Gymnastics turned its sporting ‘crisis’ into welfare reform – can horse sport follow suit?
Learning from gymnastics could be a key to equestrian sport’s thriving – as could asking every horse, “Are you OK?”
Experts spoke at World Horse Welfare’s virtual conference on 13 February, titled “Accountability for welfare in equestrianism: looking beyond the obvious”. It followed last year’s event, at which leaders from other industries spoke about how they had strengthened public acceptance (news, 8 February 2024).
“Today’s conference brings the conversation back to us,” said World Horse Welfare CEO Roly Owers in his introduction. “It considers the factors that may lead to unwanted practices in equestrian sport and offers innovative and progressive solutions to the challenges, which will surely help show the public we’re serious about improving the welfare of horses that provide us with so much enjoyment.”
British Gymnastics (BG) CEO Sarah Powell considered culture shifts in sport.
A review of British Gymnastics commissioned in 2020 said gymnasts’ wellbeing and welfare had “not been at the centre of British Gymnastics’ culture”, within its damning findings. Ms Powell, who took the job in 2021, said she had wondered what her sport and horse welfare had in common, “but the more I’ve listened and spoken to people, I can see real synergy within our journey of reform and the journey you’re taking”.
Ms Powell said although her sport was “in crisis”, there was denial; people seeing it as “a few bad apples”, or that issues such as long training hours were needed for success. But the Whyte review made key recommendations for change, which led to BG’s “Reform 25” strategy.
“That word is key,” she said. “If you’re truly going to reform, you need to change people’s attitudes and beliefs.”
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She added: “At the outset, there was absolute acknowledgement and an ownership of the issues, not just an apology.”
Ms Powell said BG considered cultural norms, developing training and awareness rather than policing, addressing outdated coaching methods and encouraging people to talk about issues.
“Engaging with experts has been fundamental,” she said. “Previously, we had this information in policy documents; we’re shifting them to much more user-friendly information, so people know what’s right and wrong.”
Expertise, experience and consultation
BG used the Whyte position statements and “underpinned this with expertise, science, legislation, experience” and consultation, as “we need to bring people with us, because these are big shifts within our sport”. Ms Powell said policy can change practice very quickly.
“We are constantly reminding people that it is care of the individual that comes first, not performance,” she said. “We’ve taken forward a lot of actions and are starting to see the impact. We’re starting to see conversations changing, people coming forward to say, ‘I’m not sure we’re doing this right.’
“Those conversations weren’t happening before. We’re still challenging ourselves and getting lost a bit, but we’re far more self-aware. We’re curious to learn from others and I hope if we can keep our conviction, we will actually feel the bounty and make a difference for everybody.”
The second speaker was Mette Uldahl, an equine vet and chief consultant in horse and animal welfare for Animal Protection Denmark, who considered, “Why do good people do bad things?”
Dr Uldahl looked at how people’s integrity might be lost; the way someone who loves horses may treat them badly.
“If a rider has been educated to interact with the horse in a way where the horse understands intentions and the rider does not compromise or pressure the horse, then all is good,” she said. “If the rider has been taught since a child to whip, kick or put excessive pressure on the horse, or to interact in ways the horse does not understand, the horse’s welfare will be compromised.
“Many riders have been brutalised, while being told that certain practices are OK or even necessary to become a skilled rider. Over time, the rider experiences a loss of integrity.”
In one research project, Dr Uldahl spent time in riding schools and heard how people talk about horses’ behaviour; saying, “he refuses because he’s mad” or “he looks stupid when I tighten the girth”, rather than just stating the horse’s actions mean the speaker is “an honorable member of the department of deception”.
“How we see and if we choose to listen defines how and if we’re going to react when the horse tries to communicate,” she said. “A horse can’t shout, whimper or scream if we do not react when we recognise them talking to us.”
Changing behaviour
Dr Uldahl said riders, especially those feeling pressures of competition, can think they are doing right by their horses when they are not, and that changing attitudes and behaviour is always hard. So a strong governing body is needed to “hold their hands” and set markers to determine whether horses are physically comfortable.
“We have also started to look into the mental wellbeing of the horse, asking, ‘How are you?’” she said. “However, the main question asked in sport is still, ‘How does the horse perform in competition?’
“This question is related to all the things humans are impressed by; there’s a judgment, a prize handed to the rider,” she added. “Fitness of the horse is usually evaluated by officials; we have evidence that there’s no correlation, or very little, between looking at the horse’s objective behaviour.”
Dr Uldahl said horses do not choose to compete; we do, so we must safeguard their welfare – and the winners should be the happiest horses.
“Let’s focus on the rider’s ability to communicate with the horse, making it comfortable,” she said. “We can add a primary filter on all disciplines, objective evaluation of horse behaviour. If the horse is not OK, the rider can’t have a prize.
“A lot of people in horse sport support structures as they are. If these structures initiate people to do the wrong thing to become winners, we all help in producing bad actors in horse sport. Everyone who can learn more, listen more and communicate better with horses has a responsibility to do so.
“We all influence the outcome of horse welfare and horse sport. And we do that wrongfully, if we support traditions and culture that should be improved according to modern knowledge. Reluctance to admit the need for even minor changes to secure horse welfare and sport, in a modern context, is a problem.
“We only need to add one expert ingredient, to ask the horse, ‘Are you OK?’ The main reason good people do bad things is to recognise how difficult it is to change human nature; I would like to change the question and ask, ‘Who is the right winner?’”
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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.