Where does a vet’s role end, and what happens when human desire and equine welfare are in conflict? Experts debate major issues
The “moral maze” debate at the British Equine Veterinary Association 2026 congress covered whether everyday welfare is vets’ “constant endeavour”
Where does a vet’s role start – and stop – when it comes to equine welfare, and what happens if a horse and a human’s best interests are not the same?
These were some of the questions discussed at the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) 2026 congress in the “moral maze” debate. The discussion, featuring panellists and “witnesses”, was on the topic “Is everyday welfare our constant endeavour?” Two vets argued that it is; two said they believe at this moment, it is not.
Issues brought up included whether vets should treat just the symptoms rather than also the cause of an issue, and cases in which what is best for the horse may not be what is best for the owner.
Outgoing BEVA president Imogen Burrows, one of those who believes welfare is the constant endeavour, said she believes all equine vets “start this profession with welfare as a real primary key driver”, adding: “We choose to undertake veterinary care as a profession. We have to accept that this is undertaken with the intention of protecting animal welfare at its heart.”
Malcolm Morley, World Horse Welfare head of UK, agreed that he is sure from his 30 years in practice that all vets care.
“I’ve also been standing in the yard with an owner, trainer, rider, who all want an answer, and I’m thinking, what’s right for the horse, and trying to manage their expectations,” he said. “Everyone’s under pressure. The horse has a competition coming up, it cost a fortune, somebody’s living is probably at stake; pressure has come right into my consultation.
“In that situation putting welfare first can threaten your relationship with your clients, your cash flow, your reputation and status as a vet. This is normal in equine practice, we face these really challenging conflicts. Pretending they don’t exist is where we get into trouble.”
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Owners on side
BEVA trustee Phil Cramp said he believes vets are very good at ensuring the horse has the best treatment, its welfare protected, and that the owner has to be on side.
“We learn to do that, we get better at it through our career and I think we’re getting better and better at combining those things, and at providing good welfare for our patients,” he said. “I think there’s evidence that supports that. Look at this session, and this whole congress has everyday welfare at the heart and every year it’s come further and further up the list.”
Equine behaviour expert Gemma Pearson pointed out that the five domains welfare model has four physical domains feeding into the fifth and most important, the horse’s mental state. She gave the example of a vet treating a laminitic by keeping it in a bare area with weighed-out hay; it will lose weight but it has also lost out in terms of environment and probably social interactions.
“That’s where I see a lot of horses presented to me as they’ve become aggressive,” she said. “Now the owner is now thinking of selling them because vets are just thinking about physical health, not always thinking about welfare, which is mental state.”
Thinking from the horse’s perspective
Vet Ben Sykes said he was never taught to think from the horse’s perspective, citing as an example, yards not set up with welfare as the key focus, which “become normalised”.
“Every time you dispense omeprazole, do you recommend maybe social housing to improve the eating behaviour for that horse, make that horse’s welfare improve, make it feel safer and eat more constantly, more naturally, every single time?” he asked.
“Hay is the centre of ulcer prevention; free choice hay is one of the simplest, most powerful tools to improve the welfare of a stabled horse. We can’t suddenly get racehorses turned out or social stabling put in, but as a profession, we could advocate strongly that every single horse that is stabled, every racehorse, as a minimum industry standard, we require free choice hay.
Mr Sykes said regulation, rather than education, should be key, adding: “Why aren’t we, as a profession, BEVA, standing up and saying we expect this to be a minimum industry standard? Without that, welfare is not our constant endeavour.”
Dr Pearson cited a case of equine and human welfare in conflict, in a colic surgery in which euthanasia was recommended. The owner opted for a second surgery as the horse was owned by his father who had Alzheimer’s, and time with his horses was “the only thing that calms him down”.
“Does the constant endeavour phrase have the add-on ‘but you’re allowed to compromise it when you feel you should’?” she asked.
The ethical questions
Ethics were introduced; examples given were injecting a horse’s joints to improve performance, taking blood from one horse to benefit another, and whether advanced reproductive techniques benefit the mare involved.
The question over each vet’s role was also asked; can and should the vet be the one to recommend changing stable design or management as well as everything else they do – and are they advocates for or enablers of good welfare.
“I’d got to a point where I was probably enabling things,” Ms Burrows said. “I was happy with what I was doing but not really how I was doing it. The changes I’ve made, I think, have been hugely beneficial for me and for my patients. This is a journey, and no journey is perfect or linear.
“It’s obvious we’re provocative, emotive, passionate, but when we use extreme terms, we’re going to let perfect be the enemy of good, and we have to acknowledge we will fail, and we have to accept that. I can try again, and that doesn’t mean it wasn’t my constant endeavour.”
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.