Student Achieves Success with Horse Temperament Research

Josie Foley, senior agricultural science major, combined her interest in horses and her interest in doing research to develop a project focusing on horse temperament. The goal of her research project “Development of an Objective On-Farm Equine Temperament Scoring System,” was to find a way to show the personality of a horse so that they are more likely to be adopted.

Under the supervision of Kelly Walter, assistant professor of agriculture science, Foley has developed and tested two different scoring scales for horses. The first, the “tie test,” grades a horse’s temperament on a one to six scoring system based off behaviors it displays while being tied in an enclosed area for a period of ten minutes. The second, the “obstacle test,” assigns a score of one to six based off the amount of time it takes a horse to cross a new and unfamiliar obstacle of a chute made using a plastic tarp with raised sides.

Foley, a native of Nevada, Mo., transferred to Truman after earning two associate degrees at Cottey College in her hometown. She is a McNair Scholar and was one of 26 students selected to participate in the 2013 TruScholar Undergraduate Research Program. Through the TruScholar program, Foley presented her project at the 2013 Summer Research Symposium. She also presented at the 2014 Joint Annual Meeting of the American Society of Animal Science, the American Dairy Science Association and the Canadian Society of Animal Science.

After graduating, Foley plans on pursing her master’s and Ph.D. with a focus on animal nutrition in poultry science.