Intense Leisure Exploitation Influences on Horses Hormonal Reaction—Preliminary Study

Abstract

Horses working with humans for recreational purposes are subjected to a variety of external factors that can have a negative impact on their well-being. There is an urgent need for unequivocal evidence from scientific studies to unify methods of welfare verification of working animals. The testosterone/cortisol ratio has recently been proposed as a marker of the propensity for social aggression as one of the stress reactions. In this study, we analyzed testosterone and cortisol blood concentration and ratio to evaluate the stress susceptibility of horses used for recreational purposes. The blood samples were collected from eleven (n = 11) standardbred horses (age 6–10; geldings–mares = 6:5) during the intense leisure exploitation and after the rest season. The cortisol concentration remained unchanged, whereas, despite the small study population, we observed higher testosterone levels during the horses’ intensive exploitation compared to the resting season (p > 0.09). Thus, the testosterone/cortisol ratio was increased during intensive exploitation. We conclude that recreational horseback riding is not an overly stressful activity for horses; however, it may lead to some behavioral abnormalities connected with high testosterone levels. However, more research is needed.

Keywords

• cortisol
• stress reaction
• testosterone
• T/C ratio
• exercise
• welfare