What’s the best competition photo to share of your horse? The answer is deeper than you might think
A picture tells a thousand words, so the old adage goes – and horse lovers are looking at images through a “welfare-centred lens” above all else.
A new study published in the Journal of Physical Fitness, Medicine & Treatment in Sports dug into how equestrians read “partnership and positive practice” in photos taken at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Researchers from Hartpury, universities in the US and Sweden and media and marketing agency Equerry Co teamed up to look into what visual characteristics of a photo strengthen or erode perceived legitimacy of horse sport’s social licence.
The overarching conclusion is that positive images of Olympic equestrian sport “were viewed through a welfare-centred lens, prioritising horse comfort, agency and partnership over performance aesthetics or athleticism”.
“Imagery that conveys relaxation, empathy and genuine partnership may help sustain social licence, whereas imagery depicting discomfort risks eroding trust and intensifying ethical scrutiny,” stated the study.
A selection of 30 photos, taken by Equerry’s accredited photographer at the Games, were put into a survey, which was shared worldwide on social media and garnered more than 500 responses. Participants were asked to rank images, choose their favourites and answer five open-ended questions.
The study found that participants did not engage with the photos as neutral spectators, but as “evaluators of welfare, ethics and legitimacy”. What people were comfortable with varied between the disciplines.
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The researchers also found that although participants showed “strong awareness of the limitations of still photography” and that images "represent only a moment in time”, that acknowledgment didn’t “reduce ethical weight” given to images, but rather intensified concern about how frequently certain patterns were repeated.
“While discipline-specific expectations influenced tolerance for effort, risk and athletic ability, a consistent pattern emerged: images were read as ethical statements about how horses are treated, trained and valued within Olympic sport,” stated the study.
The study found that in dressage, judgements centred on biomechanics, such as self-carriage and poll position, and concerns about restrictive tack. In showjumping, evaluations “blended athleticism with equipment scrutiny”, such as nosebands, bits and martingales, and post-round reward. In eventing, appraisals “weighed dynamism and bravery against fatigue, safety and ethical risk”.
Co-author Victoria Lewis told H&H the study stemmed from conversations around the demand for good-news stories in horse sport, which led the researchers to think about quantifying what “good” looks like.
Dr Lewis said an aspect the team found particularly interesting were comments people made and how respondents used the images to almost confirm or state where they felt the industry, or discipline, sat in terms of their own ethical and philosophical position on welfare in that discipline.
“I think that shows how powerful an image actually is,” she said. “It shows how strongly people feel about welfare and equestrianism as a whole, and that was positive and negative. There were some really amazing comments that came through about the partnership and the trust and that element that I think you know is important for us to acknowledge.”
In terms of what equestrians can take away from the study, Dr Lewis said that it goes “a lot deeper” than choosing which photo to post. She said participants showed awareness of evidence-based training principles, which they wanted to see reflected in photos.
“When we started, we thought this was going to be useful to people wanting to post their own horse pictures on social media or for media outlets to be a little bit more wary of the type of pictures that they use. But actually, what we took from the analysis actually went a lot deeper than that,” she said.
“It really was about how we train our horses, how we look after them. The more holistic approach to getting that horse to the Olympics is not all about just the image; it's what’s behind the image.”
‘It quantifies what we’ve long believed to be true’
H&H’s editor-in-chief Sarah Jenkins shared her thoughts on the findings.
“For the past decade Horse & Hound’s editorial team members have given increasing thought to ensuring the harmony that we witness between horses and riders at events is what is depicted in our pages and on our website and social channels,” she said.
“Photographing horses is a real skill, and it is possible to watch a beautiful test or round with the feeling that horse and rider are working together in complete co-operation and yet still manage to take pictures that do not reflect that. We talk about pictures being a ‘moment in time’, and that’s not to excuse poor training or riding, but it is true that if you take a picture of a horse in the moment in the canter when one front leg is on the ground, it will look awkward and unpleasing to the viewer.
“It makes sense that as humans we want to see horses looking ‘happy’ and making their sports appear effortless. But the reality is that going cross-country and jumping 1m20 is not effortless and in the same way athletes look more relaxed in their wedding photos, horses will look more relaxed in their fields.”
She added: “This research is interesting in that it quantifies what we’ve long believed to be true – people like pleasing pictures, people love horses and want horses to live enjoyable lives, and people are becoming more tuned in to reading signs of discomfort in horses, which is all positive.
“I’d love to see even more research and understanding of what happy and content horses look like (as much as has been done to research signs of discomfort or stress in horses) and sense-check whether when people see that in photographs they interpret it as such.
“For example, we put pictures on our front covers of horses with their ears pricked, because to me certainly it is more aesthetically pleasing, possibly because traditionally we were all taught ‘ears pricked equals happy horse’. But some would say a horse with ears to the side and head lower is actually happier. So I still think there's a slight gap between what we know to be true and what we see as a beautiful photograph, in some instances. Or perhaps that’s for me to get past. I'd be interested to hear readers thoughts for our letters pages.”
● What do you think? Let us know your thoughts at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance to have your thoughts published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.