The online questionnaire allows owners, trainers, and industry professionals to evaluate and monitor horse behavior, training, and management over time.

For years, equitation scientists have worked to collect evidence-based data about horse behavior, management, and training. With the launch of a tool called E-BARQ, they might finally be able to achieve that goal.

Paul McGreevy, BVSc, PhD, FRCVS, MACVS (Animal Welfare), Cert. CABC, Grad Cert Higher Ed, a professor at the University of Sydney, and Kate Fenner, BEqSc (Hons), a PhD candidate at the university’s School of Veterinary Medicine, described E-BARQ’s potential during the International Society for Equitation Science’s virtual meeting in August 2020.

E-BARQ, which stands for Equine Behavior Assessment Research Questionnaire, is the sister project of C-BARQ for dogs. C-BARQ, developed by the University of Pennsylvania, has been hugely successful and has collected data on upward of 85,000 dogs of more than 300 breeds over the past 15 years, McGreevy said. Anyone can log onto the site and describe how their dog behaves under various circumstances