Untangling the complex relationships between horse welfare, rider safety, and rider satisfaction

Securing the horse industry’s long-term future is becoming increasingly urgent due to community concerns for horse welfare; human behavior change may offer novel solutions to this challenging problem. Self-determination theory (SDT), a well-established theory in human behavior change, assumes humans are intrinsically motivated by three universal psychological needs: competence, autonomy, and relatedness. These align well with horse–human interaction. To explore the potential for human behavior change to improve horse welfare, this study investigated the relationship between horse welfare, rider safety, and rider satisfaction. An online survey asked equestrians about their horse-keeping and training practices, their riding accidents and injuries, and their level of satisfaction with their horse. Relative horse welfare and rider satisfaction were significantly related (r = 0.34, p < 0.001). Hyperreactive horse behavior (defined in this study as bucking, bolting, rearing, and spooking) and rider accidents and injuries were negatively related to rider satisfaction (r = −0.23, p < 0.001 and r = −0.16, p = 0.001, respectively). Further, goal achievement (r = 0.57, p < 0.001), rider control (r = 0.49, p < 0.001), and horse–human partnership (r = 0.62, p < 0.001) were all significantly related to rider satisfaction. A regression analysis testing the proposed SDT-based rider satisfaction model was significant (p < 0.001), with goal achievement, rider control, and horse–human partnership accounting for 63% of the variance of rider satisfaction scores. We found that horse welfare, rider safety, and rider satisfaction were related, with equestrian goal achievement (competence), horse control (autonomy), and horse-rider partnership (relatedness) all significantly contributing to rider satisfaction, suggesting that SDT may offer a useful framework for developing behavior change strategies. While more work is needed to develop and evaluate such strategies, a better understanding of intrinsic rider motivation represents an important first step.