ArticleAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI2025
Assessing Equine Behavioural Responses in Equine-Assisted Services: A Field Study Analysis.
Article in Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Smartphone-Based Technologies in Equine Sports Medicine: Supporting Athlete Management-A Review.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Establishing Behavioural Thresholds for Dogs in Animal-Assisted Services: Expert-Derived Thresholds and Field Study Comparison.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Dogs' Behavioural Responses to Dog-Assisted Interventions: A Field Study.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Equine-assisted coaching in formerly incarcerated men with histories of substance abuse: a 12-week exploratory study of anger regulation, quality of life, human-horse synchrony, and equine behavior.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Equine-Assisted Services (EAS) offer significant benefits for individuals with intellectual and/or physical disabilities. However, ensuring the welfare of the horses involved remains a key ethical concern. The objective of this study was to assess the affective states of horses involved in EAS while also establishing behavioural thresholds for indicators of positive or negative affective states. A total of 98 horses were observed over a two-month period, accumulating data about horse behaviour and session characteristics from 830 EAS sessions. Horses participating in coaching programs averaged four sessions in two months; those involved in therapeutic riding averaged 31 sessions. Equine behaviour and field experts defined behavioural thresholds to assess welfare standards. Negative state behaviours were predominantly aligned within excellent or neutral thresholds, while positive state behaviours were observed from unacceptable to excellent. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the gathered behavioural data identified six affective states in coaching sessions and four in therapeutic riding, explaining 63% and 73% of the total variation, respectively. Among these states, "comfortable" was the most frequently observed. Multiple linear regression showed several significant variables, highlighting the importance of health, suitable horse selection, and proper management in promoting positive affective states in EAS.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.