TY - JOUR

T1 - A Delphi Study to Determine International and National Equestrian Expert Opinions on Domains and Sub-Domains Essential to Managing Sporthorse Health and Welfare in the Olympic Disciplines

AU - Williams, Jane M.

AU - Berg, Lise C.

AU - Clayton, Hilary M.

AU - Kirsch, Katharina

AU - Marlin, David

AU - Randle, Hayley

AU - Roepstroff, Lars

AU - Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan, Marianne Sloet van

AU - Weishaupt, Michael A.

AU - Munsters, Carolien

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - The public is increasingly questioning equestrianism’s social license to operate. While the focus historically centered on horseracing, increased scrutiny is now being placed on how dressage, showjumping, and eventing are addressing equine management and welfare concerns. Nominated equestrian federation and equestrian organization experts (n = 104) directly involved in international and/or national-level horse sports took part in a four-stage, iterative Delphi to obtain consensus on what factors should be considered essential to manage sporthorse health and welfare. Five core domains were agreed as essential: training management, competition management, young horse management, health status and veterinary management, and the horse–human relationship. Two further domains: stable and environmental management, and welfare assessment were rated as important but not essential, as most respondents felt that these areas were already managed well. Participants felt increased education and guidance combined with further policy development and regulation are needed to support stakeholders to optimize sporthorse management. An appetite to engage with research to generate evidence that promotes sporthorse welfare was evident. The development of a sporthorse welfare charter and evidence-based guidelines to inform the management and monitoring of sporthorses’ health and welfare are recommended to provide horses with a good life and to safeguard the future of equestrian sports.

AB - The public is increasingly questioning equestrianism’s social license to operate. While the focus historically centered on horseracing, increased scrutiny is now being placed on how dressage, showjumping, and eventing are addressing equine management and welfare concerns. Nominated equestrian federation and equestrian organization experts (n = 104) directly involved in international and/or national-level horse sports took part in a four-stage, iterative Delphi to obtain consensus on what factors should be considered essential to manage sporthorse health and welfare. Five core domains were agreed as essential: training management, competition management, young horse management, health status and veterinary management, and the horse–human relationship. Two further domains: stable and environmental management, and welfare assessment were rated as important but not essential, as most respondents felt that these areas were already managed well. Participants felt increased education and guidance combined with further policy development and regulation are needed to support stakeholders to optimize sporthorse management. An appetite to engage with research to generate evidence that promotes sporthorse welfare was evident. The development of a sporthorse welfare charter and evidence-based guidelines to inform the management and monitoring of sporthorses’ health and welfare are recommended to provide horses with a good life and to safeguard the future of equestrian sports.

KW - dressage

KW - equestrian

KW - equine management

KW - equine training

KW - eventing

KW - horse sports

KW - horse–rider relationship

KW - showjumping

KW - social license to operate

KW - welfare

U2 - 10.3390/ani13213404

DO - 10.3390/ani13213404

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 37958159

AN - SCOPUS:85176326901

VL - 13

JO - Animals

JF - Animals

SN - 2076-2615

IS - 21

M1 - 3404

ER -