Effects of Therapeutic Riding on Measures of Stress in Horses

Abstract

The popularity of therapeutic riding is growing rapidly. With greater numbers of horses used in this field, it is becoming increasingly important to understand how this work impacts horse quality of life. Salivary cortisol concentrations and behavior scores are two measures of stress in horses, and the goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that horses used in therapeutic riding exercises have greater increases in cortisol concentrations during therapeutic riding, when compared to a traditional hunt seat lesson program or at rest… Read more here http://www.j-evs.com/article/S0737-0806(15)00534-1/abstract

Acknowledgments

Support provided by the Elizabeth A. Lawrence Endowed Fund at the Center for Animals and Public Policy,
and the Department of Clinical Sciences at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. The authors thank Touchstone Farm in Temple, NH for their assistance with this study. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.