How breeding selection for sport performance shapes horse welfare and the welfare implications of modern sport horse genetics.
Sport horse breeding presents welfare challenges that are often invisible because they occur at the population level through accumulated genetic selection rather than through obvious individual mistreatment. Selecting for extreme athletic traits without parallel attention to health, longevity, and temperament creates breeds with predictable welfare vulnerabilities. In Thoroughbred racing, the selection for speed that includes selection for light bone density is associated with fracture risk — a catastrophic welfare outcome. In warmblood sport horse breeding, selection for dramatic movement quality can coexist with developmental orthopedic problems in young horses. Breeding policies that incorporate health and longevity records alongside performance data, mandatory veterinary assessment of breeding stallions and mares, and consideration of breed-specific health trends would represent meaningful welfare improvements in sport horse breeding.