Sport horses face specific welfare considerations related to training methods, competition demands, and the physical requirements of their disciplines.
Sport horse welfare involves tensions between the legitimate athleticism of equestrian sport and training and management practices that can compromise horse welfare. The controversy over hyperflexion in dressage - positioning horses' heads behind the vertical through forceful contact - reflects a broader debate about whether training methods that produce competition-winning results respect horses' physical and psychological welfare. Horses in the tight, forced headset of hyperflexion show physiological stress indicators and resist the position when given choice. Show jumping horses face repetitive physical demands that can cause injury and joint disease. Eventing horses face the full range of athletic demands across dressage, show jumping, and cross-country, with cross-country presenting genuine safety risks. The growing influence of equitation science, applying learning theory and behavioral science to horse training, offers a welfare-positive alternative to traditional methods based on pressure and release.