Dear fellow horse lovers,

Not all those in the horse industry love their horses as much as they would have us believe, and as horse lovers and horse riders, we are concerned about equine welfare.

Insidious and harmful practices are used by those who put money and glory before the welfare of their horses. Behind the scenes, and in plain sight, many horses are being abused and some even die for our entertainment.

This is obvious when we see horses being whipped and spurred to make them perform - their skin is at least as sensitive as our own - a scientific fact.

Yet what we cannot see is the tightness of the leveraged straps around their noses that can legally be so unyielding that the horse cannot move his jaw, or the bit forced down so hard on his sensitive tongue that it turns blue. We cannot see the damage that forced training does to the muscles and bones of the horse, the arthritic joints that are injected to keep the horse working for longer, and we will not hear about the ‘wastage’ - the many thousands of young horses that are killed each year because their minds and bodies cannot take the intense pressure.

The French National Assembly recognised the poor horse welfare in sport and made it their business to make the Paris 2024 Olympics the ‘Olympics of Horse Welfare’. They commissioned a parliamentary study group of equestrian experts and organisations that came up with 46 recommendations to improve the welfare of competition horses at the Olympics and beyond.

These recommendations have not been adopted by the international horse sports’ governing body, the Federation Equestrian International (FEI) - nor is it likely that they ever will be without extreme pressure from the general public.

We, the Alliance for Horse Welfare in Sport (AHWS), ask for your support by signing our petition demanding the enforcement of the existing FEI rules that state “the welfare of the horse must be paramount” and the acceptance and enforcement of the 46 recommendations of the French National Assembly by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the FEI for all horse competitions.

By signing the petition, you are sending a strong message to the FEI and IOC, as well as to Olympic sponsors, riders, veterinarians, judges and other industry participants, urging them that the welfare of competition horses should no longer be overlooked and neglected.

Let's come together and make a difference for the welfare of horses.

Thank you for your support.

The Alliance For Horse Welfare in Sport (AHWS)

The AHWS consists of the following independent and international equestrian organisations: Equitopia, Horses and People, Milestone Equestrian, Concordia Equestrians, the Collectif Pour les Chevaux, and Sassebi.

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Read our magazine with the recommendations and supporting evidence and research: https://concordiaequestrians.org/paris-2024-campaign/