WEG and Welfare: Are They Compatible? Science Says Yes!

Our international freelancer wonders if equestrian competitions in a modern, conscientious world are reaching the borders of unethical. Find out what top horsemanship science researchers have to say.
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Two weeks away from the Fédération Equestre Internationale World Equestrian Games (WEG), I find myself at the 10th annual conference of the International Society for Equitation Science in Bredsten, Denmark.

The talks hone in on the science of riding—the way we ride now, the way we shouldn’t ride, and suggestions on the ways riding should evolve. They’re also about what kinds of stress we put on horses when we’re riding them. And the stress they experience when we’re competing them, and when we’re transporting them, or separating them, or housing them.

The researchers have—as researchers are prone to do—found scientific reasons to criticize the way things are done now. Competition horses undergo a lot of physical and emotional stress: sometimes confusion, sometimes anxiety, sometimes pain. High-level competition horses can go through as much of this as amateur level horses do, or even more. And in worst-case scenarios, the horses break down—physically, emotionally, or both. We see physical strains and fractures, and if we were looking more closely, we’d also be seeing the signs of depression or “learned helplessness,” as the researchers call it, in horses who have just, emotionally, given up.

One highly acclaimed scientist even said dressage horse movements are becoming “extravagant” to the point of being “ridiculous,” and that we are no longer considering the basic concept of dressage, which is to “shape” a horse to perform at his personal best with lightness

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Passionate about horses and science from the time she was riding her first Shetland Pony in Texas, Christa Lesté-Lasserre writes about scientific research that contributes to a better understanding of all equids. After undergrad studies in science, journalism, and literature, she received a master’s degree in creative writing. Now based in France, she aims to present the most fascinating aspect of equine science: the story it creates. Follow Lesté-Lasserre on Twitter @christalestelas.

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