprasert K, Pongsopawijit P, Wantanajittikul K, Khammesri S, Tajarernmuang T, Thonglorm N, Kanta-In R, Thitaram C. Impact of Weight Carriage on Joint Kinematics in Asian Elephants Used for Riding.. Animals (Basel) 2021 Aug 17;11(8).
    doi: 10.3390/ani11082423pubmed: 34438880google scholar: lookup
  4. Bukhari SSUH, McElligott AG, Parkes RSV. Quantifying the Impact of Mounted Load Carrying on Equids: A Review.. Animals (Basel) 2021 May 7;11(5).
    doi: 10.3390/ani11051333pubmed: 34067208google scholar: lookup
  5. Szabó C, Vizesi Z, Vincze A. Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability of Amateur Show Jumping Horses Competing on Different Levels.. Animals (Basel) 2021 Mar 4;11(3).
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  6. Uldahl M, Christensen JW, Clayton HM. Relationships between the Rider's Pelvic Mobility and Balance on a Gymnastic Ball with Equestrian Skills and Effects on Horse Welfare.. Animals (Basel) 2021 Feb 9;11(2).
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