Personality in young horses and ponies evaluated during breeding shows: Phenotypic link with jumping competition results

Animal personality, the result of temperament being modulated by life events, is an important factor to be considered when breeding and using domestic horses. In the breeding of sport horses, personality appears as a secondary trait in selection objectives after competition performance. Moreover, the personality trait of fearfulness may be viewed as a risk factor for riders. This study aimed to estimate the variability of personality characteristics measured during breeding shows and their phenotypic correlation with performance in jumping competitions. Data for personality characteristics were recorded during 67 breeding shows in France on 876 jumping horses, 424 jumping ponies and 45 leisure ponies aged 2 or 3 years. Their behavior was assessed during 1) customary rounds (CR) of breeding shows (conformation, free jumping and height measurement at withers) and 2) specific tests (ST) conducted in-hand that measured fearfulness (novel object, novel surface and suddenness tests) and tactile sensitivity. Not all the animals were evaluated on all the behavior tests. Jumping performances from 4 to 7 years old were recorded for 724 of the horses and for 313 of the ponies in official competitions specific for horses or ponies. Environmental effects were estimated using general linear model taking into account breeding show, age and sex. The breeding show effect was significant on 23 out of 28 characteristics. Age and sex influenced approximately one third of the characteristics: younger animals were more fearful; males moved and whinnied more; geldings appeared slightly more fearful during ST. Jumping performances were mostly independent of personality characteristics. In horses, performances were phenotypically positively linked with 3 characteristics during jumping CR (whinnies (P = 0.05), main gait when entering (P = 0.02), evasive behaviors (P = 0.03)) and with posture during conformation evaluation CR (P = 0.04). In ponies, jumping performances were phenotypically positively linked only with whinnies: during CR of height measurement (P = 0.02) and during all ST (P = 0.01). As no main fear variables were significantly related to jumping performances in the two studied populations, it seems that less fearful horses and ponies may perform well in show jumping.