The goal of new guidelines is for “people to start thinking differently about horse welfare,” said David O’Connor.
PHOTO: DEVYN TRETHEWEY/US EQUESTRIAN
BY DEBBIE ELLIOT
We are all guardians of horses and horse sport. Whether we are frequent competitors or weekend trail riders, our actions are equally as important. We need to not only protect the physical health of our horses, but also their mental health, emotions, and happiness. Most importantly, we need the help and cooperation of members, athletes, officials, and the entire equestrian community to ensure the safety of all horses. The Federation understands there can be confusion and mixed messages — especially on social media — about what is acceptable behavior, and what is unacceptable when it comes to interactions between humans and horses. Conflicts and miscommunication can happen in any relationship. How we handle these situations is a true test of our knowledge, skill, and self-awareness. The USEF Horse Welfare Stoplight Guidelines were created to offer insights that our community can use when determining whether behaviors are acceptable or not. The guidelines were inspired by recommendations made by the German Equestrian Federation (Deutsche Reiterliche Vereinigung) in 2020 regarding horse welfare. “We came up with the idea of the stoplight reference to clearly explain best practices for horse welfare,” Olympic gold medalist and US Equestrian Chief of Sport David O’Connor explained. “We have rules in place such as GR838 to address unethical and inappropriate treatment of horses — these are supplemental guidelines for support and education.” The USEF Rule Book is available for download at usef.org/compete/regulation/rulebook. Using the Stoplight concept of green, yellow, and red, human and horse interactions can be categorized into zones. Using good judgement is part of the equation in determining whether our interactions with our horses are acceptable.
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