Are Canadian Riding Lesson Horses Happy?

Riding lesson horses are suggested to have poorer welfare illustrated by higher levels of abnormal behaviour, physical injuries, health issues, aggression towards humans and “depressed-like” posture compared to pleasure horses. Incidences of injury and death of lesson horses vary greatly among barns, suggesting that management plays a role in their health and longevity.

Following is a synopsis of a presentation from the International Society for Equitation Science conference entitled “A Good Life for Horses” presented by ISES in New Zealand in March 2024. This study, conducted by Caleigh Copelin and Katrina Merkies of the University of Guelph in 2023, investigated how lesson horses are currently managed and how these factors impact conflict behaviours.

An online survey was distributed to the owners, managers, and coaches of Canadian riding lesson facilities to collect demographic information about the respondents, facilities, lesson horse populations, observed behaviours and management strategies. The 153 responses representing 1,501 lesson horses were analyzed; here are some of the observations:

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The average number of horses per lesson facility was 10.
Facilities with fewer than six lesson horses reported lower proportions of horses who were reactive when tacking up, bit their handlers and pinned their ears under saddle compared to facilities with six or more horses.
Lesson horses worked an average of two hours per day. Longer maximum working hours per day were associated with higher proportions of horses who bucked under saddle.
Facilities with larger herds (13+ horses) were more likely to have longer maximum working hours per horse of over three hours per day compared to smaller herds (less than two hours per day).
Restrictive equipment was associated with conflict behaviours both on the ground and under saddle. For example, facilities who reported greater use of side reins indicated increased frequencies of reactivity when tacking up, and pawing, kicking and pinning ears while under saddle. Greater use of flash nosebands was associated with increased frequency and higher proportions of horses who bucked under saddle.
Conversely, facilities with greater proportions of horses who did not wear nosebands at all reported fewer horses who bucked under saddle.

These results identify equipment use, daily workload and herd size as risk factors for conflict behaviours in lesson horse populations. 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 which can indicate a negative state of welfare and threaten rider safety. This insight into the effects of management strategies and specific stressors for lesson horses can inform future strategies for protecting lesson horse welfare and longevity.