Horse breeding practices significantly affect the health and welfare of resulting animals. Selection for extreme conformation or performance traits can cause lifelong suffering.
Horse breeding welfare involves both the welfare of the individual foal produced and the long-term health consequences of conformation selection. Breeds selected for extreme performance characteristics often carry higher disease burdens as a direct consequence of the traits prized by the industry. Soring — deliberately causing pain to enhance gait expression — represents one of the most egregious welfare abuses in equestrian culture. Genetic welfare improvements require breeding registries to require health screening, penalize conformation extremes associated with disease, and disqualify producers convicted of soring or other abuses. Consumer and show judge preference for healthier conformation is also a significant lever.