‘We must all do better by our horses’: top rider speaks out on use v abuse in sport
We all need to do better by our horses, is the message from one leading eventer, who questions and assesses his own actions every day.
At the World Horse Welfare conference on 10 November, US rider Matt Brown was among the speakers on the theme, “When does use become abuse?”
“This topic is important to me on a daily basis,” he said. “When I’m riding or teaching, I find myself asking questions: what is force versus pressure? How much pressure is too much to put on the horse? They’re important things for all of us to think about and discuss.”
Matt said he did not think there is necessarily a clear answer to the question of the day, but that by having conversations and conferences such as this, we can get closer to one.
“Ultimately we need to understand, as trainers and professional riders, that we may have different views on what constitutes abuse versus force versus pressure, but it’s really important for us to keep in mind that the public has no appetite for anything even resembling abuse or a rider getting frustrated and taking that out on the horse,” he said. “Society already has a very fragile relationship with acceptance of horses in sport.”
Matt said one key is that, as is the case in many industries, things that were once common practice are not acceptable now.
“Instead of trying to defend some of those practices, we each individually need to do better for the horses and be better people for horses,” he said. “And we need to call out bad behaviour when we see it.
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“I got into horses because I love horses. When I first saw a horse, I knew I wanted to work with them for the rest of my life. Pretty soon, I became the strong guy that would get on and manhandle a horse into submission.
“Many of us were taught to train horses that way; I was taught to dominate the horse or it would walk all over you. I heard so many times, ‘Don’t let the horse win,’as if training horses is a battle.
“I got tired of being the enforcer; I didn’t enjoy horses and they didn’t enjoy me. And once I started competing, it was a recipe for disaster.”
He said that although horses can take people to huge highs, he has seen riders who, aiming for this, will make decisions that are not in their horses’ best interests.
“It can feel we’re stuck between two options,” he said. “In competition, it can feel like either be competitive and possibly make decisions that are likely to jeopardise your horse’s health and wellbeing, or value your horse and sacrifice your ability to be competitive.
“I still make mistakes and can react badly in the moment. But now I try to keep honest and ask myself questions; did I help the horses become more comfortable and confident? Did I help the horse better understand my expectations? If I got frustrated, did I catch myself and rethink, instead of taking it out on the horse?”
Matt said calling horses dangerous or disobedient is a way of people justifying a lack of evolution and progress, and “instead of admitting that what used to be OK is no longer acceptable, we’re excusing and defending our lack of understanding of how horses process and learn”.
“I think continuing to practise some methods doesn’t make us villains, but hopefully by bringing these issues out of the shadows, we can seek a better way to train horses and evolve as horse people,” he said. “Certainly our horses deserve better and I believe the continuation of the sports we love depends on that.
“Each of us needs to be willing to not only point fingers, but to look at ourselves.”
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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.