Horses transported for competition, sale, and slaughter face significant welfare risks, with long-distance live export representing a major ongoing welfare concern.
Horse transport causes cumulative welfare stress through motion, social disruption, temperature extremes, dehydration, and the inability to lie down comfortably in standard vehicles. The slaughter transport pipeline involves particularly long journeys for animals often in poor condition before they begin. The argument that live export maintains product quality better than chilled meat has been refuted, leaving economic and political factors as the primary barriers to reform. Competition horse welfare requires positive management rather than passive minimum standards.