Like dating, finding the right horse can be an extensive search to find The One. The quest will most likely involve endless scrolling and comparing online listings to find your potential match. If you’re looking into adopting a horse, you just might find some extra information in that profile to make the hunt a little easier.

For example, your search to adopt a Steady Eddy could lead you to a listing for a horse named ARH Banana for Breakfast. While the palomino pinto gelding may have a silly sounding name for a senior gentleman, according to his online profile, he’s steady as they come, up to date on his vetting, an experienced trail horse, and a been-there, done-that kind of guy.

Checking Off the Boxes

How do you know? Anyone wanting further evidence can see he checks off a lot of boxes in the solid equine citizen department through the Basic Behaviors Profile (BBP) posted with his listing on myrighthorse.org.

Thanks to this handy tool, potential adopters of this seasoned steed know that he has demonstrated that he can be approached in turnout, calmly haltered and led through a gate, allows his feet to be picked up, stands calmly tied and to be brushed, fly sprayed and blanketed, and various other behaviors on the 14-point checklist of common groundwork skills.

While it’s just one part of the information on a horse’s resume, and there will be more questions, conversations, and hopefully a meet-and-greet to assess a match, the BBP has proven helpful to streamline the evaluation process on both sides.

“The Basic Behaviors Profile has helped create a standardized evaluation process for adopters,” says Cailin Caldwell, ASPCA Right Horse Program Director. “When they visit myrighthorse.org, they can quickly see the skills each horse has and which ones they still need to work on, helping them better find their right horse. Many adopters appreciate the information and transparency the tool lends to the adoption experience.

“On the other side, the Basic Behaviors Profile helps adoption organizations more efficiently identify training opportunities and then leverage that information to make happy, adoptive matches for their horses. Many of our partners now use the tool regularly when bringing a new horse into their facility, which has made the training and evaluation process smoother for both their staff and adopters.”

Origins of the Basic Behaviors Profile

The BBP was created, designed and field-tested by a team of equine experts and behaviorists to help improve the adoption process for the ASPCA Right Horse Program. Since its introduction in 2018, it has been used by ASPCA Right Horse partner organizations and is available free online for anyone to use, including equine adoption organizations, trainers, and individual horse owners.

Knowing what a horse knows is useful information. No matter what type of horse you’re looking for, ground-handling skills are essential for all horses, and the BBP provides a standardized way to assess how a horse responds to these requests.

“The Basic Behaviors profile is a series of 14 tasks that are ideal for any equine to be able to complete throughout their life,” explains Kylie Solís-McGarity, equine behavior and training specialist at the ASPCA Equine Transition and Adoption Center (ETAC) in El Reno, Okla. “They’re things that are going to be able to support [the horse’s] health in the long term and his ability to be seen by a vet and farrier. In an adoption space, it’s a way for us to be able to look at his skillset and assess the training state on all of our equines.”

A Good Starting Point

The BBP isn’t a training method, nor does it promote any specific training technique. Instead, it’s an evaluation tool that helps assess ground manners and handling. For trainers, it serves as a useful starting point to form a training plan.

“A lot of horses come in with what I call ‘swiss cheese’ training,” says Solís-McGarity. “They know some things and they’ve got some holes in other places. This is a really great way to know where they need additional support in their training.”

Solís-McGarity holds a bachelor’s degree in equine science as well as a master’s in animal behavior and welfare from Colorado State University. She applies those skills at ETAC, where services reach over 100 horses annually; of those, about half will go through some sort of behavior or training work before rehoming.

By no means do these skills need to be completed before a horse can be adopted. Instead, Solís-McGarity notes that it’s a useful way to communicate clearly with an adopter and pass on information about a horse’s skills and knowledge.

The BBP is one of the first steps for horses coming into ETAC.

“We do this before a medical exam because we’re going to be looking at things like, can they be haltered?” she says. “Can they be led, can they stand tied, can they pick up their feet, are they able to receive oral medications? What are their reactions to these very common and low-type stressors? Once we do the behavioral profile, we can much more easily inform our vet as to expectations with medical handling as well.”

Solís-McGarity is very specific about not doing any training while she is doing the profile.

“It’s not a time to train a horse, but to take in information on whether he knows it or not and what his reactions are,” she says. “And then if he can’t complete a task, we just move on and will focus training efforts during a different time.”

Tracking Basic Behaviors Profile Score During Training

Once a horse starts full-time training, Solís-McGarity likes to complete the profile every two weeks to track his progress, and again when the horse is adopted, right before he leaves.

The BBP offers a numerical score of completed items on the list. It’s not pass/fail; items are simply noted as complete or incomplete. Solís-McGarity explains that a low BBP score isn’t a reflection of a horse’s trainability. Instead, it’s a helpful way to get the conversation started, gather more information, and get to know the horse.

“It’s a great way to start getting to know the challenges, good and bad, of each horse, because no horse is going to be perfect,” says Solís-McGarity. “Since it’s a complete/incomplete, the range of reasons why it’s incomplete could be very minimal, or it could be something that’s going to require a lot of work in the future.”

For example, if someone is looking for a great trail horse, the fact that he’s fussy about deworming may not be a big deal, while a skill like tying well is of higher importance.

Useful for Any Horse Owner

The BBP is also useful to try at home with your own horse for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, it creates a safety net.

“More than anything, all of us want our horses to have a secure and safe future,” says Solís-McGarity. “And if there ever comes a point where you have to rehome your horse, if you have gone through some of these skills and given the horse a really good foundation so he knows how to be a good citizen, it really helps him find wonderful, loving homes in the future.”

It’s also good to keep skills current to avoid getting into a tough spot, such as trailer loading for a vet emergency or evacuation during a natural disaster.

Especially with young horses, or if you have a lot of horses and it’s hard to get to them all, Solis-McGarity recommends adding the BBP to expand your tool kit outside of the normal “go out to the barn and ride” routine.

Reducing Time to Adoption

At ETAC, the proof is in the numbers, with a reduced length of stay—the time a horse spends at the facility from intake to adoption.

“It has significantly reduced length of stay for us because we have a goal of getting it completed, and we get tons of information on a horse from doing the profile right off the bat,” says Solís-McGarity. “And the more info we have, the more we can pass to adopters, and the faster we can get them into their right homes.”

It worked for Banana for Breakfast, who was quickly adopted.

The BBP is available at aspcarighthorse.org/basic-behaviors-profile. To browse listings of adoptable horses, including many with the Basic Behaviors Profile, visit myrighthorse.org, the ASPCA’s online adoption platform for equines.

This article about the Basic Behaviors Profile appeared in the September 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Evaluating Horses with the Basic Behaviors Profile appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

This article outlines the six equine characteristic criteria, of varying degrees of importance, that are used in the ECAT and can be considered as part of your decision-making process when assessing a new horse. While each horse is unique, there are common traits that can help in assessing all. 

When considering a horse, in addition to seeking soundness, conformation and paces suitable for the intended purpose, there are characteristics that can be considered when matching mounts with riders. These criteria emphasize the level of challenge a particular equine trait may represent from a rider safety perspective.  

Level of Sensitivity

Sensitivity is extremely important to consider when selecting a horse. Sensitivity is both genetically inherent and experiential. Experiential sensitivity can be increased or decreased, according to ongoing handling as trainers sensitize and desensitize to specific stimuli. However, a genetically Highly Sensitive Horse (HSH) will always be that. While it is possible to increase tolerances for specific experiences and situations, the HSH will always present a greater challenge.  

High sensitivity is far more than physical in nature, but it does include the physical. HSHs can present with a very low pain tolerance threshold but in fact, they feel pain more intensely.    

In addition to physical sensitivity, the HSH has a heightened mental-emotional sensitivity. These horses are hyper-alert, making them aware of subtleties in their environment that others are not. This can lead to them being overstimulated and overwhelmed.

Beyond the heightened five senses, HSHs are quite intuitive. These horses are acutely aware of what the rider is feeling and are deeply affected by rider fear and stress.  

HSHs do not do well with change. Change could be as simple as schooling in a new place or something even more benign. There are many techniques for helping HSHs succeed, but they are not well understood even by the best trainers.

The horse that is merely physically sensitive will prove more challenging for the novice rider, but the Highly Sensitive Horse should be considered significantly more challenging for all.

Temperament 

Temperament is a very important consideration in assessing a horse. Horses are generally categorized as hot, warm or cold. Hotter horses, like Arabians and Thoroughbreds, tend to be more reactive with high energy. Colder horses, like drafts, are more laid-back and slower to react. Warmbloods aim to combine the athleticism and stamina of the hot horse with the more passive disposition of the cold horse. 

Temperament is important, particularly when combined with other character traits. For instance, a hot horse with a strong fear trait will more easily exhibit flight responses and bolt in unfamiliar or stressful situations. If this hot horse is prevented from running off in that instant, explosive bucking or rearing is more likely than with the cold horse. A cold horse may buck or rear, but he is much more likely to give it up quickly as it takes too much energy. A cold horse with the same strong fear trait is more likely to stop and may even freeze, giving the rider an opportunity to dismount. 

A hot horse should be considered more challenging and when combined with other challenging traits, the horse can be unsafe for less experienced riders.

Level of Fear

Fear is another very important consideration. Like sensitivity, fear can be inherent and experiential. For the experiential aspect, a horse may have been traumatized or made more fearful with improper handling.

While thoughtful handling can help even the genetically fearful horse build confidence, each time a new idea or challenge is introduced, the fearful part will likely emerge. For some horses, even moving a familiar fence to a different spot can be considered a new challenge.

The fearful horse should be considered more challenging.

Previous Experience and Training

Previous experience and training is important to consider. A horse that has successful experience in the intended discipline will be less challenging than one trained for a different purpose. For example, transitioning a racehorse or barrel racer, trained with explosive speed, into an easier-going hunter or dressage horse requires skill and time.  

When the previous training and history of the horse is unknown, as often is the case in an auction, assume the horse will be challenging. Some horses have suffered abuse and trauma and will carry those wounds until a skilled and caring human can help them heal.  

Retraining a horse into a different discipline or retraining a horse that suffered abuse and trauma can be considerably more challenging.  

Dominance 

Dominance is another important aspect to consider when selecting a horse. This is not just resource guarding. Horses are wired for a level of dominance. An alpha dominant’s large-and-in-charge way of going is not hard to spot in a herd. 

The alpha dominant horse is more likely to attempt to assertively express his desires over that of the handler/rider. If the alpha dominant horse is also easily overwhelmed, as in the case of the HSH, he will more often offer resistance and try to take charge.

Other horses will have dominant qualities and take advantage of opportunities to move up the pecking order.  

The dominant horse will likely be more challenging than the submissive horse.

Gender 

Gender may be an important consideration. A stallion can be more animated and may often have another agenda, primarily the proximity of available mares. At the show or on the trail, it may be more challenging to get his undivided attention.  

Mares go through hormonal cycles that can affect consistency. There are times during her cycle when she may be experiencing discomfort.

A gelding is most likely the best bet for a Steady Eddy.

Stallions and mares should be considered potentially more challenging than geldings.    

Key Takeaway

This information is generalized and only intended to be a guideline when evaluating a horse to determine the probable level of challenge that horse will present to a rider. There are always exceptions. The best course of action, when looking for a horse, is to seek help from an equine professional and your equine veterinarian.    

A single criterion may be enough to help you decide against owning a particular horse. However, when deciding in favor of a horse, the best analysis is done when considering the combined criteria.   

Incorporating the identified criteria into your equine assessment and decision-making process could help you choose the right horse. 

Try the online Equine Challenge Assessment Tool (ECAT) here.

This article about using the Equine Challenge Assessment Tool (ECAT) when choosing a horse is a web exclusive Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Choosing the Right Horse Using the Equine Challenge Assessment Tool appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

“It depends somewhat on the individual horse whether you can influence his temperament with diet, but there is evidence that for many horses, what they are eating can influence whether they are reactive, flighty or calmer,” says Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., an equine nutritionist who works with Kentucky Equine Research (KER).

She explains that calories are just a measure of the amount of energy in feed. Different feed sources can supply the same number of calories from different sources of energy.

“It all comes down to how the energy source is metabolized within the body as to what kind of energy it will supply,” says Crandell.

For example, fat and fiber are considered “cool” energy sources, while starch and sugar tend to be “hot” energy sources.

The Protein Myth

While you may have heard that high-protein feeds make horses more excitable or “hot,”  that’s simply not the case.

“The old belief was that protein dictated the amount of energy in a feed,” says Crandell. “Horse owners would look at only the protein percentage to determine if the feed had enough energy for the horse. We now know that is not the case, and protein percentage is merely an indicator of protein, not energy.”

She explains that the amount of starch and sugar is typically what contributes to the amount of energy the horse can get out of a feed, along with the digestible fiber and fat.

Crandell points out that energy sources in the equine diet are fiber, fat, and non-structural carbohydrates (NSC), which is the combination of starch and sugar.

“Horses get their energy from the feed by the digestion of carbohydrates, both structural carbohydrates (fiber) and non-structural carbohydrates, which are starches and sugars,” she explains.

If a horse needs more energy than he gets from fiber alone to maintain his weight or do his job, you can feed more concentrated energy sources, which are found in non-structural carbohydrates and fat.

This is why work horses in the past were traditionally fed significant amounts of oats or corn. They simply couldn’t eat enough fiber (hay or grass) to supply the caloric energy needed for their workload.

Starch and Sugar

Feed with a high percentage of starch and sugar can make some horses more excitable. That’s why changing feed may help “chill out” a high-energy horse.

Research studies and anecdotal evidence both show that the amount of starch and sugar in the diet influences excitability.

Crandell says the original research compared a high-starch diet to a high-fat diet. Horses were less excitable and reactive when fed the high-fat diet.

“More recently, there was a research study where horses were fed a high fat-and-fiber feed versus a high-starch feed,” she says. “The horses on the high fat-and-fiber feed were, once again, less reactive to stimuli.”

Corn tops the high-starch list at 70 percent, followed by barley at 54 percent. Oats are considered “moderate” starch at around 43 percent—plus they contain more fiber than corn or barley. All three are higher in starch than wheat middlings, soybean or oat hulls, and beet pulp.

In low-starch horse feeds, ingredients like wheat middlings, soybean or oat hulls, and beet pulp are commonly used to substitute fiber calories for the starch calories normally supplied by grains.

You can assume that sweet feed is fairly high in both sugar and starch because of the grain and molasses content.

But what about textured feed?

“Back in the late 1990s, a new generation of textured feed appeared in the horse industry,” says Crandell. “It was made basically with beet pulp, high-fiber ingredients like soy hulls, oil, and vitamin/mineral pellets, with a smaller amount of molasses. These are technically ‘textured feeds,’ but they are high in fiber and fat and low in starch and sugar. This type of feed has become more common than sweet feeds through the years because horse owners are looking for lower-starch options to feed their horses.”

“Cool” Energy

Think about the sugar overload kids get at a birthday party after eating lots of sweet snacks.

Crandell says the same concept applies to horses, as the digestion of both sugars and starches in feed may be responsible for excess energy. It is the digestion of soluble carbohydrates that causes rises in blood glucose and insulin, which are thought to have the effect on temperament.

Energy from fiber and fat is generally described as “cool” energy because during the digestion of those energy sources, there are no significant changes to blood glucose and insulin.

This is why if your horse tends to be anxious or easily excitable, it may help to feed him a diet low in starch and sugar, but high in fiber and fat. 

Crandell saw this firsthand in a research study at KER. Study horses were fed either a high-starch or high-fiber feed for 21 days. All horses eventually were on each of the diets over the course of the study.

“When one of the horses was on the high-starch diet, he became very nervous and hard to handle, yet when he was fed the high-fiber feed, he was as gentle as a lamb,” she says. “It is no guarantee that a horse may be calmer on a low-starch feed, but it’s certainly worth a try.”

Because fat is a concentrated source of calories, it supplies energy without adding bulk to the diet.

“If a horse is not maintaining weight or needs to gain weight, high-fat feeds are ideal for getting the maximum calories into him in the least amount of feed,” notes Crandell.

A high-fat feed or supplement can also help a horse in hard work that needs more calories. 

Adding Energy

While there’s a lot of focus on making horses calmer, some owners may wonder how to make a laid-back horse more energetic.

With the popularity of low-starch feeds today, Crandell says it’s not uncommon that a naturally calm horse eating a feed with less than 12 percent starch may be lacking in energy.

She notes that muscle glycogen is a major energy source when the horse is exercising and performing, but ultra-low starch feeds (less than 12 percent starch) may not provide enough glucose to build that muscle glycogen.

“The ultra-low starch feeds are ideal for horses with muscle diseases, such as PSSM [polysaccharide storage myopathy], because these horses have a problem that causes them to build up too much muscle glycogen,” says Crandell. “The ultra-low starch feeds work by not supplying the substrate [glucose] that encourages muscle glycogen deposition, so they can’t build up too much.”

While ideal for horses with glycogen disorders, ultra-low starch feeds may not supply enough NSCs (ultimately, glucose) for every performance horse.

Key Takeaway: Evaluate and Adjust

There’s no “one-size-fits-all” feeding program. Adjustments must be made based on each horse’s workload, stabling/turnout situation, body condition, and temperament.

Crandell says finding the right feed for each individual horse is often a matter of trial and error.

A healthy horse that lacks “get up and go” may simply need more starch in his diet, while a healthy horse that always seems to have excess energy may be getting fed more calories than needed.

Most horses today don’t work as hard as horses in the past, but they’re often fed as though they are working all day.

“It is important to match caloric intake to the caloric needs of every individual horse,” says Crandell.

A healthy horse in good weight doing little to no work may not even need grain/concentrate. Hay and a ration balancer will ensure he’s getting adequate protein, vitamins and minerals, and this may be all that is needed.

Take an honest look at your horse’s feed program, exercise routine, and temperament, and adjust accordingly. Ultimately, nutrition can play a role in a horse’s temperament, but as with anything in horse care, the “recipe” must be fit for the individual.

Further Reading
◆ Rules to Feed a Horse By
◆ 8 Horse Feeding Mistakes to Avoid
◆ Horse Feeding Dos and Don’ts

This article about horse nutrition for temperament appeared in the March 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Nutrition for Your Horse’s Temperament appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.