Equine Behaviour Assessment and Research Questionnaire (E-BARQ) invitation

[bbur2426]

Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to introduce myself and the E-BARQ team. I am a Veterinary Medicine student completing a research project focusing on horse behaviour and how we can use this information to improve horse welfare. If you could all please have a read of the below that would be amazing!

We wanted to let you know that horse enthusiasts around the world are embracing the Equine Behavior Assessment and Research Questionnaire (E-BARQ) and benefiting from the information it reveals.

E-BARQ is the only standardised horse personality assessment tool available and it is completely free to use.

We don’t want the Horse and Hound members to miss out and encourage all members to follow the link, https://e-barq.com/login/, to give you all and your horses a voice in this important project.

All the best,
Bibiana and The E-BARQ Team
info@e-barq.com
https://e-barq.com/login/

 

[Leo Walker]

Horse personality quiz? How does this contribute to improving welfare?

 

[bbur2426]

Hi Leo,

Thanks for your question

E-BARQ is the study of how horse training and management interact with behaviour and by taking the questionnaire, you can learn more about your horse.

This is why the University of Sydney has launched the Equine Behavior Assessment and Research Questionnaire (E-BARQ), an ongoing global database of horse behaviour. The study explores how horse training and management interact with behaviour. It will reveal invaluable information on how our training and management affect behaviour and how, in turn, behaviour affects horse welfare. Beyond the immediate and direct research outcomes, E-BARQ also has great benefits to horse owners, riders and trainers.

On completion of the questionnaire, contributors receive a graph that compares their horse with 1000’s of other horses across various different categories. They also receive a private dashboard where they can log each of their horses and view their E-BARQ results. This innovative tool is completely free of charge.
Horse owners can upload photographs to a custom-built online dashboard, recording their horse’s progress in training over time. For the first time, they’ll also be able to compare their horse’s behaviour with that of other horses. The “share-&-compare” graphs will reveal attributes such as trainability, rideability, handling, compliance, boldness, and human social confidence.

E-BARQ’s main benefits are:

• E-BARQ is open to all owners/handlers, regardless of their horse or pony’s breed, height or age and provides users with a free dashboard to store their horses’ results and track their progress.
• Owners can compare their horses’ behaviour to others around the world, giving them a useful benchmark.
• Riders and handlers can monitor their horse’s progress over time as they can return to their E-BARQ dashboard every 6 months and re-take the questionnaire, updating their scores.
• Owners and riders will get a new insight into which areas their horses are performing well in and where they may require help.
• As E-BARQ can monitor the longitudinal consequences of different training methods, it can be a powerful tool for advancing horse welfare. It will also inform evidence-based judgements on the ethics and sustainability of horse sports.
• E-BARQ will reveal the true impact of ancient traditions and modern trends. This can use used by everyone, from the general riding public to equine scientists and veterinarians.

This project builds on a similar project for dogs (C-BARQ), which has collected information on over 85,000 dogs and been used in more than 70 research studies that have revealed behavioural differences, for example, that relate to head and body shape and the astonishing effect of de-sexing on behaviour. Without doubt, C-BARQ has revolutionised our understanding of dog behaviour.
After 8 years of planning, we are very excited about E-BARQ, It is a not-for-profit project that allows the global horse-folk community to offer their observational data to the University of Sydney and gain useful benefits in return.

Please feel free to contact us for any further questions!

Kind regards,
Bibiana and the E-BARQ team

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Sorry to appear dim but questionnaires appear on this forum quite often from people doing research studies for vet studies/uni/college etc, and most of us including myself are only too happy to fill them in if it will help someone.

But I rather suspect yours does not fall into this category??

Yes?

No??

I also rather suspect that at some point there will be a "subscription" or "membership" fee levied........ correct??

That doesn't need to be a problem, necessarily, as long as that is made clear early on.

 

[MissTyc]

It asked me for a log in so I couldn't complete the survey, sorry.

 

[Leo Walker]

I've not done it either and I wont at this point. It doesnt feel like the whole truth is being given, and I dont want to sign up for something in order to fill out a questionnaire. And I still cannot find a link between horse personalities and welfare?

 

[bbur2426]

Hi there,

We genuinely believe that this questionnaire will help those who complete it. The aim of the questionnaire is to give everyone who completes it valuable information regarding their horses' behaviour, and compares this to other horses around the world. This is to give owners a useful benchmark to work from. Users can complete the quiz as many times as they like, and it can provide longitudinal data that shows your horses progress over time.

We also hope that with the information collected from the questionnaire, wastage in the industry can eventually be reduced. We also hope that it can aid potential or future horse owners in selecting appropriate horses for their needs. Trainers, riders and handlers will also benefit (particularly those with difficult horses) from the questionnaire, as it can help them work with their horses to improve behaviours. The ultimate goal is to improve horse welfare across the whole global horse community, particularly in sports.

The E-BARQ questionnaire is completely not-for-profit. It is free to all users, and there is no intention at any time to charge users for the service in any form. It is a way for the global horse community to offer their observational data to the University of Sydney and gain useful benefits in return.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am more than happy to answer them.

 

[bbur2426]

This link below will take you to the press release for the development of the E-BARQ project. It gives information regarding a "how-to", what's included and who is involved, contributors to the project, as well as the terms and privacy. Please feel free to have a read and let me know if there are any questions.

https://www.kandooequine.com/e-barq

 

[planete]

The requirement to sign in is off putting. i have done many surveys and never had to register before doing them. Surveys compiling pure data should be anonymous surely?

 

[bbur2426]

The requirement to sign in is off putting. i have done many surveys and never had to register before doing them. Surveys compiling pure data should be anonymous surely?

Thanks for your reply,
I have passed on your concern about signing in to my research supervisors and we will see if the requirement to sign up can be removed before taking the questionnaire. The purpose of signing up was so that you could track your horses progress if you chose to do the questionnaire again. But I appreciate the feedback and we want to work with potential users to make this questionnaire as accessible as possible.

 

[ycbm]

Sorry, I am another who will not complete while it requires me to register.

.

 

[DabDab]

It rather comes across as a large scale data harvesting project providing very valuable data that could be used for a whole range of marketing and commercial purposes. Usually if a survey is just for academic research then people at least state the title of their research project.

 

[bbur2426]

It rather comes across as a large scale data harvesting project providing very valuable data that could be used for a whole range of marketing and commercial purposes. Usually if a survey is just for academic research then people at least state the title of their research project.

Hi DabDab,

The title of the PhD project is "Development and validation of a questionnaire for measuring behaviour and temperament traits in horses." The PhD student is Dr Kate Fenner (an equine veterinarian) and the head supervisor is Professor Paul McGreevy, a leading vet in animal welfare who has written over 250 research papers.

For more information you can check out the link provided here which will take you to the press release and more information. https://www.kandooequine.com/e-barq

 

[DabDab]

Thanks. And the data gathered will only be used for academic purposes?

 

[bbur2426]

Thanks. And the data gathered will only be used for academic purposes?

Absolutely. Any data or information submitted in the E-BARQ questionnaire remains confidential and will only be used by the researchers for the purposes of this research. When you do the questionnaire, there will be a University of Sydney Participation Information Statement which outlines exactly what happens with your information. This is copy and paste from that information sheet:

"The only piece of information about you will be an email address for the purposes of notifying you when the follow-up survey is available for you. This will not be shared with others. It will be kept within Sydney University’s secure data base.
At the end of the survey, you will be able to compare your horse’s behaviour to others that have been described via the E-BARQ. When we have gathered a significant number of responses, results will be analysed and they will appear in journal publications.
By providing your consent, you are agreeing to us collecting personal information about you for the purposes of this research study. Your information will only be used for the purposes outlined in this Participant Information Statement, unless you consent otherwise.
Your information will be stored securely and your identity/information will be kept strictly confidential, except as required by law. Study findings may be published, but you will not be individually identifiable in these publications. We will keep the information we collect for this study, and we may use it in future projects.
By providing your consent you are allowing us to use your information in future projects. We don’t know at this stage what these other projects will involve. We will seek ethical approval before using the information in these future projects."

Please let me know if you have any other concerns.

 

[Leo Walker]

I think you need to make that clear in the initial request. I like to try and do these things when I can, but this came across as a bit of a shady underhand thing. I'd work with someone to get a better opening statement that covers the queries that have been made. I would also make it absolutely clear in large print that ths=is is for academic purposes only, and I'd have that right at the beginning.