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. 2023 Nov 2;13(21):3404.
doi: 10.3390/ani13213404.

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

Jane M Williams  1 , Lise C Berg  2 , Hilary M Clayton  3 , Katharina Kirsch  4 , David Marlin  5 , Hayley Randle  6 , Lars Roepstroff  7 , Marianne Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan  8 , Michael A Weishaupt  9 , Carolien Munsters  10
Affiliations

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

Jane M Williams et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

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.

Keywords: dressage; equestrian; equine management; equine training; eventing; horse sports; horse–rider relationship; showjumping; social license to operate; welfare.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest and declare no personal circumstances or interest that may be perceived as inappropriately influencing the representation or interpretation of reported research results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of the Delphi process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Equestrian federations that participated in Stage One of the Delphi study.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of expert roles across the Delphi study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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