Competition horses face welfare risks from training methods, equipment use, overexertion, and injury — and welfare science is increasingly informing competitive standards.
Competition horse welfare spans multiple domains: training methods that can cause physical and psychological harm, equipment that restricts natural breathing and jaw movement, event conditions that demand exertion close to physiological limits, and the selection and breeding pressures that produce horses with increased performance but reduced health. The welfare science on equine behavioral indicators of pain and stress — the Equine Pain Face, conflict behaviors, eye and ear position — is increasingly used to evaluate horses in training and competition. Cultural resistance from some competitive communities slows welfare reform.