The Charter of the Horse endorsed

British Equestrian (BEF), together with their 19 member bodies and associated industry leaders (including the BGA), have united to commit to endorse the highest standards of equine welfare, wellbeing and ethics under a new ‘Charter for the Horse’.

The Charter for the Horse has been developed with BEF stakeholder groups to be adopted across the equestrian industry by all who have a connection to horses and equids.

Under the six headings of empathy, care, respect, consideration, ethics and learning, the Charter outlines actions we must observe to guarantee the individual mental, physical and behavioural needs of our horses are met.

The Charter encompasses the essence of the FEI Equestrian Charter, composed by the Fédération Équestre Internationale’s (FEI) independent Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission (EEWC) and released at the FEI Sport Forum in April 2023. This edition covers international equestrian sport, while the British Equestrian version is there for all in this country who interact with horses, at every level and in any activity for sport, hobby or leisure. Existing principles, codes and guidance from across the member bodies were distilled into a document that all equestrians can unite under and pledge to work to the values and principles outlined.

Carl Hester, one of Britain’s most successful equestrians with 15 championship medals to his credit and a leading advocate for equine wellbeing, added his endorsement to the Charter;

At the heart of the Charter are the internationally recognised ‘three Fs’ of freedom, friends and forage, and the five domains model (Mellor et al., 2020) which cite nutrition, physical environment, health, behavioural interactions and mental state as the crucial factors for an animal’s positive experience.

As part of the ongoing commitment to the highest welfare standards, the British Equestrian Board and Equine Wellbeing and Ethics Advisory Group (EWEAG), chaired by Professor Madeleine Campbell, has also been working on extensive revisions to the British Equestrian rule book and Equine Ethics and Welfare Policy, which underpin the Charter. The enhanced welfare provision will sit within an Integrity Framework of core policies around safeguarding of children and adults, anti-doping rules for human and equine athletes, competition manipulation, and equine ethics and welfare.

The EWEAG members reviewed the EEWC interim report carefully and have worked a number of the recommendations into the federation-wide rule book to ensure the highest welfare provision. In full consultation with member bodies, the process will continue to look at the proposed revisions, their implementation and subsequent enforcement ahead of the rule book release in 2025.

Professor Campbell said;

British Equestrian Chief Executive Jim Eyre echoed the comment;

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