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© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Simple Summary

Unwanted horse behaviours in human–horse interactions are often labelled with historical terms such as evasion, resistance, and disobedience, which fail to recognise current knowledge of the horse’s nature, as well as its mental and sensory abilities. These common labels often inadvertently place the horse at fault without acknowledging the many mechanisms that may be affecting or motivating the behaviour shown. If we are to continue riding horses, it is imperative that we endeavour to protect them from mental distress and pain. This commentary discusses the multiple influences on equine behaviour in human–horse interactions and proposes a multidisciplinary redefinition of the term ‘conflict behaviour’ for human–horse interactions that encompasses this complexity. Our proposed definition is as follows: Responses reflective of competing motivations for the horse that may exist on a continuum from subtle to overt, with frequencies that range from a singular momentary behavioural response to repetitive displays when motivational conflict is prolonged. We suggest that by using this redefined term and recognising the primary contributing factors involved in undesirable equine responses, future research can continue to determine how best to interpret the possible causes of unwanted behaviour.

Details

Title
No More Evasion: Redefining Conflict Behaviour in Human–Horse Interactions
Author
Emily O’Connell 1 ; Dyson, Sue 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; McLean, Andrew 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; McGreevy, Paul 4   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Independent Researcher, 959 Bacchus Marsh Road, Bullengarook, VIC 3437, Australia 
 Independent Researcher, The Cottage, Church Road, Market Weston, Diss IP22 2NX, UK; [email protected] 
 Independent Researcher, 3 Wonderland Ave, Tuerong, VIC 3915, Australia; [email protected] 
 Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; [email protected] 
First page
399
Publication year
2025
Publication date
2025
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20762615
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3165751932
Copyright
© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.