A riding school horse in South Korea. Photo by Hyunwoo Sun
The hot-blooded nature of Thoroughbreds was revealed in a study exploring the behavioral and cardiac responses of mature horses to a novel object.
Researchers Kyung Eun Lee, Joon Gyu Kim, Hang Lee and Byung Sun Kim set out in a South Korean study to investigate whether breed, sex, and age affected temperament differently during a test involving an unfamiliar object.
The study included 12 Jeju-Thoroughbred horses (a popular cross in Korea), 15 Thoroughbreds, and 12 Warmbloods. The horses were typically aged 10 to 12, and 22 of them were mares.
The Jeju horse is a native Korean pony.