Leisure riding horses: research topics versus the needs of stakeholders

Abstract

Horses intended for leisure riding do not undergo any selection and most often retired sports horses or defective horses are chosen, as a low selling price determines their purchase by a leisure riding center. Unfortunately, horses bought at low prices usually have low utility value, are difficult to handle, require a special or individual approach and do not provide satisfaction in riding. However, neither modern horse breeding nor scientific research address the need to breed horses for leisure activities. There is no clear definition of a model leisure horse and criteria or information for its selection are not readily available in scientific publications. A wide spectrum of research methods may be used to evaluate various performance traits in horses intended for leisure activities. The fact that the population of recreational horses and their riders outnumber sporting horses should attract the special attention of scientific research. Their utility traits need to be determined with modern technology and methods in the same way they are for sporting horses. Such a system of evaluation would be very helpful for riders.

Hypoxia and mesenchymal stromal cells as key drivers of initial fracture healing in an equine in vitro fracture hematoma model

“…Various studies indicated an incidence of fractures in races between 1–2% per race start [2, 4, 5], with pelvic and tibial stress fractures identified as the most common cases of fracture [5]. Furthermore, the number of horses used in leisure sports is still increasing and includes a trend towards free-range husbandries in groups leading potentially to injuries and contortions especially in the fetlock area [6, 7]. Similar to treatment in humans, current strategies towards long bone fractures in horses focus on stabilization of the fracture site by means of screws or nails [8, 9].…”

The Pattern of Superficial Body Temperatures in Leisure Horses Lunged with Commonly Used Lunging Aids

“…The research was conducted on the leisure horses. Horses in leisure usage, which is recreation, differ sports usage, considered as competitive in Olympic disciplines on different levels, and racing usage, considered as participating in races [9,10]. The difference between sports or racing usage and leisure usage may be defined based on determining the activity initiator and the purposes of training.…”

An application of temperature mapping of horse's back for leisure horse‐rider‐matching

“…A lot of problems with leisure horses often result from their owner's lack of experience or knowledge (Hemsworth, Jongman, & Coleman, 2015). In Janczarek and Wilk's (2017) opinion as well as ours, riding utilization of the leisure horse, back mobility and overload needs to be determined with modern technology and methods similar to those used for sports horses.…”

“…In equestrian sport or racing, similar to each sports discipline, the correlation between achieved results and the activity on a leisure level is observed. However, sports usage, considered as competitive in Olympic disciplines on different levels, and racing usage, considered as participating in races, differs from leisure usage, which is recreational (Daly, ; Janczarek & Wilk, ). The difference between sports or racing riding and leisure riding may be defined based on determining the activity initiator and the purposes of training.…”

“…They work with many different riders, often beginners, still learning how to sit properly. For the rider, comfort during horse riding can be obtained through specific biomechanical properties of the horse (Janczarek & Wilk, ). From the horse's point of view also important is rational use and well‐distributed load influenced by saddle fitting, good selection of rider and established exercise program.…”