Horse welfare reforms outlined after whipping video

The organization that oversees equestrian competition at the Olympic Games announced a series of horse welfare reforms just ahead of the Games in Paris and following an abuse case involving one of the sport’s top riders.

Executives from the Federation for Equestrian Sports, or FEI, held a roundtable today outlining a comprehensive plan already in place to improve horse safety. It gained traction after three-time Olympic gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin withdrew this week after video emerged of her repeatedly hitting a horse.

“It’s an additional, I would say, justification for me that we are doing the right thing by making this plan,” said FEI President Ingmar De Vos. “I think it clearly illustrates that this plan that we have now made and the philosophy of ‘Be a Guardian’ is really what we need.”

The federation last week launched the “Be a Guardian” initiative, calling on members of the equestrian and training community to embrace their role in caring for horses. It also launched the Equine Welfare Strategy Action Plan, which highlighted six priority areas and 30 recommendations for improvement.

When asked why they were introduced now and not earlier, FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez replied that they provide a more holistic approach to horse care.

“We did not invent the rules that are in place now,” Ibáñez said. “They have been in place for years. And what we are doing now is reinforcing them even more. There is always room for improvement and of course there is still a lot to improve.”

De Vos said he was saddened and surprised by the video, which is part of an official complaint filed against Dujardin and has been published by multiple media outlets. Dujardin said in a statement that the video was taken four years ago and that it “shows me making an error of judgment during a coaching session,” adding that she was deeply ashamed and called the actions “completely out of character.”

“One thing that has been discussed a lot in the last few days is training methods, obviously, and one of the action points that we have is ethical training methods, and we will be looking at how horses are trained, what form they are trained in, what they are ridden in and what is ethical,” De Vos said. “Where do we draw the line with what we can and cannot do with horses? That is one of the key points.”

One of the immediate changes is that for the first time there will be a horse welfare coordinator at the Olympic Games.

According to Goran Akerstrom, FEI veterinary director, the focus is also on recognizing physical and emotional stress and what horses do in the other 23 hours of the day when they are not training or competing.

“We have focused almost entirely on the competition, but the horse lives largely outside of the competition,” said Akerstrom.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said in a statement earlier this week that Dujardin’s case is a message to the International Olympic Committee to cancel equestrian events altogether.

Dujardin has been provisionally suspended from all events under the jurisdiction of the FEI, pending the outcome of the investigation.

According to the FEI, Dujardin has confirmed that she is the person seen in the video and that she herself has requested a provisional suspension.