Maintaining social licence to operate: ethical issues in equestrian sport

Equine welfare and ethics are a growing concern in the equine world.

The equestrian events of the Tokyo Olympics saw incidents in several disciplines that triggered some very strong reactions from media and spectators over a sport that was already criticised in certain disciplines, such as horseracing (it is reported that up to 33% of racehorses are wasted each year).

This, in turn, led to a section of the population asking for a ban of all equestrian competitions from the Olympic Games, considering them to be practices harmful to the well-being of horses. Following on Tokyo’s events, several incidents reported on social media involving high-level equestrian personalities only amplified the issues.

It therefore seems essential for us veterinarians to implement best practices in relation to horse welfare and advocate possible improvements to be made whenever possible.

By definition, welfare relates to the general health, happiness and safety of a person, an animal or a group. Historically, equine welfare has been faced with a dual challenge, which is to provide, whenever possible, a scientifically robust approach while also considering what is better or worse for the animal. Ethics relate to moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity.

Following the aforementioned events, the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) has taken several steps to help improve the monitoring of animal welfare during events. Some of the steps taken include developing and implementing a vision statement for “A good life for horses” to influence transformative change in relation to strengthening social licence and to ensure that equine welfare and ethics are genuinely prioritised in the development of FEI policy and in practice.

A permanent FEI Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Independent Advisory Committee was also established with the aim to act as a “critical friend”. Among the objectives of the committee, providing external perspective and independent advice related to the welfare of horses in sport and adopting an evidence-based approach for assessing the impact on horse welfare of new and existing items of tack and equipment in training and competition are described.

Stakeholder study

In a study published in November 2017, stakeholder perceptions of the welfare problems faced by horses in Great Britain ranked weight (both over and underweight) and poor hoof care among the greatest equine health problem, while inappropriate use of training aid and ill-fitting tack were the most common training/riding welfare concerns¹.

In the same study stakeholder perceptions of the sectors of horse use where welfare was compromised ranked racing on top with dressage and all other sports coming third and eight respectively. Interestingly, travellers’ horses came second, with particular concerns over tethering and associated lack of access to food/water, horses broken in too young and overworked on hard ground and horses not receiving routine health care¹.

Additionally, common concerns cited for equine welfare were a high rate of oral lesions in ridden horses, possibly associated with inadequate use of tack. Hyperactive behaviour, such as bucking, rearing and spooking, are also a common cause for concerns².

Some studies by Dyson et al looked extensively into the use of a pain ethogram to evaluate equine behaviours. A Ridden Pain Ethogram (RHpE) was developed, comprising 24 behaviours including the position of the head in relation to the vertical, ears pinned back for more than 5 seconds and visibility of the sclera. In one of the studies, the majority of the behaviours of the RHpE were 10 times more likely to be seen in a lame horse versus a non-lame horse, with a total RHpE score of more than or equal to 8/24 likely to reflect the presence of musculoskeletal pain.

As we see an increase of horses presented in practice for “poor performance”, with often vague clinical signs, the implementation of the ethogram use should be an added tool in the diagnostic array of the equine practitioner^3,4,5,6.

Obesity issues

Obesity is an increasing welfare issue commonly encountered in the UK. A common criterion to define obesity in horses has often been related to a body condition score (BCS) greater than 7/9 to correspond with a total body fat percentage of 20% or more. A range of clinical conditions may be associated with equine obesity, one serious and best-studied being the increased risk of endocrinopathy laminitis associated with insulin dysregulation.

Obesity may also affect prognosis on orthopaedic pathology and healing of certain conditions. While management of obesity is often complex as it may be multifactorial, key factors are duration of treatment (three to six months), individually tailored diet and exercise plans with strict follow-up assessments. Owners should be educated to understand these management challenges⁷.

Another rising welfare problem has been associated with ill-fitting tack or bits^8,9. This is often associated with mouth pain and intraoral lesions with behavioural signs of pain not always readily recognised due to the high pain sensitivity of the interdental space.

One publication reported as much as 9% of oral lesions and/or blood on commissure of lips in sport horses, 52% of acute oral lesions after eventing and 84% of acute oral lesions after racing in trotters. Associated with lesions created using inappropriate bits, incorrect fitting of nosebands also resulted in an associated painful pressure over the muzzle region, together with injuries to the cheeks/bar/corner of the lips. Some horses were also deemed unable to chew or swallow saliva. In addition, a tight noseband can also cause compression of the nerves and blood vessel of the face as well as the mouth/temporomandibular joint/neck/hyoid apparatus, resulting in a stressful effect (HR/cortisol/thermography/behaviour)¹⁰. To improve excessive tightening, noseband/curb chain detailed protocols for measuring band tightness have been provided for each discipline and there is an aim to create a positive list of authorised nosebands¹¹. The new FEI device currently used to measure noseband tightness is an example of welfare changes made based on scientific data and implemented in order to improve equine welfare.

Among all these and many more welfare problematics that the equine practitioner is faced with, there are also many ethical questions. According to one publication, the most commonly identified ethical challenges are conflicts of interest and the pressures faced by the veterinary surgeon. In that study, the primary competing interest was balancing the horse’s health and welfare with client demands. Specific ethical challenges identified were related to competition integrity, medication control and prohibited substances, treatment evidence and acceptability, among others¹².

Conclusion

Equine welfare is a growing area of practice the vet and others are key stakeholders in.

• This article appeared in Vet Times Congress (London Vet Show 2025; a supplement with VT55.45), Pages 8-9 and previewed the author’s session at London Vet Show 2025.