07/07/2025
**𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗗 𝗜𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗟𝗦**
𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗩𝗘𝗬 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗥-𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗖𝗘𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗗𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗦𝗘
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀: 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗞𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗲-𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲, 𝗛𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘆𝘁𝗼𝗻, 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗕𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗿ö𝗺, 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻, 𝗞𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗿, 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗺𝗮 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗳, 𝗡𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗺, 𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗵 𝗦. 𝗹𝗲 𝗝𝗲𝘂𝗻𝗲, 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗴𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗮 𝗘𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗹
𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 (𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻):
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/13/1956
A 5-year collaborative project of an international team of researchers focusing on understanding rider perceptions on sidedness in horses. This publication marks the third publication from the International Task Force on Laterality in Sport Horses. A massive thank you to all the co-authors, members of the taskforce, and thank you to everyone who took part in the survey.
𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: Equestrians often perceive horses to show a preference for one side of their body over the other, which can affect their movement and behaviour during training. To explore this, an international survey was conducted with over 2300 horse riders and owners, focusing on their observations of their horses’ movements and sidedness. Respondents reported that horses more frequently had their manes falling to the right, their right front hooves were more upright, and their left shoulders were more prominent. Horses were reported to struggle more with movements and exercises, such as bending or lunging, on the right rein. Many horses were reported to move their hindquarters to the left when walking, trotting, or cantering to the left. While clear patterns of left or right preference were noted, a substantial number of horses were perceived as mostly symmetrical. These findings support that horses have natural asymmetries, but the underlying reasons remain unclear. Understanding these tendencies can help horse owners and trainers develop more balanced training techniques, for the benefit of horse welfare and performance.