Elevating Horse Welfare in Equestrian Sports: Insights from the European Parliament

Horse welfare is no longer a peripheral topic in sport it’s becoming the central standard by which training, competition, and industry practices are being judged.

On 8 May 2025, the European Parliament’s Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals convened a pivotal session titled “Horse Welfare in Equestrian Sports”.

Held in Room WEISS N 3.2 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the meeting brought together veterinarians, policymakers, scientists, and industry professionals to discuss the ethical future of equestrian sport in Europe and the urgent changes required to protect horses within it .

The Debate: Where Welfare Standards Fall Short

Chaired by Danish MEP Niels Fuglsang, President of the Intergroup, the session aimed to understand how the welfare of sport horses is assessed and safeguarded, and to explore what improvements might be needed.

One of the most powerful voices in the discussion was Dr Mette Uldahl, Vice President of the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe. Her message was unequivocal: education must be the foundation of modern horsemanship, but it must be accompanied by firm regulation.

“We urgently need to educate modern equestrians in equine behavioural science,” Dr Uldahl said. “But education is not alone sufficient; we need to have firm governance and regulation.”

She argued that any standard for horse welfare must meet three essential criteria:

1. The horse’s wellbeing must come first.
2. Assessments must be based on the horse’s observable physical and mental state.
3. Strong governance and enforcement must be in place to uphold these standards.

Dr Uldahl emphasized the importance of objective indicators in assessing welfare, such as body language, tail movements, ear position, eye and facial expressions, and behaviours like open mouths. Horses showing signs of pain, fear, or discomfort must not be rewarded.

She also called for equipment reform and independent oversight:

“Harmful or coercive equipment that reasonably risks causing pain, injury, suffering, or fear must be banned, and tools that fix horses into rigid positions or mask body language must not be used,” she said.

“Independent advisory boards must be empowered to question practices, raise concerns, and ensure transparency.”

What Horse Welfare Looks Like in Practice

These calls for reform aren’t just theoretical they highlight a deep tension in the sport horse world. From elite arenas to local competitions, the pressure to perform can overshadow the need to rest, recover, and care.

Poor horse welfare often hides in plain sight:

• Horses pushed through fatigue or minor injuries
• Training programs that lack sufficient recovery time
• Riders unaware of subtle stress signals in movement
• Lameness or asymmetry masked by adrenaline and willingness

What’s needed, as the EU session made clear, is not just intention but information. That’s where technology becomes transformative.

How Equestic Supports Horse Welfare with Data

At Equestic, we believe that technology has a powerful role to play in the future of ethical sport horse training.

The Equestic SaddleClip was designed precisely to bring transparency and clarity to training programs. It offers real-time, evidence-based feedback on how your horse is working so you don’t have to guess.

The SaddleClip helps you:

• Monitor training intensity: See how much work your horse has done in each gait, and how sessions vary over time.
• Track symmetry and rhythm: Detect early signs of fatigue, discomfort, or compensation even before they become visible.
• Log trends in workload: Use the app’s dashboard to manage weekly load and recovery, avoiding training errors that can compromise welfare.
• Make team effort aligned: Trainers, owners, and riders can view the same data, fostering collaborative, welfare-first decisions.

This aligns directly with the European Parliament’s vision: objective, transparent welfare standards backed by science not just opinion.

Where We Go From Here: Responsibility and Reform

The May 8 session was a call to action. Industry regulators, federations, and riding schools must take responsibility for embedding horse welfare into everything from rulebooks to coaching frameworks. But individual riders and owners also have a role to play.

With the tools now available, no one needs to rely on feel or tradition alone. We can see when a horse is tired. We can track when workload is too high. We can act before strain becomes injury.

Using technology like Equestic doesn’t replace horsemanship—it strengthens it. It helps us ride with empathy, school with structure, and compete with conscience.

Change is coming

Change is coming to equestrian sport. As pressure builds at the political and public level, it’s no longer enough to say you care about horse welfare—you have to prove it. The equestrian world is being asked to step up: to measure, to monitor, and to act in the horse’s best interest.

At Equestic, we’re proud to be part of that movement. By equipping riders and trainers with data, we make the invisible visible and welfare measurable. That’s how better decisions are made. That’s how sport stays ethical.

Ready to lead with welfare in mind?

Explore the Equestic SaddleClip and make every ride a step towards a better standard.