Article published in Animals #11 - Special Issue: Animal Use in Competitive Sport: Ethics and Welfare, June 9 2021
Simple Summary:
In recent years, there has been increasing societal concern about the use of horses in competitive sport. Ethical frameworks can help stakeholders to make contextual decisions about what should or should not be done in a particular situation. In this paper, it is argued that although there is a recognised need for an ethic (i.e., a set of moral principles relating to conduct) for the use of animals in sport, neither existing animal welfare frameworks nor existing sports ethics frameworks provide us with a suitable or sufficient tool for considering situations in which the athlete is a non-human, non-consenting participant. The theoretical development of a novel ethical framework for the use of horses in sport is presented. The derivation and limitations of the framework are explained. The use of the framework will serve both to underwrite the continuation of the social license to use horses in sport and also to enable those within equestrian sport to critically assess existing and proposed practices and to make welfare-improving adjustments to practice if/where necessary. Practical testing and refinement of the theoretical framework presented in this paper is currently being undertaken in consultation with industry stakeholders, and will be submitted for publication in future.
Equestrian sports' international governing body unveils its mission, "to lead, drive, and develop the highest standards of equine sport globally." FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez sets forth the plan in this YouTube video, urging everyone to act as guardians to ensure a "good life for horses." Learn more about the horse welfare plan at https://www.fei.org/stories/lifestyle/horse-human/guardians.
Flyinge hosted the Horse Welfare Summit, Northern Europe's largest event dedicated to horse welfare. The summit spanned two full days and featured lectures, clinics, and panel discussions led by prominent experts in the field.
"From the Air you breathe, to the ground beneath your feet, you deserve the very BEST. Your well-being is our inspiration."
Scholarship recipient Eva Skiöldebrand was part of a research team conducting a clinical study of a novel drug combination that was effective in treating osteoarthritis-associated lameness in horses and restoring joint tissue. The findings could have implications for treating ostearthritis in humans as well, since horses and humans are genetically very similar. The researchers hope to conduct a clinical trial of the drug treatment in humans next.