There is something rotten in the State of Denmark. Actually, things are bad across Europe. Competition horses are trained by methods which compromise their welfare and endanger their riders.

It dawned on us a couple of years ago how common it is for show horses to exhibit signs of pain and discomfort. Not just during competition but in the warm-up as well and at home when being trained. As equestrian journalists, we thought: "Wow. There's a great story here. What would people say if they knew that horses are treated in this way during their preparation for competition?"

 

 

Then we looked around us. Next to the warm-up arena, hundreds of other spectators were seemingly not at all bothered by what they could see. It appeared they did not notice the lashing tails, the open mouths, the tense backs, the worried eyes or the frequent attempts to escape staged by frightened horses. Once in a while, when a horse lunged into a particularly violent fit of rodeo style bucking to try to rid itself of its rider, someone behind us would giggle and say: "What a cheeky boy" or "Aw, how nice to see such a playful Grand Prix horse."

 

 

It's not enough to show what goes on behind the scenes at all levels of equestrian sport. It also has to be explained what can actually be seen, because so many people can't tell the difference between a horse who is happy or playful and a horse who is scared out of its wits.

 

 

To help explain, we have asked three internationally recognized, independent experts on horse welfare and training. We have shown them half an hour's footage from two elite level horse shows. Nothing raised any eyebrows from officials or spectators at the time of filming. What you will see is not a spectacular line of clear cut cases of horse abuse. There is no blood and hardly any brutal whipping. It's ordinary horse training as it can be seen almost anywhere. And that's exactly the issue. Universally employed, "normal" techniques of horse training actually subjects horses to high levels of stress, pain and fear. We have just become so used to seeing this that we have stopped noticing. But it's time to start noticing again. Because if we don't clean up our sport soon, someone else is sure to do it for us. Forcing show animals to endure pain and fear for our entertainment is unlikely to be favourably looked upon from the outside.

 

It would seem - based on the analysis by three eminent behavioural scientists - that the most widespread form of cruelty to horses in the Western world has nothing to do with the images of extreme sadism which are conjured up by the words "animal abuse", but instead takes place in almost every barn every single day and is inflicted on horses which are normally thought of as well cared for. That's worth considering if you own or ride a horse.

 

 

Sign in and see the 30 minutes of documentation which formed the basis of the expert analysis.

 

See what you think and then hear what the experts have to say about the riding and horse behaviour seen in the footage.

 

 

Training or abuse?: Documentation part one

 

 

Training or abuse?: Documentation part two

 

 

Dr. Andrew McLean: It has to stop

 

 

Dr. Janne Winther Christensen: It's not uncommon

 

 

Professor Jan Ladewig: Far worse than rodeo.