SPECIAL REPORT l WHIPS & SPURS
Public perception of horse sport and even general riding is changing, in part due to some high-profile negative incidents. This means that riding aids like whips and spurs come under scrutiny, too. Charlotte Cooper finds out from equestrian experts whether the time may have come to ditch them completely
LEISURE AND COMPETITION riding is long established in Britain and some people’s beliefs and practices about the best ways to care for horses were drawn up in the 20th century or earlier. However, public perception of the justifiable uses of all animals is changing and it is no exaggeration to say that the penalty for riders not moving with the times could be an eventual ban on all horse sports and even the end of leisure riding.
The industry is taking this threat seriously. New rules were sent out to all British Horse Society (BHS) accredited coaches in September, updating the society’s regulations on the use of whips in competitions. This clarification of what behaviour is acceptable from riders is in step with a movement across all levels of equestrianism to not only behave well towards our horses, but be seen to be doing so.
Social licence
A recent survey carried out by the charity World Horse Welfare (WHW) showed that 20% of people polled didn’t support the use of horses in sport and 15% felt that horses shouldn’t be ridden at all (see box, page 16). The research was carried out close to the running of the Grand National in April. This famous fixture often generates negative press for racing, and by association all horse sport, and so may have skewed the public’s views, but it still shows a frighteningly poor reputation for equestrians’ hobby.
So how can riding’s image be improved? Nearly half of those polled felt that they could support the continued use of horses in sport only if welfare measures are improved, and of those who took part who said that they rode, half felt that improvements needed to be made. This shows that the equestrian world needs to maintain and strengthen its ‘social licence’ — the approval and acceptance of wider society for an activity — for it to have a future, according to WHW which, along with horse sport organisations and racing, is working to ensure that the horse world not only improves welfare standards, but is seen to have done so.
The role of equestrians
Just 2.3% of the public has any interaction with horses, so general views on riding will be formed by negative stories in the press and any encounters with riders on the roads.
Each time a rider is shown on social media losing their temper with their horse — for example, the foo
