Miniature horses and donkeys help lift teens’ mood

  

 For many people, spending time with horses has a calming effect. 

Animal-assisted therapy programmes often rely on this, but new research suggests that the animals are far more than passive participants. The way horses and donkeys respond to people may influence how much benefit people gain from the interaction.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, investigated this idea in a study involving 61 adolescents and a small herd of rescued miniature horses and donkeys. Their findings, published in Scientific Reports, provide evidence for what the researchers call the "Two-Way Hypothesis" – the idea that human behaviour influences an animal's behaviour, which in turn affects the person's emotional response.

Previous studies of animal-assisted interventions have largely concentrated on the effects on people while paying relatively little attention to the animals' experiences. Lead author Rebecca Calisi Rodríguez believes this overlooks an important part of the relationship.

"You can't stand in a pasture watching a child and a donkey interact and pretend only one of them is having an experience," she said. "They're watching each other, they're responding to each other, they're both making choices."

To test the hypothesis, each teenager spent three minutes interacting with miniature horses and donkeys. Half the participants were instructed to gently stroke the animals' backs, while the remainder scratched their necks in a way that mimics the mutual grooming behaviour seen between horses. Before the interaction, the adolescents were taught to recognise two simple behavioural signals: lip wriggling, which indicates enjoyment, and walking away, which suggests the animal wants more space.

The style of handling affected how the equines responded. Neck scratching produced lip-wriggling behaviour much more frequently than gentle stroking, while animals walked away less often during scratching sessions than during petting.

All participants reported feeling calmer and less nervous, sad, lonely and excited after spending time with the animals, regardless of which handling method they used. However, differences emerged when researchers considered the animals' behaviour.

Teenagers who observed lip wriggling experienced greater reductions in feelings of loneliness. Surprisingly, those whose equine partner chose to walk away showed larger reductions in sadness.

This unexpected finding suggests that an interaction does not have to involve constant engagement from the animal to be beneficial. Instead, seeing an animal exercise choice may make the encounter feel more genuine.

"I love that this unexpected result challenges the assumption that more animal engagement is always better," said Calisi Rodríguez. "Seeing an animal exercise choice – being free to approach you, stay with you, or walk away – may make the interaction feel more authentic."

The researchers stress that the study does not show that neck scratching is always the best way to interact with horses or donkeys. Rather, it demonstrates that human behaviour influences the animal's response, and that these responses are linked with differences in people's emotional outcomes.

The work could have practical implications for animal-assisted interventions in schools, hospitals and therapeutic riding centres. Rather than focusing solely on the human participant, future programmes may benefit from paying greater attention to the animal's experience and allowing it to make choices during interactions.

As Calisi Rodríguez concluded, "If animals are going to become increasingly important partners in supporting human well-being, then understanding their well-being isn't just an ethical responsibility. Our work suggests it may actually be part of understanding how these interventions work."