Original Research Equine Personality: Association With Breed, Use, and Husbandry Factors Jill E. Sackman a, b, * , Katherine A. Houpt c a Exponent, Farmington Hills, MI b Behavior Medicine Service, Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners, Southfield, MI c Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Ithaca, NY article info Article history: Received 20 March 2018 Received in revised form 9 October 2018 Accepted 13 October 2018 Available online 21 October 2018 Keywords: Horse Personality Behavior Breed Use Survey abstract Temperament can be defined as innate properties of the nervous system, whereas personality includes the complex behavioral traits acquired through life. Association between personality and behavior is important for breeding, selection, and training of horses. For the first time, we evaluated if equine personality components previously identified in Japan and Europe were consistent when applied to American horses. We examined the association of personality with breed, age, sex, management, training, stereotypies, and misbehaviors. The owner directed personality survey consisted of 25 ques- tions. An online version of the survey was created. The principal component analysis method was used to associate behavioral traits with personality components. Factor analysis with orthogonal transformation was performed on scores for personality-related questions. A total of 847 survey responses were used. Quarter Horses, “other” breed, and Thoroughbred were the most common breeds. Three principal per- sonality components were extracted as each behavioral trait belonged to one of these three components. Arabians, Thoroughbreds, Saddlebreds, and Walking horses were the most nervous and Quarter Horses, and Paints, Appaloosas, and Drafts were the least nervous. No trained discipline was significantly associated with any personality component. There were no significant associations between stereotypies and misbehaviors and nervous or curious personality. For the first time in predominantly American horses, we have evaluated personality components and their association with breed, age, sex, training discipline, and stereotypies. We refute links between personality and trained discipline and confirm the lack of association between nervous personality and stereotypies and misbehaviors. © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Personality, the term used here, is defined as a set of behavioral tendencies referred to as traits or dimensions which are present early in life and are relatively stable across various situations and over time [1,2] and include reactivity and self-regulation [3]. Reactivity refers to arousibility of motor activity, affect, autonomic, and endocrine response [3]. Personality can cover traits such as aggressiveness, avoidance of novelty, risk-taking, exploration, and sociality [4]. A number of research studies have emphasized the influence of environmental factors such as housing, diet, weaning, or training methods as well as humanehorse interactions on expression of behavioral traits in horses [5e8]. Visser et al [8] demonstrated a significant relationship between response to a novel object test and introduction to a novel stable environment. The finding that responses of horses to a novel object was corre- lated with their behavior in a stall suggests the utility of using a behavioral test to predict personality characteristics in other settings. Because of the genetic component to temperament, it is not surprising that individual breeds demonstrate varying tempera- ment types. Excitable or anxious traits were highly associated with Thoroughbreds, Arabians, and Welsh cobs, whereas Irish Draught and Highland ponies exhibited the least association [9]. Sociability and Inquisitiveness were also assessed and were the highest in Arabians and Thoroughbreds and lowest in Irish Draught Horses and American Quarter Horses [9]. Animal welfare/ethical statement: The research described in this article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest. * Corresponding author at: Jill E. Sackman, Exponent, 39100 Country Club Drive, Farmington Hills, MI 48331. E-mail address: jsackman@exponent.com (J.E. Sackman). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Equine Veterinary Science journal homepage: www.j-evs.com https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2018.10.018 0737-0806/© 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 72 (2019) 47e55