For over a decade, researchers have raised concerns about equestrians' and horse enthusiasts’ insufficient evidence-based knowledge of various aspects of horse behavior and welfare (BW) and learning theory and human-horse communication (LC) (1–3). For example, many horse owners and caretakers have difficulties in recognizing signs of clinical health problems and behaviors indicative of negative affect or distress (4–7). The prevalence of equipment-related lesions in horses, recorded during equestrian competitions, indicate that many riders either are unaware of, or are neglecting horse welfare (8, 9). Further, studies indicate that horse enthusiasts, horse owners, and even professionals have significant gaps in knowledge of terminology, understanding of, as well as application of learning theory, which is a widely acknowledged theory of how animals learn (10–13).

The consequences of the lack of such knowledge and failure to meet the needs of the horse may be far-reaching and severe, both for the horse and the human. Horse-related human accidents top the accident and injury statistics in many countries (14) and inappropriate horse management practices have a considerable and wide-ranging effect on horses' physical and psychological wellbeing [for a review, see Hemsworth et al. (15)]. Besides significant welfare risks for both dyad members, the human-horse communication may be impeded, leading to poor performance and less enjoyability of the activity for both horse and human (16–18). One of the main reasons suggested for these shortcomings is insufficient or inadequate education (both theoretical and practical) that is not grounded in latest scientific evidence (12, 13, 19, 20). Indeed, research indicates that education in riding is based on tradition, not science (21–24), and puts little focus on interpretation and consideration of horse's behavioral and emotional responses to human signaling (25).

Riding schools are one of the most important educational platforms, as most riders in Finland and Sweden receive their basic education there. For example, of the one thousand riding stables in Finland, approximately five hundred function as riding schools (26). Riding schools in Finland and Sweden are very similar due to their common background and structure (23, 27–29), however, schools in Finland are almost exclusively run by private companies, whereas most of the Swedish schools are run by non-profit riding clubs (30). In both countries, many riding schools are affiliated to the Equestrian Federation in their respective country, establishing a link between riding schools and organized sports. The federations conduct quality assessment of the affiliated riding schools and provide education for youth leaders, who often run pony clubs at the schools (31, 32).

Riding schools provide lessons in riding to beginners as well as advanced riders of all age groups (23, 30, 31, 33), whereas non-riding lessons in horsemanship are provided less (30, 31, 34). In Finland and Sweden, horsemanship is commonly conceptualized as knowledge and skills about the horse in a broad sense, although excluding riding (35, 36). Non-riding education in horsemanship is often arranged outside riding lessons in separate courses led by youth trained by the national federation (28, 33). These courses are mainly aimed at children and teenagers. In Finland, the courses focus on basic knowledge of horses' fundamental needs (eg., forage, social contact with conspecifics), skills in preparing the horse for riding (grooming, tacking up and leading), and first aid (37). In Swedish riding schools, non-riding education in horsemanship has traditionally involved basic knowledge about and caretaking of the horse (28). Today, most riding schools in Sweden include at least one non-riding lesson per semester for all riding groups (38), although the contents of these lessons remain unclear.

The present study was part of an ongoing Swedish research project that aims to map current education and pedagogical tools to improve riding schools' knowledge base and to facilitate the integration of scientific advances into riding school practice. The main purpose of the current study was to explore riders' motivation, namely why they would, or would not, participate in non-riding education in BW and LC offered at riding schools. Motivation is at the core of human behavior, as it is the process that activates behavior, both in terms of power and direction (39). Thus, an individual may be inclined to do something to a higher or lesser degree. Further, the origin or quality of motivation differs (40). Often, the quality of motivation is explained as dichotomous, either stemming from an innate interest and enjoyment of the behavior (intrinsic motivation) or from the outside, when something else than the behavior itself is the reason (extrinsic motivation). Conversely, an individual may lack motivation altogether. Whichever the origin of motivation, several factors influence its activation and continuity: on the one hand, personal factors such as beliefs, and on the other hand, social and environmental factors (41).

One of the most popular motivation theories is Self-determination theory (SDT), which is a metatheory composing six mini-theories (42). Two of these, organismic integration theory (OIT) and basic psychological needs theory (BPNT) were utilized for the present study, as they focus on the complexity of motivation and how it is influenced by the environment.

According to BPNT, humans have three basic psychological needs; autonomy, competence, and relatedness (42–44). Autonomy refers to a sense of volition, willingness, and acting because one has freely chosen to do so. Competence concerns a sense of accomplishment, effectiveness, and capability. The third need, relatedness, refers to a sense of significance, belonging, and connection with others. An environment that supports the needs by, for example, allowing for choice, providing appropriate challenges, and encouraging social cohesion, predicts wellbeing (45) and facilitates autonomous motivation (46). Autonomous motivation is specified within OIT as volitional engagement in a behavior, i.e., when an individual perceives the behavior as fun, enjoyable, and interesting (intrinsic motivation), as a part of one's own identity (integrated regulation) or as personally important and valuable (identified regulation) (47). Thus, one may willingly and happily choose to do something that is not so fun, interesting, or enjoyable if the reason for doing so has been internalized.

OIT focuses specifically on the internalization process, i.e., the process of taking in extrinsic reasons as internally regulated, that is, stemming from oneself (42, 43, 48). According to the theory, people tend to internalize practices and values in their social environment, specifically when their psychological needs are supported. If the internalization process is successful, autonomous motivation develops in the forms of integrated or identified regulation. If, however, the process of internalization is only partially successful, one acts due to inner pressure, such as guilt (introjected regulation), and if the process fails, one acts due to external pressure, for example to avoid punishment (external regulation), or do not act at all (amotivation). Introjected and external forms of motivation are conceptualized as controlled motivation. Hence, motivation is situated on a continuum of ascending autonomy, where least autonomous is external regulation and most autonomous is intrinsic motivation (Figure 1).

There is a vast body of evidence supporting the notions of BPNT and OIT and their interconnectedness. Meta-analyses have confirmed motivation as situated on a continuum (49, 50), although the distinct nature of integrated regulation was not confirmed in the latter, as it correlated too closely with identified regulation. Furthermore, meta-analyses have established that the more autonomous the motivational regulation, the more positive the outcomes. For example, intrinsic and identified regulation were associated with greater wellbeing and performance among students, as compared to introjected and specifically external regulation (46). In this meta-analysis, introjected regulation was weakly predictive of, and external regulation was unrelated to wellbeing and performance. A slightly different pattern was found among exercising adults, as identified and integrated regulation predicted the most positive outcomes, followed by intrinsic motivation (51). Introjected and external regulation were generally not associated with exercise behavior.

Satisfaction of the basic needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness have repeatedly been connected to the different regulations of motivation (52). Thus, external regulation had no association with perceived needs satisfaction while introjected, identified, and intrinsic regulations were associated in an ascending manner. Integrated regulation was not included in this meta-analysis. Amotivation, on the other hand, has been linked to frustration of the basic needs as well as dysfunctional outcomes in both the physical education context (53), and the educational setting in general (52).

Amotivation is usually treated as a single component, however, it has been argued to be of a multidimensional nature (54, 55). The authors note that treating amotivation as a multifaceted construct could be an important addition to OIT, as it deepens the understanding of the reasons and related antecedents of the lack of motivation. Hence, students may experience amotivation in academic contexts due to four distinct reasons (54). The student may see no value or personal interest in the task (value placed on the task) or experience the task as boring and disengaging (characteristics of the task). Further, the student may feel unwilling to invest in the effort needed (effort beliefs), or experience that one is not able to do it (ability beliefs).

All four subdimensions of amotivation, i.e., ability, effort, value of task, and characteristics of task, were connected to non-adaptive outcomes and lack of social support (54). Further, within the physical education domain, effort beliefs and value placed on task were connected to the intention not to participate in further physical education (56). In a slightly different version of the multidimensional scale of amotivation, capacity (ability) beliefs were reported as the most important reason for adults' choice not to exercise (57).

Research on riders' motivation indicate that initial involvement with horses relates to intrinsic reasons, such as an innate liking of horses (58–60), whereas continued engagement with horses for leisure or sports activates both intrinsic and identified regulation of motivation. Mitchell (61), who used Self-determination theory, found that American leisure riders were intrinsically motivated to ride, that is, they ride for the fun and enjoyability of the activity. In terms of identified regulation, social aspects of the activity seemed to be most common (61). Being involved in the riding school community was the main reason for Swedish young riders’ participation at riding schools (62), and social reasons, alongside the possibility to ride, was the main reason for American college and university students' involvement in equestrian sport clubs (63). Sharing the experience and having fun with friends were the most prominent reasons also for mixed-aged Australian leisure and athlete riders, regarding participation in equestrian sport (58). The social aspects extend also to the horse. Elliot (59) and Bornemann (60), who investigated riders and horse owners in the UK, both report that the possibility to interact and establish a relationship with the horse were main motives for participation in equestrian activities. Besides social aspects, motives of the identified type include learning and relaxing (64). Wu et al. (64) investigated horse enthusiasts in the UK, riding school pupils included, and reported that wanting to learn was more common for riders under 30 years of age, whereas the desire to relax was more common for older riders. Although these studies give important indications about horse enthusiasts' motivation for involvement in riding activities, none investigated participation in non-riding education.

The basic psychological needs have not received much attention from researchers interested in the equestrian domain. Bornemann (60) explored English horse owners' motivation towards owning a horse, applying among others the basic psychological needs theory (BPNT), one of the six mini-theories within SDT (42). The results suggest that ownership was initiated by the need for autonomy and to a slightly lesser degree relatedness, as riding school lessons or loaning of horses did not sufficiently satisfy the needs. The respondents wanted to make their own decisions regarding the horse, how to care for it and “use” it, and to establish a bond with the horse. Caring for the horse was a crucial part of ownership, satisfying both the need for competence and relatedness. Interestingly, the needs for relatedness and competence were in this data related to the horse, not other humans. In fact, other humans were mostly perceived as frustrating of the needs, for example by giving negative feedback or restricting respondents' practice. The respondents preferred environments in which advice was not given, and in which they had the freedom to learn through experience and trial and error.

In conclusion, education has been proposed as a means to address riders’ insufficient knowledge about, and skills to handle the horse. Specifically, knowledge in horse welfare, behavior, learning, and human-horse communication have been identified as important to ensure horse welfare and rider safety. Engagement in such education requires motivation, which, in line with Self-determination theory, is linked to perceived psychological needs satisfaction. While research indicates that riders are autonomously motivated to ride, i.e., they ride because it is fun and personally important, no evidence exists regarding motivation towards non-riding education.

The purpose of this study was to investigate Finnish and Swedish riding school pupils' participation in non-riding education in horse behavior and welfare (BW) and learning and human-horse communication (LC) at the riding school. The results showed that forty percent of the Finnish and Swedish riding schools offered education in BW, and thirty-two percent in LC. Of all respondents, twenty-seven percent had participated in education in BW at the riding school, and twenty-five percent in LC. Furthermore, the results indicate that the respondents were autonomously motivated to participate in BW and LC, i.e., they participate because it is interesting and personally important. In addition, the riding school pupils' perceived satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness at the riding school were explored. It was found that the need for relatedness was most satisfied, followed by competence, and that needs satisfaction predicted autonomous motivation to participate in education in BW and LC. Throughout the results of this study, Finnish riding schools offered less education, and Finnish respondents reported less participation in education, less autonomous motivation to participate, and lower relatedness and competence satisfaction.

The finding that less than half of the riding schools offered non-riding education in BW and LC, and that even fewer respondents had participated in education, is alarming, as knowledge and skills in BW and LC have been identified as very important both for horse welfare and human safety (14–16). Most riders receive their basic education in riding and horsemanship at the riding school, therefore, the importance of this educational platform cannot be ignored. In this study, Swedish riding schools were more likely to offer, and Swedish respondents were more likely to have participated in education in BW and LC. An explanation for the latter finding may be that Swedish riding schools include at least some compulsory non-riding education for all riders (38), whereas Finnish riding schools do not. As this study investigated only non-riding education, it is possible that education in BW and LC are included in the riding lessons at the riding schools. However, previous studies indicate that education in riding is focused on the technical aspects of riding, e.g., teaching pupils how to sit on the horse and how to control it (21, 25).

In this study, the Finnish and Swedish riding school pupils were autonomously motivated to participate in non-riding education in BW and LC at the riding school. The main motivational regulation was intrinsic/identified, meaning that they participated, or would participate, because it is fun, interesting, personally valuable, and a means to learn important things. Previous research from the equestrian domain suggest that riders are autonomously motivated, but these studies investigated riding activity, not non-riding education (58, 59, 61). In this study, integrated regulation, i.e., participating because it is a part of one's identity, stood out as a sole construct. This is interesting from a theoretical perspective, as it contrasts with recent meta-analyses testing the constructs of motivation in several domains (50, 74). Perhaps integration, a process where values and behaviors are merged into the self (42), is a distinct construct only in some specific contexts. Indeed, previous research on the riding school culture in Finland and Sweden have emphasized the strong identity formation that occurs among adolescent riders (27, 62, 75). Unfortunately, this study's scope did not include an investigation of the effects of the motivational constructs.

Findings in this study point towards groups that may be less autonomously motivated. Especially younger respondents reported more controlled motivation, i.e., internal or external pressure to participate, and more amotivation, i.e., lack of motivation. Also, competing respondents and respondents that had practiced the hobby for a shorter period reported more controlled motivation. Possible reasons for these results may be numerous, however, one potential reason is that, for these groups, the internalization process has not yet developed fully and the groups have not yet taken in the importance and value of participating in education in BW and LC. Internalization is a sort of a socialization process in which extrinsic motives, such as participation in education that is not perceived as innately enjoyable, are incorporated with personal meaning or integrated into the self and thus enables autonomous motivation (42, 48). However, competing respondents are likely to have actively practiced the hobby for a longer time and supposedly should have internalized values and practices. This raises the question of whether non-riding education in BW and LC at the riding school is considered important and valuable within this group and whether the education available meets the needs of this group. To facilitate internalization, practitioners such as riding teachers can provide rational that is relevant to the riders and autonomy support, i.e., take the perspective of the learner, be open and accepting (48, 76).

Further, satisfaction of the basic psychological needs is essential for the internalization process and autonomous motivation (42, 48). Feeling volitional, capable, and connected to others in one context, e.g., at school, may also influence motivation at the situational level, such as during class (77, 78). The finding that perceived needs satisfaction at the riding school in general predicted autonomous motivation to participate in non-riding education in BW and LC supports these assumptions and highlights the importance of needs satisfaction at the riding school. Besides fostering internalization of motives to participate in non-riding education, needs satisfaction is crucial for riders to continue with the hobby at the riding school. Previous research indicates that needs frustration, specifically autonomy, at the riding school is a major motive for riders to buy a horse of their own, i.e., quit at the riding school (60). As autonomy satisfaction received the lowest score in the present study, this raises the prospect of riding schools to become more autonomy supportive, to ensure internalization of important behaviors and lasting client relationships.

Finnish and Swedish riding school pupils' responses were found to differ significantly in almost all aspects of this study. Finnish respondents reported less participation in education, higher levels of controlled motivation and amotivation, and lower levels of autonomous motivation as well as competence and relatedness satisfaction. Further, Finnish riding schools were reported to offer less education in both BW and LC. The riding schools in both countries are very similar due to a comparable background and structure (28, 29, 31, 33, 79), however, some small differences also exist. For example, Swedish riding schools, in contrast to Finnish, are mostly run by non-profit clubs, have larger riding groups, and include some compulsory non-riding education for all riders (30, 38). These differences may influence the price of the activities, and thus explain the Finnish respondents’ higher reported inability to pay for extra education. Moreover, as discussed before, needs satisfaction, autonomous motivation, and engagement work conjointly within the process of internalization (42, 48, 52). Hence, merely offering non-riding education in BW and LC, for example as an integral part of the hobby for all riders, may be sufficient to highlight its value and importance and thus increase autonomous motivation to participate. As the national equestrian federations have some impact on the organization of non-riding education at riding schools (31, 80), they could highlight the importance of BW and LC as essential educational subjects at riding schools and support riding schools in providing such education.