If you’ve ever watched one of Olympic gold-medal-winning dressage star Valegro’s performances, you might have thought, “Now that’s a happy horse that loves his job.”

But in reality, can we actually recognize happiness in riding horses? It’s a question Natalie Waran, BSc (hons), PhD, and her colleagues have been looking into, and she presented on the topic at the 11th International Society of Equitation Science Conference, held Aug. 6-9 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

In 2004, the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) introduced into its dressage rules the phrase “happy athlete” to describe the ideal dressage horse.

“Happiness is perceived as a positive state of mental well-being and is correlated with having a good life,” explained Waran

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.