What Do Horses Think of Work?

Most horse owners have an idea of what sort of activity their horses prefer. While possibly being influenced by the riders’ likes and dislikes, comments such as “My horse loves the jumping, but seems bored with dressage” or “My mare is happier on the trail than when we’re working in the covered arena” show that horses have their own ideas about which ridden activities are fun and which are not.

Race records, too, indicate that some horses are eager turf runners, others are more enthusiastic on dirt tracks, and still others are lovers of artificial racetrack surfaces. Now researchers have asked a slightly different question: Do horses really like working, regardless of the type of work, or would they actually prefer to be left in the barn or pasture to do their own thing?

In a study conducted by equitation scientists from the University of Göttingen in Germany and the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna in Austria, 18 Warmblood horses were trained individually in an arena set up with a Y-shaped entrance. If a horse was guided into the left branch of the Y, it was ridden twice around the arena before the rider dismounted. If it was guided into the right branch of the Y, it would be ridden only once around the arena before the rider dismounted. After the horses had been trained numerous times in that pattern, the riders dismounted at the entrance and the horses were allowed to make the choice of the right or left branch themselves. The most popular choice for horses in the group was to ignore the Y, exit the ring, and head back to their stalls.

The researchers pointed out that horses, as social creatures, are strongly motivated to spend time loafing with their equine buddies. Therefore, the barn is a more popular option than the riding arena for a horse with the ability to make this choice.

This doesn’t mean horses necessarily dislike being ridden, however, and it also doesn’t define them as being lazy. The idea of laziness is a human concept that doesn’t really apply to equines. Horses apparently see no particular reward associated with carrying a rider, and therefore chose resting over working in this study.