Five years ago, French researcher Lea Lansade, PhD, revealed a reliable equine temperament test that gives concrete values to five personality traits. But Lansade’s test, the "complete temperament test," is time-consuming and costly to carry out, making it impractical for regular use. Today, Lansade’s team is back with a shorter version: the "simplified temperament test." While not as thorough as her first test, Lansade’s simplified version has proven to be accurate, reliable, and much less time-consuming.

“We have confirmed that the measures carried out during this test are stable among situations and over time, and it can be used in an objective of large-scale temperament evaluation,” said Lansade, researcher in the behavior science department of the National Institute for Agricultural Research in Tours, France. Lansade presented her work at the 2015 French Equine Research Day held March 12 in Paris.

In their two-part study, Lansade and colleagues tested 24 young horses from the French National Stud with the complete temperament test, which measures five dimensions of equine personality: fear/susceptibility to emotions, gregariousness (sociability with other horses), sensorial sensitivity, reactivity to humans, and locomotor activity. Then, they tested the same horses using the simplified temperament test during a breeding show.

Unlike the complete test, the simplified test can be carried out in-hand with a halter