Abstract
Ethical
equitation is nowadays coming into sharp focus in equestrian culture.
Concerns surround the ethics of sports based on controlling an animal's
locomotory responses and in using animals such as horses in sport in
general. Anthropomorphically labeled misinterpretations of the responses
of trained horses, such as the use of terms like “mad,” “lazy,” “keen,”
and “stubborn,” may be detrimental to optimal equine welfare.
Similarly, the concept of the “equine athlete” may imply an ill-informed
teleological explanation of the motives of the horse in sport. Despite
problems in identifying the happy horse, rewarding optimal welfare and
the absence of critical stress responses in performance horses is an
important step forward.
Horse racing is the source of many
welfare concerns because of the use of the whip and the physical dangers
to horses involved in hurdle racing and steeplechasing. The use of the
whip in racing is controversial and, because it does not always lead to
acceleration, problematic. There is a pressing need for learning theory
to be adopted in all equestrian pursuits, because such an approach would
obviate the need for whips, punishment, and the use of fear in escape
learning. In other disciplines, practices such as hyperflexion and
soring have a significant potential to compromise the welfare of the
horse in sport.
The future of horse sports should involve
abandoning the mandatory use of primitive control devices, such as curb
bits, that have a real potential to cause harm. International governing
bodies and national equestrian federations ought to proceed with
removing any requirements to use curb bits and judges should reward
riders who use the most humane control devices at the higher levels of
competition.
Finally, horse breeding should also be
scrutinized under an ethical spotlight. Selecting horses on the basis of
temperament has inherent risks, including lowered motivation of riders
and trainers to refine their training skill set, which may also lead to
significant wastage. Pure breeding risks the health and welfare of
horses owing to increases in homozygous deleterious genes expressing
themselves.
Keywords
- horse;
- training;
- competition;
- welfare
Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
