Our vision for the responsible involvement of horses in sport 

Responsible breeding means breeding with a clear purpose to avoid contributing to the population of horses who suffer abandonment, neglect, smuggling and worse. While breeders cannot control what happens to a foal once they have been sold on to a new owner, every breeder has a moral obligation to only breed the number of foals for which they know they can find good homes.  

Responsible breeders should consider not just the potential future performance of the foals they produce, but also their quality of life and longevity in the careers intended for them. Therefore, breeders should not select mares and stallions solely based on competitive successes, but also on factors such as long-term soundness, functional conformation, good hoof quality, absence of allergies, and temperament.   

Stallions and mares used for breeding should be managed according to their species-specific and individual needs. This includes providing them with the opportunity to socialise with other horses every day throughout their life, and with daily turnout in an area of sufficient size where they can move freely and at will. Many studs and stallion keepers have demonstrated that stallions can successfully live out in bachelor or breeding groups.

If a stallion cannot be provided with an appropriate social environment, castration should be considered. Breeding practices should take the experiences of the horses into account and consider the implications of methods such as forced breeding, teasing, surrogacy and cloning on the physical and mental well-being of all horses involved in, and born through, these practices.   

Every breeder is responsible for providing their foals with a good life from the moment they are born. This includes setting them up to thrive in life by allowing them to grow up in an environment that stimulates their cognitive and physical development.

Foals should live in stable groups where they can interact with their dams, other foals and other adult horses to develop vital social skills. They should at minimum have access to basic provisions such as shelter and a soft and dry place to lie down, but ideally also to safe physical and mental stimulation in their environment such as varied terrain, trees and shrubs, novel sounds and smells and other sources of enrichment and learning.

Foals should be introduced to humans gradually through repeated positive interactions. Basic handling skills such as head collar training, leading, and picking up feet should be introduced at a pace that suits the foal’s physical and mental development. Any training should be compassionate, acknowledging the foal’s lack of physical, cognitive and emotional maturity, and follow established learning principles. As far as possible, cooperative care protocols (i.e., allowing the foal to be an active participant in their own care and husbandry) should be used when introducing the foal to new experiences. 

Responsible breeders should acknowledge and value the strong bond between mare and foal. Ideally, weaning should be allowed to happen naturally without human intervention. If weaning needs to be enforced, for example because the foal is to be sold, current evidence suggests that there are substantial lifelong benefits for the foal if this is initiated after they have stopped nursing for food and are sufficiently independent from their dam. Under natural conditions such as in the wild, this will generally happen when the foal is around 8–10 months of age. This time frame can provide useful guidance for breeders when determining the appropriate age at which to separate foals from their dams.

During the weaning process, mare and foal should be habituated to being apart gradually to minimise the physical and emotional stress of forced separation. After separation, the foal should live in the company of both adult horses and same-age friends to facilitate a low-stress transition and the continuous development of vital social skills. There is a growing body of evidence that highlights the benefits of gradual weaning and a complex yet stable social environment for the foal’s early development.   

We believe that young horses should be able to live out with other horses in stable groups of mixed ages, or in group housing, so that they can continue to develop important social skills. They should be given the opportunity to explore complex environments that facilitate the development of their physical, proprioceptive and cognitive abilities. Any social isolation, whether that is learning how to be individually stabled or trained away from the herd, should be introduced gradually and the horse should be allowed to habituate to being on their own without triggering fear and separation anxiety.   

Any handling of young horses should be based on building positive associations with human interactions and be underpinned by knowledge of equine behaviour and the principles of learning theory.

Horses should be slowly habituated to any tack and equipment, which should be well fitted and adjusted to prevent pain/discomfort as they grow and develop. Tack and equipment should not inhibit the horse’s movement or impede their ability to display behavioural signs of stress or pain and discomfort. Any such signs should always be taken seriously as indications of compromised welfare and should lead to a thorough investigation for pain as the cause of the behaviour, as well as an adjustment in the training approach.

Ideally, training should not just prepare the horse for the demands of sport but also add value to their life, include opportunities for them to enjoy the training and strengthen the horse-human relationship. It should always be taken at the horse’s pace and be based on their ability to cope with what is being asked of them in terms of both their emotional regulation and their physical ability. Training beyond being prepared for competition should also be considered. For example, training young horses to be active participants in their own care and husbandry (also known as cooperative care) will produce horses with a sense of agency over their lives. This, in turn, will help them to cope with the stressful situations to which they may be exposed as they continue through their ridden careers.

Horses should be trained in such a way that they are appropriately prepared for the physical stresses of competition. However, physical strength is not the only consideration. Adult horses’ mental ability to cope should also be considered throughout their competitive career. They should be trained progressively and be habituated to new situations (both in training and at competitions) using the principles of learning theory.

We believe horses should be allowed to say ‘no’ to the things we ask of them. This is them communicating that they are in pain, stressed, do not understand what is being asked of them, or are otherwise not able or motivated to do what the person requires of them. If a horse is saying ‘no’, the trainer/coach/rider needs to consider the factors above, to re-evaluate their training plan and to consider whether the horse’s needs are being appropriately met through their wider management.

Horses should be provided with time to recover physically and mentally in a suitably enriched environment after intense training or a competition. This should include opportunities for undisrupted REM sleep and ample time spent turned out with other horses. Training plans should acknowledge the importance of physical recovery through regular time off work to prevent injuries and optimise physical performance.   

Horses should be fully mentally and physically prepared for the level of competition in which they are expected to participate. To minimise the risk of injury they should be regularly checked by a vet and allied professional team to ensure they are in optimal condition to compete, their tack should be well fitted, and any potential issues should be identified and managed before competing.

To minimise travel stress and risk of injury, horses should have been trained to load and travel in the mode of transport in which they will be taken to the competition. If horses are expected to be away from ‘home’ and their herd mates for a prolonged period, they should be prepared by habituating them to being isolated and/or stabled as necessary. If the horse is expected to perform in front of a large crowd, they should be desensitised to such environments before competition.  

All governing bodies’ rules should be adhered to at competitions. This applies to the use of tack and equipment, as well as how horses are ridden and handled at competitions. They should be provided with quiet, safe spaces to relax post-competition or between classes, with suitable forage and water available. Appropriate biosecurity protocols should be in place at every competition, and these should be balanced against the horses’ needs to have – at a minimum – visual contact with other horses.

Horse welfare at shows and events is everyone’s responsibility and all stakeholders should be able to voice concerns over welfare through robust whistleblowing and reporting mechanisms led by the governing bodies. Governing bodies should foster cultures of transparency and accountability to safeguard the welfare of sport horses, with the needs of the horse at the centre of all decisions and regulations.

Before being loaded to travel home, horses should be well rested and have recovered sufficiently from any exertion through competition. Travelling can be stressful for many horses, and the time spent in transit to and from competitions should be kept to a minimum, particularly post-competition when horses may be physically tired and find it harder to keep their balance during transport. When horses arrive home, they should be given time to decompress mentally and physically, and to rest and reintegrate with their herd mates. 

Horses can retire from sport for various reasons that may include poor performance, injury, health or behavioural issues, or old age. The owners and governing bodies are responsible for ensuring that horses that no longer compete find suitable and loving homes for the rest of their lives or, if no such home can be found and it is in the best interest of the horse, that they are euthanised in a humane way, ideally in their home environment with veterinary support.  

 Many retired competition horses can go on to work as leisure horses if the workload is adjusted to their physical fitness. Older horses may require frequent veterinary intervention to maintain their level of work. Any invasive procedure should be considered from an ethical perspective regarding whether the outcome is in the best interest of the horse.

Sometimes, retirement to the field with a suitable group of friends may be the best option. In these cases, transition from active to retired life should be done gradually to allow the horse to adjust to new routines. Horses retired to the field should still have their species-specific and individual needs met, including being provided with access to the 3Fs and meaningful enrichment opportunities. As older horses need movement to maintain joint health and physical fitness, management options should accommodate regular free exercise, ideally through 24/7 turnout in an enriched field with other horses. 

As horses age, they may increasingly struggle to adapt to changes in the environment and moving to a new home can therefore be a stressful and difficult event. Being rehomed may not always be in the best interests of these horses. Additionally, age-related health conditions may impact negatively on the horse’s quality of life. In both these situations, end of life options should be explored.   

Owners of sport horses may be faced with a difficult decision to make even whilst their horse is still relatively young. It is important that, regardless of the horse’s potential or breeding, euthanasia is considered as a positive option if a horse’s quality of life cannot be maintained.