Horses might experience increased stress during equestrian events and competitions, but that stress appears relatively mild and might even be beneficial according to new research by Austrian, German, and French equitation scientists.

By measuring cortisol levels in adult horses' saliva before and after various events, researchers noted that stress increased significantly during the event but usually decreased rapidly, said Christine Aurich, DVM, PhD, professor at the Graf Lehndorff Institute and at the University of Veterinary Sciences in Vienna and senior author of the study. The analysis of levels of cortisol–often called "the stress hormone"–has become recognized in recent years as an accurate measure of stress.

Equestrian events investigated in the study included presentation for sale, classical school above-ground presentations, advanced classical dressage, and standard dressage and show jumping competitions. Saliva was collected for testing an hour and a half-hour before the event as well as immediately after the event and then five, 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes later. Cortisol levels returned to their pre-event values within approximately an hour for all events except the competitions, Aurich said. After competitions, levels were significantly reduced, but still not back to pre-event levels even two hours after the competition.

In all cases, the cortisol levels were still lower than those of young horses undergoing initial training under saddle, horses being transported, and especially horses undergoing colic surgery or castration, Aurich added