Co-variations between perceived personality traits and quality of the interaction between female riders and horses

The current study seeks to investigate the relationship between perceived equine and rider personality traits on the one hand and quality of horse–rider relationships on the other. An Internet questionnaire examined the self-perceived personality traits of 2525 horse–female rider dyads that indicated to have a low, medium or high-quality horse–rider relationship. The questionnaire was split into three parts, part 1 focused on personal details, while parts 2 and 3 investigated perceived personality traits of the rider (15 items) and the horse (15 items). In order to determine relevant personality components contained in the rider and horse personality questionnaires, principal components analyses (PCA) were performed. The following personality components could be identified for the rider: “excitability”, “liveliness”, “consideration” and “leadership”. For the horse, relevant components consisted of “emotional reactivity”, “intelligence”, “gregariousness”, and “willingness to work”. Partial correlations were used to investigate relationships between horse and rider personality components, while controlling for the effect of length of ownership and competitive level. Weak positive partial correlations were found between the personality components of “liveliness (rider)” with “intelligence (equine)” [r = 0.16, n = 1674, P < 0.0001] and “gregariousness (equine) [r = 0.1, n = 1674, P < 0.001]; “excitability (rider)” with “emotional reactivity (equine)” [r = 0.14, n = 1674, P < 0.0001]; “leadership (rider)” with “intelligence (equine)” [r = 0.1; n = 1674; P < 0.0001] and “willingness (to work) (equine)” [r = 0.1, n = 1674; P < 0.0001]; “consideration (rider)” with “gregariousness (equine)” [r = 0.11; n = 1674; P < 0.0001] Our findings suggest that self-perceived personality traits in the rider at least in part co-vary with perceptions of horse temperament, and, as a consequence, are likely to affect quality perceptions of horse–rider interaction.