Horses used in equestrian sports face welfare challenges from training methods, competition schedules, injury risks, and housing, requiring robust sport governance and clear ethical standards.
Equestrian sport presents complex welfare questions because horses are prey animals adapted for flight that are trained for activities that can be stressful, physically demanding, and risky. The welfare burden is greatest when training methods rely on aversive conditioning rather than positive reinforcement, when horses are managed in ways that deny social contact and forage behaviour, and when competition frequency and intensity exceed what individual horses can tolerate without cumulative stress. Welfare-positive sport involves regular welfare assessment of individual horses, evidence-based training standards, horse-centred decision-making about retirement, and transparent governance of medication rules.