AT this month’s FEI General Assembly in Mexico City (18 to 21st November), the FEI-appointed Equine Ethics and Wellbeing (EEWB) Commission submitted its final report. This forms the final phase of its work to address the welfare of the horse in equestrian sport and horse sport’s ‘social licence’ to operate.

The report serves as a blueprint for future-proofing equestrian sports. It points out six areas of focus identified as being of importance to equestrian stakeholders, and includes 30 recommendations developed by the Commission with the use of available scientific literature, extensive public and equestrian survey information and stakeholder feedback.

These recommendations include:

• Develop and implement of a vision statement for ‘A Good Life For Horses’ to influence transformative change in relation to strengthening social licence
• Develop and implement a robust FEI internal decision-making process to ensure that equine welfare and ethics are genuinely prioritised in the development of FEI policy and in practice.
• Establish a permanent FEI Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Independent Advisory Committee to act as a ‘critical friend’ and provide an external perspective and independent advice related to the welfare of horses in sport.
• Create a permanent internal FEI Equine Ethics and Wellbeing body to advocate specifically for the welfare interests of horses in sport
• Adopt an evidence-based approach for assessing the impact on horse welfare of new and existing items of tack and equipment in training and competition
• Implement additional checks by trained professionals and officials to ensure horses are always ‘Fit to Compete’ by investing in more extensive and stricter health and welfare monitoring pre and post competition to prevent horses entering the competition arena if experiencing pain and/or stress.

As she delivered the report at the General Assembly, EEWB Commission Chair Prof Natalie Waran acknowledged the valuable input and insights gained through discussions with a wide range of stakeholders to help inform the Commission’s work and final report. The results from the Commission’s second equestrian survey in May/June 2023 pointed to strong support for the approach the report outlines to the FEI.

“The direct and indirect influence through the leadership provided by the FEI, FEI events, equestrians and associated organisations will go a long way to ensuring that the welfare of horses involved in sport is safeguarded, risks to welfare are addressed and mitigated, and the horse’s welfare interests are prioritised at all times,” says Prof Waran. “We hope that these recommendations will support ongoing social licence to operate through proactively addressing any equine welfare concerns and promoting evidence-based changes where needed to ensure the welfare of sport horses throughout their lives.”

In line with the Commission’s terms of reference, this final report marks the end of its 18-month period of work. The FEI Board will now consider the way forward before presenting a plan for discussion at the 2024 Sports forum.

For media enquiries please contact lucy@lucyhigginson.co.uk, communications officer for the Commission.

Media notes on the Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission

• The committee was founded in June 2022 to address societal concerns about the uses of horses in sport. It met monthly (on Zoom or in person).
• The purpose of the Commission’s work was to independently consider issues of public and equestrian concern that may affect ongoing social acceptance of the involvement of horses in sport. Specifically, the Commission was tasked with providing independent advice and recommendations to the FEI for ensuring equine welfare is safeguarded through ethical, evidence-based policy and practices.
• The Commission comprised 10 people, five of them nominated representatives of the FEI and five who were external to it. It was chaired by Professor Dr. Natalie Waran (NZL), an internationally respected equine behaviour and welfare expert.

The work of the FEI’s independent Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission (EEWB) is making a positive impact, according to a survey completed this summer of people involved with horses and horse sport. Almost 6000 equestrians responded, and nearly 64% had noticed ‘some’ or ‘more’ initiatives to improve sport horse welfare.

Further to the launch of the EEWB Commission’s additional 24 Recommendations, including the proposed vision of ‘A Good Life for Horses’, made in April to the FEI and international delegates at the Sports Forum in Lausanne, the Commission launched its second survey of equestrian stakeholders to gauge reactions to its work to date.

The survey — which was offered in English, French and Spanish — welcomed responses from anyone involved in horses.

As with the previous survey in 2022, the largest group of respondents were either local competition stakeholders (an owner, rider, groom, trainer or instructor), or leisure riders and drivers, with 43% of the respondents affiliated to the FEI and 17% of these being FEI affiliated equestrians. Dressage was the biggest interest group (34%), with show jumping (26%) the next.

Encouragingly, when asked about their views on initiatives to improve sport horse welfare over the past year, 21% reported they had seen ‘more initiatives’ and a further 45% reported having noticed ‘some initiatives’, making around 66% in total.

Given that the EEWB Commission has proposed a new vision to ensure a Good Life for Horses in Sport, respondents were asked if they thought it was possible for horses to enjoy a good life when involved in sport. 79% of all respondents definitely agreed or agreed that they can, with around 3% believing instead that this is ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ not the case. FEI respondents were more convinced, with 88% agreement, while local competition and leisure riders/owners had 77% agreement.

Asked if the 24 recommendations made by the EEWB to the FEI regarding equine ethics and wellbeing could make a real difference to horse welfare, using a scoring system from 1 (not at all) to 10 (to a great extent), 71% of respondents scored this question 6 or greater. This indicates that, if implemented, the recommendations are considered satisfactory or good in terms of progressing equine welfare in sport.

There was general support for the proposed new Equestrian Charter. The charter would require equestrians to pledge personal responsibility for horse welfare, ensuring the highest standards of equine welfare and a commitment to improve understanding of what is involved in providing a good life for horses. Almost 67% of respondents supported the charter, with a further 30% saying ‘maybe’.

Opinions were split across the six key areas identified in the 2022 equestrian survey as being of most concern, with ‘Training and riding practices, tack and equipment’ the highest concern (27%) overall. ‘Horses being treated as an object or ‘equipment’ and not as an emotional creature’ was the next highest (with 20%), and emotional and physical stress (16%) the third. There were differences between the disciplines in the level of concern shown for each key area of focus. Concern in eventing was highest regarding ‘emotional and physical stress including injuries’ (26%), although ‘enforcement and accountability’ (22%) and ‘training and riding practices, tack and equipment’ (21%) caused similar levels of concern. In dressage, the highest concern was ‘training and riding practices, tack and equipment’ (36%) and in show jumping it was’ training and riding, tack and equipment’ (26%) and ‘the horse being treated as an object and not an emotional creature’ (22%).

In addition to the feedback provided through this ‘pulse survey’, the EEWB held two webinars for stakeholders across the FEI which attracted participation from across the world. During the webinars, the Commission chair outlined the rationale for the recommendations and enabled participants to submit questions and comments to the Commission members, with many participants welcoming the direction of travel.

“While this work is very much ongoing, we are very pleased with the general levels of awareness of the EEWB’s work, and positivity about the recommendations we have proposed,” says EEWB Commission chair Professor Natalie Waran.

“We now look forward to formally handing our work over to the FEI Board so that they may consider the recommendations in more detail, and make their decisions on next steps including their plans for implementation.”

The EEWB Commission’s final report to the FEI will be delivered to the FEI Board this autumn and presented at the FEI General Assembly in Mexico in November.

The above is descriptive analysis, based on the survey data. For media enquiries please contact lucy@lucyhigginson.co.uk, communications officer for the Commission.

Media notes on the Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission

• The committee was founded in June 2022 to address societal concerns about the uses of horses in sport. It meets monthly (on Zoom or in person).
• The purpose of the Commission’s work is to independently consider issues of public and equestrian concern that may affect ongoing social acceptance of the involvement of horses in sport. Specifically, the Commission was tasked with providing independent advice and recommendations to the FEI for ensuring equine welfare is safeguarded through ethical, evidence- based policy and practices.
• The Commission comprises 10 people, five of them nominated representatives of the FEI and five who are external to it. It is chaired by Professor Dr. Natalie Waran (NZL), an internationally respected equine behaviour and welfare expert.
• Find out more about it at equinewellbeing.fei.org.

Further to its launch of its vision, A Good Life for Horses, and 24 recommendations made to the FEI and international delegates at the Sports Forum in Lausanne in April of this year, the FEI’s Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission [EEWBC] has launched a new survey of equestrian stakeholders to hear their views on how they feel about the proposed approach to safeguarding equine wellbeing.

The 24 recommendations outline actions the FEI should take to demonstrate leadership, trustworthiness, transparency, proactivity and openness to independent evaluation.

For instance, the FEI is asked to:

• ‘Publicly commit to defining, promoting and ensuring a Good Life for horses as the fundamental tenet of the FEI Equine Wellbeing Strategy’ (Recommendation 2)
• ‘Adopt a transparent and evidence-based approach for assessing the impact on horse welfare of new and existing items of tack and equipment in training and competition’ (Recommendation 8)
• ‘Require mandatory collection and publication of comprehensive lifecycle information and injury statistics for horses involved in sport’ (Recommendation 16)
• Ensure that all FEI stakeholders commit to the ‘FEI Equestrian Charter’ (Recommendation 17)
• ‘Empower officials to ensure welfare is paramount, through improved mandatory training and ongoing professional development, greater support for ensuring effective enforcement and more accountability for achieving high standards of individual horse welfare at all times at an event. (Recommendation 21)

The survey — which is offered in English, French and Spanish — welcomes responses from anyone involved in horses by 22nd June 2023. The questions include:

• Do they agree that horses can live a Good Life when involved in sport?
• To what extent they feel the 24 recommendations made by the Commission would make a real difference to the welfare of the sport horse if adopted by the FEI?
• Whether respondents would be happy to pledge to the FEI’s proposed new Equestrian Charter, requiring all FEI athletes to affirm their awareness of the responsibilities that come with using horses in sport, around understanding its welfare and behavioral needs, and “respecting the horse as a sentient creature capable of feeling both positive and negative emotions”?

The survey also points to the Commission’s proposed detailed Strategic Approach to help ensure ‘A good life for horses’ , through use of six strategic enablers; evidence, education, engagement, effective regulation, enforcement and empowerment.

“We were delighted with the extremely positive response to our recommendations made at April’s Sports Forum,” says EEWBC Chair Professor Natalie Waran. “The equestrian community understood that we can only demonstrate how seriously we take the responsibility of involving horses in sport with top-to-bottom engagement across the equestrian community, and a desire to act in the best interests if the horse”.

“The use of the word ‘sentient’ in the Charter is deliberate because it highlights that horses feel negative and positive emotions such as fear, stress, pain, contentment and pleasure, as well as the responsibility we all have for ensuring that equestrians understand the responsibility they have for how their horse feel. Animal sentience is recognized in law in many countries, and to ensure good welfare, we all need to understand what that is, why it’s relevant and why it matters to the horse.

“The EEWB Commission advocates evidence-based decisions to safeguard horse welfare, but also cautions that whilst existing and ongoing work to identify robust indicators for practical equine welfare assessment is important, where research may not yet be available or is inconclusive, we should ‘err on the side of caution’ by applying a precautionary approach where there may be a welfare risk to the horse”.

To complete the survey by 22nd June 2023 please use these links:

Link to the Spanish version: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Z9275QB

Link to the English version: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RH6WC8C

Link to the French version: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QYVN9XV

For media enquiries please contact lucy@lucyhigginson.co.uk, communications officer for the Commission.

Media notes on the Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission

• The committee was founded in June 2022 to address societal concerns about the uses of horses in sport. It meets monthly (on Zoom or in person).
• The purpose of the Commission’s work is to independently consider issues of public and equestrian concern that may affect ongoing social acceptance of the involvement of horses in sport. Specifically, the Commission was tasked with providing independent advice and recommendations to the FEI for ensuring equine welfare is safeguarded through ethical, evidence- based policy and practices.
• The Commission comprises 10 people, five of them nominated representatives of the FEI and five who are external to it. It is chaired by Professor Dr. Natalie Waran (NZL), an internationally respected equine behaviour and welfare expert.
• Find out more about it at equinewellbeing.fei.org.

A new Strategic Approach and 24 new Recommendations from the Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission (EEWB) for the FEI will be submitted and discussed at the FEI Sports Forum on Monday 24th April. They are now available to view on the Commission’s website at https://equinewellbeing.fei.org/sf2023.html

 

Maintaining a ‘Social Licence to Operate’ requires an ongoing pro-active approach from the equestrian community through commitment to a trusted equine welfare strategy. The independent EEWB was founded in June 2022 to address equine welfare issues of public and equestrian concern to ensure the welfare of the horse is paramount, and Social Licence is maintained.

 

The Commission’s presentation at the April 2023 Sports Forum in Lausanne represents the second phase of its work, after conducting detailed surveys last summer of public opinion in 14 countries and almost 28,000 equestrians from 116 countries, and making initial six initial Recommendations at the FEI General Assembly last November in Cape Town.

 

The Strategic Approach being presented this month — entitled A Good Life For Horses — lists the core actions and objectives required to ensure that horses, specifically those involved in sport, lead a good life, and to ensure ongoing public and equestrian support.

 

The Commission has further drafted 24 Recommendations for the FEI to consider and discuss, and they will be presented on Monday 24th April by the Commission’s Chair, Professor Dr Natalie Waran (NZL). They include ways in which the FEI can lead in setting standards for equine welfare, embed equine welfare within its structure and ways of working, become more pro-active and transparent about horse involvement in sport, and be more open to external scrutiny.

 

Examples of the Recommendations that will be discussed include:

 

• To publicly commit to defining, promoting and ensuring A Good Life for Horses as the fundamental tenet of an FEI Equine Wellbeing Strategy.
• To continue to develop the use of ethical, evidence-based practices in horse training, management and performance.
• To ensure that all FEI stakeholders commit to an FEI Equestrian Charter’
• To establish and promote an equine ethics and wellbeing education programme for all equestrians, requiring FEI stakeholders to complete at least two core modules related to equine wellbeing and Social Licence to Operate preferably within their first year of association with the FEI.
• To empower officials through improved mandatory training and ongoing professional development in relation to equine welfare.
• To establish and implement a process for ensuring high standards of welfare and investigating risky practices for horses when ‘outside of competition’ through establishing something similar to human athlete checks under the WADA code.

 

Prof Nat Waran says: “The Commission has worked hard to develop a proposed vision and strategic approach to ensure a ‘Good Life for Horses’ and to sustain equine participation in sport now and into the future. We are looking forward to engaging with equestrian stakeholders at the FEI Sports Forum to discuss the draft recommendations, and hearing different views about what we have proposed.”

 

Representatives of the EEWB will be available to discuss these after they have been presented to the Sports Forum. Media enquiries should be addressed in the meanwhile to lucy@lucyhigginson.co.uk, communications officer for the Commission.

 

Media notes on the Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission

 

• The committee was founded in June 2022 to address societal concerns about the uses of horses in sport. It meets monthly (online or in person).
• The purpose of the Commission’s work is to independently consider issues of public and equestrian concern that may affect ongoing social acceptance of the involvement of horses in sport. Specifically, the Commission was tasked with providing independent advice and recommendations to the FEI for ensuring equine welfare is safeguarded through ethical, evidence- based policy and practices.
• The Commission comprises 10 people, five of them nominated representatives of the FEI and five who are external to it. It is chaired by Professor Dr. Natalie Waran (NZL), an internationally respected equine behaviour and welfare expert.
• Find out more about it at equinewellbeing.fei.org.

The Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission (EEWB) for the FEI delivered its first report to FEI delegates at the FEI General Assembly (GA) in Cape Town (12 November).

 

The independent EEWB was founded in June 2022 to address equine welfare issues of public and equestrian concern to ensure the welfare of the horse is paramount - and so strengthen horse sport’s ‘social licence’ to operate. The Commission, which meets monthly, immediately commissioned two substantial surveys to provide concrete data to help shape its proposals.

 

The surveys were conducted in English, Spanish and French; one designed for horse enthusiasts, the other for the general public. Almost 28,000 equestrians – including almost 8,000 FEI affiliates - responded to the former from 116 countries, and more than 14,000 people from 14 nations were surveyed in the latter.

 

Full details of the methodology and findings can be viewed at the EEWB Commission’s new website at https://equinewellbeing.fei.org/key-documents.html. Amongst the key findings were:

 

• Clear evidence that both equestrians (75% of those surveyed) and the general public (65%) have concerns about the welfare of horses in sport
• 67% of the general public, and 50% of surveyed equestrians, believe horses sometimes or never enjoy being used in sport
• 78% within the equestrian community and 52% of the public believe welfare standards need to improve
• The six priority areas amongst equestrians are: 1) training and riding/tack and equipment; 2) recognizing physical and emotional stress; 3) accountability/enforcement/knowledge; 4) the other 23 hours; 5) competitive drive/horses seen as a number 6) not fit to compete/masking health problems.
• There is general optimism (77% of equestrians) for horses’ future use in sport, but only with welfare improvements
• Equestrian stakeholders consider that for horses’ welfare to be improved: current welfare rules must be better enforced; new welfare rules should be informed by science; and those involved with horses should have a required level of equine welfare knowledge

 

From these findings, the EEWB Commission has made six initial recommendations which range from tack and equipment issues (eg. double bridles no longer being mandatory in Grand Prix dressage) to education (an Education Focus Group is being established to review and adapt horsemanship teaching as necessary).

A list of further sources used by the EEWB in producing its tack and equipment recommendations is also available on Commission’s new website at https://equinewellbeing.fei.org/key-documents.html .

 

Professor Dr Natalie Waran, Chair of the EEWB, told delegates: “As the Commission, we will be blunt. We will be direct and we will tell you the truth. But in the end we will be here with you. There is change that needs to happen and we are here to develop a strategy, provide objective advice, make recommendations and then see how these recommendations can be put into operation.

 

“I am pleased FEI members recognize that the data from the surveys is extremely valuable to identify concerns as well as suggested courses of action to mitigate them. While it’s clear that change is needed, I am confident that the FEI, the National Federations and equestrians around the world are committed to the journey. The work of the Commission will provide the structure, set the direction and help with navigating the actions that can be taken, but it will be the ongoing leadership of the FEI and work at local level that will help ensure that equine welfare is fully prioritized – and seen to be so – and so help equestrianism maintain its social licence.”

 

She then outlined the EEWB’s strategy to address social licence based on six main pillars: evidence, education, engagement, effective regulation, enforcement and empowerment. Commission member Professor Kathalijne Visser, who led the analysis of the survey results, presented the key findings and where there were differences in perspectives within equestrian audiences.

 

The Q&A session at the GA enabled open and positive discussion between delegates and EEWB members for the first time on a wide range of topics. The EEWB’s strategic roadmap will now be further developed and consulted on at the FEI Sports Forum in April 2023.

 

Media notes on the Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission

• The committee was founded in June 2022 to address societal concerns about the uses of horses in sport. It meets monthly (on Zoom or in person).

 

• Its purpose is to find courses of action that will strengthen equestrianism’s place in society. It will develop an evidence-based welfare strategy to guide FEI regulations, policies and practices, as well as to enable effective advocacy and influence relating to the ethics and wellbeing of horses in sport.

 

• The Commission comprises 10 people, five of them nominated representatives of the FEI and five who are external to it. It is chaired by Professor Dr. Natalie Waran (NZL), an internationally respected equine behaviour and welfare expert.

 

• Find out more about it at fei.org.

 

For further details in the meanwhile contact Jessica Stark at jessicastark@worldhorsewelfare.org