Aptitude Selection Testing for Young Working Horses
What is aptitude selection testing for young working horses?
Aptitude selection testing, known in French as Parcours d’Excellence du Jeune Equidé de Travail or PEJET, is a tool created by the working horse field to gauge the performance of working horses.
It consists of testing the animals, evaluating their qualities, whether they are innate, acquired, or potential, so that they can be channeled, put on sale, or identified as breeding stock, and thus work for the promotion of French breeds.
It makes it possible to gather, archive, handle, analyze and transmit information on each equine that goes through the process.
Aptitude selection testing consists of a number of steps:
– In hand competitions that bring to the fore those animals that best represent their breed (in accordance to the standards that are set out by each breed stud book).
– Tests to identify abilities objectively. In this testing, the two tests that are carried out are a simplified temperament test which identifies the equine’s innate “character,” and the capability scoring which describes the equine’s anatomy and gait.
– Work tests that aim to find out whether an equine has the fundamental qualities (either innate or acquired through education and training) needed to pursue work in different areas.
This testing is carried out over the first few years of the equine’s life; aged 1 and 2 (elementary level), aged 3 (learning level), and the end of the aptitude selection process at age 4 to 6 (proven level).