THE RIDER IN THE EQUATION: WHAT PERSONALITY RESEARCH SAYS ABOUT HORSE WELFARE

A German study of nearly 500 equestrians has found that a rider’s self-esteem, empathy and adaptability measurably shape how horse-centred their riding is, and how their horse experiences the relationship. It is one of the more useful welfare studies to come out in a while, because it turns the lens away from the horse and onto the human holding the reins.

The research was led by Manuela Kesselmann of the FOM University of Applied Sciences in Germany and published in the Journal Mensch und Pferd International. Kesselmann surveyed close to 500 equestrians about how they see their horses, how they ride, and how they relate to the animals they work with day to day. The pattern that emerged was clear enough to be useful, if not exactly comfortable reading for competitive riders.

Self-esteem, not skill, was the strongest signal

The lower a rider’s self-esteem, the more their relationship with their horse tended to be shaped by human dominance, and the less horse-centred their riding became. Riders who saw their horse as an object to be directed scored differently to those who saw their horse as an individual with his own needs and moods. That second group, the study found, more often rode in ways that were friendlier to the horse and reported a more positive relationship in return.

Kesselmann’s own framing of the result is worth keeping: changing how a rider sees their horse, from object to subject, may be one of the more effective levers available for shifting welfare outcomes at scale. It does not require new equipment or a change in discipline. It requires a change in perspective, which is a harder thing to teach but not an impossible one.

Competitive riders came off worse

The study found a real gap between leisure and competitive riders. Those competing regularly tended to report lower self-esteem and a poorer relationship with their horse than those riding purely for pleasure. Kesselmann’s own explanation is fairly blunt: riders chasing a result every week or month are more likely to be fixated on the rosette than on the horse underneath them, and that fixation shows up in how they ride.

None of this will surprise anyone who has spent time around a competition yard during a bad show season, but it is useful to have a nearly 500-rider dataset behind the observation rather than just an impression. It also suggests that welfare interventions aimed only at horses – better saddles, better footing, better vet care – are addressing only half the problem, as the rider’s own sense of self plays a key role in the relationship as well.

A note on the evidence

This is a single study, self-reported, and not yet replicated outside its original German sample, so the numbers should be read as a strong signal rather than a settled fact. It does not establish that low self-esteem causes dominance-oriented riding, only that the two travel together in this particular dataset. What it offers South African riders and coaches is a genuinely useful question to sit with: not just how well am I riding, but what am I bringing into the arena that has nothing to do with the horse at all.

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Sources

Manuela Kesselmann et al., study of equestrian personality traits and horse-centred riding, published in Mensch und Pferd International (FOM University of Applied Sciences, Germany).

Reported in: Eleanor Jones, “How rider personality influences horse-centred training,” Horse & Hound, 15 May 2026: horseandhound.co.uk