Since the expansion of US Equestrian’s General Rule 838 on unethical treatment of horses, we’ve seen an influx of reports submitted to our Regulations Department about welfare concerns. In December 2024, this rule was expanded to give USEF jurisdiction over Participants and Covered Horses, even off licensed competition grounds. (You can read more about that change here.)
Last year, the Regulations Department processed 127 horse welfare complaints, 40% of which were about incidents that took place on competition grounds, and 60% of which took place off grounds. We also saw 31 reports in which our case managers determined USEF had no jurisdiction. These are often cases where a bystander is concerned about the care of a horse or horses and doesn’t know who to turn to, so they call us. If the horses and individual are not connected to USEF, we can’t pursue disciplinary action.
“We don’t turn those reporters away,” said Emily Pratt, Managing Director of Sport Integrity at US Equestrian. “Once we establish that we don’t have jurisdiction, we make contact with local authorities and get the information over to them for follow-up.”
It’s not always clear to people (whether they own horses or not) who they need to call if they have a neighbor with hungry-looking horses in the backyard or what to do if they’ve witnessed mistreatment of a horse on someone’s property. In most cases, the best course of action is to involve law enforcement or local authorities if you believe a case may be criminal, and then let our Regulations Department know.
“In situations where someone is not a USEF member but we become aware they have a criminal history related to animal abuse or neglect, we do document and flag their information so that can be reviewed if they want to become a member in future,” said Pratt.
For reports that do fall under USEF’s jurisdiction, the information provided is crucial to enabling the Regulations Department to act quickly. Here are a few things that make it easier for them to dig into a report and learn more:
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Unaltered photos or videos, preferably taken by the reporter
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Names and contact information of any individuals involved, including potential witnesses
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Name of and information about each horse involved
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Location where the misconduct occurred
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Dates and timeline of when the misconduct occurred
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A detailed description of what happened
You can submit a report online or text 28733 (2USEF) to contact us using RealResponse. RealResponse is a third-party software used by a variety of sport organizations to anonymize reporters’ name and contact information while still allowing investigators a way to contact them for more details.
Learn more about what makes a good report, and how the process proceeds after you submit a report on this page.