Equine Responses to Acceleration and Deceleration Cues May Reflect Their Exposure to Multiple Riders.

It is logical to assume that horses with multiple riders encounter variation in application of training cues. When training cues are inconsistent, we expect to see a decrease in trained responses or an increase in conflict behaviours. This study investigated the relationship between the number of people that regularly ride or handle a horse and the horse's response to operant cues. Data on 1819 equids were obtained from the Equine Behavior Assessment and Research Questionnaire (E-BARQ), an online global survey of horse owners and caregivers. Three mutually independent indices (acceleration, deceleration, and responsiveness) were derived from a parallel analysis of E-BARQ items related to acceleration and deceleration cues. These indices were then subjected to multivariable modelling against a range of dependent variables including horse and human demographics, horse management, and the number of riders or handlers. The number of riders or handlers was a significant predictor for two out of three indices. As the number of riders or handlers increased, horses were more difficult to accelerate (regression coefficient = 0.0148 ± 0.0071;