Is there a ‘colour fashion’ in British bred sports horses? An investigation into British equestrianspreference for horse colours and perception of equine coat colour bias

摘要

Implications Survey results suggest a perceived bias in the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) Futurity according to thecolour of the horses. Blocked Coloured and Spotted were the least favourite horse coat colours of the British equestrians.Introduction Changes in ‘fashion preference’ of equine coat colours is evident through history, through domestication ofthe horse and particular with the introduction of modern day studbooks, described by Linderholm and Larson (2013) andCieslak et al. (2007). Anecdotal feedback from participants of the BEF Futurity has suggested a judging bias in the younghorse evaluations according to the colour of the horse. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a current preferencein horse coat colours exists amongst British equestrians, and furthermore, to investigate British equestrians’ perception ofequine coat colour bias in sport horse performance evaluations.