2023-11-04 18:15:58
Violence committed against horses harms the image of equestrian sports. In reaction, animalist and anti-speciesist activists are mobilizing, pushing the authorities to take a position, to the point of calling into question the future of this discipline.
The French Equestrian Federation has understood the burning context with which it must deal. The recent creation of a high-level sports charter, a good practice guide and an “animal welfare” unit are tangible proof of this. “Our sport is poorly perceived, so we must act and communicate better about the rider-horse relationship,” admits Sophie Dubourg, national technical director of the federation, which has nearly 700,000 members.
These measures are also a response to animalist and anti-speciesist activists whose demands endanger equestrian sports. The animal rights association Peta has called on the International Olympic Committee to remove “abusive equestrian events” from the Olympic program. Without achieving her goals, she pointed to “the cruelty” that occurred in Tokyo in 2021, where a German rider and her trainer were accused of having mistreated a horse during a pentathlon event (under the authority of the International Union of Modern Pentathlon, and not equestrian federations. Formerly little listened to, these alerts are now seriously considered by the equestrian community. “The disputes risk being more and more marked, predicts Hélène Roche, ethologist (specialist in animal behavior ).There are animalists, yes, but public opinion is starting to take over the debate. The horse industry must provide a satisfactory response to society’s expectations.”
Most often for performance, horses endure self-inflicted injuries and excessive medications. Heavy suspensions were inflicted on riders. On October 12, American Andrew Kocher was sentenced to ten years of exclusion for repeated use of electric spurs in competition. The pain caused by the violent shocks forced the animal to continually move forward. With each misstep of its representatives, the equestrian world sees its image tarnished a little more: “We cannot have control over the actions of everyone, but if we formally prohibited certain things, we would not reach that point. », recognizes Sophie Dubourg. However, even if the regulations evolve, there are severe disparities between nations. Recognized in terms of animal welfare, Sweden and Switzerland are, for example, far from the positioning of the Persian Gulf States, considered to be further behind: with the latter, “we do not speak the same horse language”, slips the director national technique. The International Equestrian Federation (FEI), a body with the capacity to regulate, has taken up the issue by formulating proposals for modifications to its regulations. They will be voted on on November 21 during the general assembly in Mexico.
Could the obvious parallel with the ban on wild animals in circuses by 2028 raise fears of a similar scenario for horse riding? The prospect of an end – or a profound change – to horse riding and equestrian sports is very real. If Sophie Dubourg is tempering, due to the evolution of practices, Hélène Roche believes that we are “at the red alert stage”: “We must raise awareness among all those involved in the equine world to advance mentalities. But what can we do when some of the riders don’t see the urgency of the situation?”
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