Imagine the scenario: A relatively inexperienced rider climbs aboard an inexperienced, young horse and pilots him around his first ever jump course in an arena. Recipe for major stress, right? For the rider, yes, say German equitation scientists. But for the horse, probably not.

According to new research at the Graf Lehndorff Institute for Equine Science in Neustadt, Germany, inexperienced horses do not show more physiological signs of stress than experienced horses when working a new jumping course for the first time. In fact, their stress level doesn’t even change from one rider to another—whether those riders be stressed or unstressed, experienced or novice.

“For the horses, it seemed to be all the same,” said Mareike von Lewinski, DVM, PhD, primary researcher in the study. “Experience had no effect on their stress levels in the jumping arena and neither did the experience of the rider.”

The same could not be said of the riders, however. Inexperienced riders were significantly more stressed than experienced riders, and that stress was greater when they were riding inexperienced horses