Ensuring horse welfare during the training and preparation phase leading up to competition.
Competition preparation represents a high-risk welfare period for sport horses, as the pressure to peak at specific events drives training decisions that may prioritize short-term performance over long-term welfare. Overtraining, inadequate recovery, and increased confinement during preparation periods are common welfare concerns. The welfare of competition horses depends on trainers and owners who can distinguish between appropriate training stress that promotes adaptation and excessive stress that causes harm. Evidence-based periodization that builds rest, recovery, and turnout into competition preparation offers both performance and welfare benefits.