BY ELIZABETH UPCHURCH
How riders choose to train their horses is often shaped by tradition, mentorship, and personal philosophy. But a 2025 study published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science suggests that those decisions may also be influenced by deeper factors, including a rider’s background, goals, and beliefs about horses themselves. Researchers Ella Bartlett, Emily J. Blackwell, Lorna J. Cameron, and Jo Hockenhull examined how horse-owner characteristics influence their choice of training methods. The research analyzed responses from 1,593 horse owners who completed a 22-question survey about their demographics, equestrian activities, goals, and beliefs about horses.
Understanding Training Decisions
As the study explains, “The way horses are trained has implications for equine welfare and training success.”
Despite the importance of training choices, little research has explored why owners choose one method over another. The authors point out that training decisions often rest entirely with horse owners, even though many riders may have limited formal education in animal behavior or learning theory.
At the same time, the stakes are significant. Training approaches can affect not only horse welfare but also the safety of riders and handlers.
Who You Are May Influence How You Train
One of the most interesting findings of the study is that certain personal characteristics were linked to training preferences.
The researchers found that factors such as age, gender identity, equestrian discipline, industry role, and training goals were associated with differences in how participants reported training their horses. Whether someone competed, worked professionally in the industry, or participated recreationally also influenced the likelihood that they would use certain training approaches.
Education also played a role. Participants who had formal training in animal behavior showed different patterns in their reported training practices compared with those who did not.
What Owners Believe About Horses Also Shapes Training Choices
One of the clearest findings from the study was that riders’ beliefs about horses themselves were strongly linked to the training methods they reported using.
Owners who believed that horses experience emotions or feel pain in ways similar to humans were less likely to report using aversive training approaches such as pressure-based techniques or punishment. These riders were generally less inclined to rely on methods that depend on increasing pressure or applying discomfort to change a horse’s behavior.
In contrast, participants who believed that horses intentionally misbehave or act disobediently on purpose were more likely to use those same approaches. If a rider interprets a horse’s behavior as willful defiance rather than confusion, fear, or discomfort, they may be more inclined to correct the behavior through pressure or punishment.
Riders who agreed that horse training should be guided by scientific evidence were less likely to rely on aversive methods. Meanwhile, participants who were more skeptical of science-based training approaches were more likely to report using pressure- or punishment-based techniques.
Together, the findings suggest that how riders interpret horse behavior, whether they see it as confusion, discomfort, or deliberate disobedience, may influence the training decisions they make in everyday practice.
How Training Goals Influence the Methods Riders Use
The goals riders have for their horses also played an important role in shaping training decisions.
Participants in the study reported a wide range of goals for their horses, from recreational riding and companionship to competition and professional training. Those goals were associated with differences in the types of training approaches owners said they were likely to use.
For example, riders who were involved in competitive disciplines or who worked professionally with horses were more likely to report using negative reinforcement techniques. These methods, which rely on applying and releasing pressure to shape behavior, are common in many traditional training systems and are often used to produce consistent responses quickly.
Owners who kept horses primarily for recreation or companionship were somewhat more likely to report using reward-based approaches such as positive reinforcement.
The study suggests that these differences may reflect the practical demands placed on horses in different environments. Competitive riders and professionals may feel pressure to achieve reliable results on tighter timelines, while recreational owners may have more flexibility to experiment with different training styles.
At the same time, the researchers note that these choices are rarely driven by a single factor. Training decisions often reflect a combination of goals, experience, cultural influences within a discipline, and a rider’s personal beliefs about how horses learn.
Implications for Horse Welfare and Education
Better understanding why owners choose certain training approaches could make it easier to design educational programs that encourage evidence-based practices and reduce the use of methods that may compromise horse welfare.
As the study concludes, identifying the factors that influence training choices “can be used to support the delivery of more tailored, population-specific training advice to horse-owners.”
Source
Bartlett, E., Blackwell, E. J., Cameron, L. J., & Hockenhull, J. (2025).
Exploring the relationship between horse-owner attributes and their approach to horse training. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 28(3), 477–496.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2024.2365675
