Equine athletes begin their athletic careers at various ages.
Many of the Western style disciplines,
such as reigning and cutting,
and the track racing disciplines require
trained proficiency by two to three years of age.
Most horses are still growing at this stage of life and
their skeletons adapted to the athletic demands of the sport.
Many of the English style disciplines have a later start,
with horses not entering competition until their fourth or fifth year or even later.
There is great discussion in the equine industry about what
age is appropriate for a horse to begin its athletic career.
Awareness of these breeding disciplines specific traits and requirements is
critical to ensuring the freedom from fear and stress for our equine athletic partners.
As horse men and women,
we are using the horses natural abilities but have
modified their natural exercise patterns environment.
This puts the responsibility for their welfare literally in our hands.
The equine industry continues to evolve
new training methods and products which impact the horse's well-being.
The topics of equine welfare for
the equine athlete fall primarily under the heading of injury prevention.
And these areas of concern include the footing that we send them out on,
the type of fencing or jumping obstacles that they're asked to negotiate,
air quality, the riding equipment that's used, transportation,
disease control, training schedules,
the weather conditions under which they work, and more.
Our athletic partnership with horses requires frequent review of
acceptable practices and vigilant attention to new training methods and products.
Regulations on riding equipment,
including saddles, bit, spurs,
whips directly impact the welfare of the horses and their level of stress
as do guidelines for the appropriate footing for the various equestrian disciplines.
An ill-fitting saddle or bit can cause low grade but constant pain,
which may or may not be obviously causing physical harm to the observer.
But nonetheless, they can cause chronic stress.
Use of spurs and whips,
as training is for a resistant horse,
are considered acceptable in certain circumstances and may only exacerbate the problem
associated with asking a horse to perform a task he or she
is incapable of based on breeding or lack of training.
Like humans, all horses have a limited number of
extensions inflections in their joints and soft tissues over time.
Judicious training and competition schedules
minimizes overtraining and repetitive use injuries.
Some horses seem to love competing and are known to have heart
and to keep going even when they're physically exhausted or injured.
This is another cause for the human half of the partnership to step
up and steward the horse within their breeding and training limitations.
With thousands of equestrian competitions and meets held every year,
travel has become another important aspect of the life of the horse as an athlete,
and it deserves some attention here.
It's common for horses to travel to competitions by road or air.
And horses are now second only to humans as a frequent flier.
As responsible horsemen and women,
we need to have an understanding of the horses needs when we asked them to enter
a confined space such as a trailer or adjust to short-term stabling for a competition.
This is where a strong bond of trust between a horse and
rider can make a difference in minimizing stress.
If you want more information on safe travel for the horse,
be sure to check out the article from
the horse report and the scent of frequent health in the resource section.
Travel can disrupt routine and present new environments,
which can cause the horse to become excitable, nervous, or stressed.
They may stop eating or drinking.
The break in regular exercise may cause digestive problems.
While in transit, it is possible for them to injure
their legs while maintaining their balance or reacting to frightening sounds.
To avoid this, it's customary to familiarize the horse with
transport and to use padded wraps for their legs or bell boots to protect their feet.
It is important to include travel planning
as part of the equine athletes training schedule.
Approximately, six percent of horses traveling greater than 12 hours by road or
air will experience some form of travel-related complication.
This can come in the form of colic,
or respiratory infection, or a travel-associated injury.
For this reason, it is important to plan
long distance travel and provide frequent stops and rest along the way.
Once the horse arrives at the venue,
they are presented with another set of stressors.
The available water may be distasteful to them.
Exposure to strange horses may cause them social hierarchy distress.
They may experience fear due to flashing lights of the riding arena,
or loud sounds, or cheering crowds.
Like human athletes, horses need time to settle in and adapt to a competition scenario.
They respond to altitude, ambient temperature, humidity,
and the surface they are competing on,
all of which can affect their stress levels,
their health, and their performance.
This is another time for you to step up to
the plate to support your equine athletic partner and minimize stress.
For example, if you have spent most of your time preparing for
a dressage competition by riding in a grass surface fenced paddock in your own backyard,
it will be a shock to your horse when he arrives at the showgrounds.
In addition to the travel stress and the temporary stabling,
he may have to adjust to the performing on a sand surface with
a one foot high perimeter fence surrounded by bleachers for the viewing audience.
For this reason, it is very important that horses are worked on
numerous various surfaces at home so
that they can adapt to the surface they experience at a show.
Earlier, we mentioned the FEI and USCF,
but there are numerous governing bodies who oversee the management of
competition horses to ensure
a level playing field and humane treatment in equestrian sport.
These groups establish the rules of competition,
and most have rules regarding the use of medications and ethical conduct.
They also set standards for equine welfare and housing while on competition grounds.
Several breed organizations like the Arabian Horse Association,
the American Quarter Horse Association,
and others have similar bylaws that
must be followed when a horse is registered as a member.
Many of the disciplines also have governing bodies,
such as the United States Dressage Federation and the National Reining Horse Association.
Many of these groups impose rules that prohibit practices that can be considered cruelty,
such as the use of certain whips, spurs,
and bits, and training practices such as soaring.
There are links to the major governing bodies in the resource section.
These will provide a lot of information,
and almost all contain a statement on equine welfare.
Today, equestrian sport demands a fair amount of our equine athletes.
But when proper training and welfare standards are developed and met,
we can expect a horse to have a long and rewarding career in most sports.
In our next lesson,
we'll look at what is perhaps the most visible of equine sports, horse racing.
While there are many opinions and deep feelings about the sport,
the industry is taking steps to reduce injuries and
increase safety for both equine and human athletes.
We'll hear from the director of the California Horse Racing Board,
who'll talk about the history of the sport and the efforts to
ensure the safety and welfare of both the equine and human athletes.
Hope to see you there.
Claudia Sonder, DVMEmeriti Director of Equine Outreach
