Figure 2.

Salivary cortisol concentrations (ng/mL) from the 20 horses (mean ± se) in each treatment, incl. the baseline lunge test. The amount of exercise (warm-up and test) was the same in all treatments. 0% (control): The rider rode without additional weight; 15% and 25%: The rider rode with additional 15% or 25% of her bodyweight, respectively, in a balanced order across three test days. Five saliva samples were collected from each horse per day: B: Baseline, 0 min: Just after the lunge/dressage test, 5 min: 5 min after the lunge/dressage test, EQ: Just after the saddle pressure/gait symmetry test, 30 min: 30 min after the lunge/dressage test. Due to technical issues with the equipment, the duration of the gait symmetry test varied and the EQ and 30 min samples are less informative. Different letters indicate a significant effect of sampling time.