Horse Welfare

When she visited a livestock auction in December 2019, Kristen Spendlove’s plan was to sell tack that was no longer used at the therapeutic riding center where she worked as an instructor. However, fate intervened in the form of an Appaloosa with kind, soft eyes sticking his head out of a stall waiting to be auctioned. Hamilton stood out at the auction; photo courtesy of Kristen Spendlove “He was so friendly and so inquisitive. He was not bothered at all by being at an auction...

After receiving positive feedback from members about our 2025 horse welfare town hall series, US Equestrian will be continuing in-person and virtual listening sessions in 2026 focusing on horse and member welfare. The first session of the year will be held at Desert Circuit at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, Calif., next Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 4:30 p.m. in the Palms Club. US Equestrian CEO Bill Moroney and COO/General Counsel Sonja Keating will be on hand to provide updates on...

October marked the first in a series of virtual horse welfare town halls on Oct. 20, as well as a well-attended in-person event held at US Dressage Finals in Wilmington, Ohio on Oct. 30. Members gathered digitally and in person to provide their feedback and questions on US Equestrian horse welfare programs and proposed rule changes. (c)Isabelle Whiteside/US Equestrian A replay of the virtual town hall is available here . Both events were wide-ranging, but a few of the topics generating...

Earlier this fall, US Equestrian began the rollout of a video series about our Horse Welfare Guidelines. In these videos, Chief of Sport David O’Connor and veterinary chiropractor and osteopath Dr. Christin Flynn explained the stoplight concept for interactions between horses and people, giving viewers specific examples of horse and human behaviors to watch for when trying to decide whether a situation is horse friendly (green), cautionary (yellow), or in need of intervention (red). Now,...

US Equestrian continued to glean feedback from members on possible horse welfare rule changes at three town hall events in the month of September. USEF leadership and staff attended the Arabian & Half-Arabian Sport Horse Nationals, the All American Horse Classic, and participated in a brief session at the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s Open Forum at Split Rock Kentucky National. ©Avery Wallace/US Equestrian Although each breed and discipline has its own unique strengths and...

US Equestrian continued its slate of town hall events in the month of August with discussions at the USEF Pony Finals held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky., and US Dressage Festival of Champions held at Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, Ill. ©Isabelle Whiteside/US Equestrian Each town hall event focused on the potential rule changes and areas of concern relevant to each discipline. In addition to USEF staff, the panel at Pony Finals included United States Hunter Jumper...

Earlier this summer, US Equestrian added a rule allowing the Federation to begin collecting hair samples as part of its drug testing program. While blood and urine sampling have been part of USEF sanctioned horse shows for many years, hair testing is new and competitors have a lot of questions about it. ©Leslie Potter/US Equestrian First, it’s important to understand how testing for drugs in hair differs from testing blood or urine. When a horse is given a substance (orally or via...

US Equestrian hosted two horse welfare town hall events in the month of July as part of an ongoing schedule of conversations about prioritizing horse welfare. The most recent events took place July 18 at HITS-Hudson Valley in Saugerties, N.Y., and July 25 at The Oaks in San Juan Capistrano. Since both discussions took place at hunter/jumper events, the topics of discussion focused on welfare concerns specific to those disciplines. The goal for these events is productive, positive,...

The Caisson Detachment of the 3rd United States Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) is an iconic part of U.S. military history. Since 1948, the unit has provided horses and soldiers to pull the caisson, the wagon that bears a casket, at military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. This honor is bestowed on all Medal of Honor recipients, those who were prisoners of war or who were killed in action, and senior officers. Unfortunately, the Caisson operations were halted in...

The concept of “social license to operate” has quickly become a hot topic in barn aisles across the country. When an activity has social license, it has the support of the general public. In our highly interconnected world, the beliefs of the public at large, and particularly animal lovers, increasingly will have an impact on how equestrian sport is viewed and how our competition and pleasure horses live. It is the equine community’s collective responsibility to live up to our...

Lexington, KY - The Alltech National Horse Show announced today that this year's show has added a variety of exhilarating American Saddlebred events to the agenda for the 2012 show, joining the top flight show jumpers and world-class hunters classes already on the schedule. Following a successful debut last year, the second edition of the Alltech National Horse Show in Lexington, Kentucky, is set for October 30 through November 4, 2012. The show will once again be held at the Alltech Arena...