Experimental testing of reactivity of huzul horses

This thesis experimentally tested the reactivity of 39 horses from which there were 19 huzuls, 10 Czech warmblood horses, 1 Noriker, 1 crossbreed of thoroughbred and Lipizzaner horse, 1 coldblood horse, 3 half-blood horses and 4 thoroughbreds. The objective of the thesis was to compare the reactivity of Huzul horses used for hippotherapy and training of children with a control group of horses used for recreational riding, and asses the suitability of huzul horses for use in hippotherapy from a reactivity point of view. During the test horses were presented with four objects (a moving and vocalizing toy of piglet, a mirror, an umbrella and a ball). Each of those was presented to the horse for 20 sec. The reactions of the horses to each of the objects were evaluated and used to calculate an avarage reactivity score for each horse. Based on the results of the statistical analysis, it was shown that the reactivity of the huzul horses used in hippotherapy and training of children was lower than that of the control group