Organizations including the Fédération Equestre Internationale(FEI), the international governing body of equestrian sport, have rules and safeguards to protect horses during their competitions but, historically, the organizations’ jurisdiction ends once horses leave competition facilities. However, today, that is shifting. The public’s opinion of an entity or activity, or social license to operate (SLO), often expressed on social media, means large organizations no longer hold all the power because individuals can band together in opposition to a cause just as easily as they can support one.

Today the FEI and other equestrian sport governing bodies are working toward improving the lives of horses both on and off competition grounds.

What is Social License to Operate in Equestrian Sport?

Social media’s power to affect horse sports became clear at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021) when a German modern-pentathlon competitor, urged by her coach, whipped her mount for balking and backing while on the jump course during the equestrian phase of that event. The fallout was swift and permanent—in November 2021, less than four months after the completion of the Tokyo Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the equestrian phase of modern pentathlon—a sport that has been on the Olympic program since 1912—will be replaced with a head-to-head sprint obstacle race as of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Opportunities to Secure Equine Welfare in Sport

The pre-Olympics suspension of 2012 and 2016 British Olympic dressage gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin, who had already been named to the British team for Paris, brought additional public attention to equestrian competition at the Games. The week of opening ceremonies, lawyers for a whistleblower released a video of Dujardin whipping a ridden horse from the ground. Dujardin quickly withdrew from the 2024 Olympic Games and the FEI issued her a provisional suspension.

Even before the 2024 Olympics, some equestrian governing bodies, including the U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF), via approved rule changes expanded their jurisdiction to enforce equine welfare rules, covering incidents occurring beyond sanctioned competition grounds. In June 2022 in response to growing SLO concerns regarding equestrian sports, the FEI created the FEI Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission, whose stated tasks include “creating a blueprint to future-proof equestrian sports, as well as providing independent advice and recommendations to the FEI to ensure equine welfare is safeguarded through ethical, evidence-based policy and practices.”

On July 25, one day before the Paris 2024 opening ceremony, Ingmar De Vos, FEI president, Göran Åkerström, DVM, FEI veterinary director, and Sabrina Ibáñez, FEI secretary general briefed a crowd of assembled reporters on the organization’s efforts to secure equine welfare during the Games.  

The FEI chose external experts—proven to be critical of the FEI—for its Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission, said De Vos, to bolster the credibility of its conclusions and recommendations. The FEI headquarters has been tasked with implementing the commission’s recommendations, which include reframing the horse-human relationship. Previously called a partnership, it now carries the tagline “Be a Guardian” to emphasize humans’ responsibility for horse welfare.  

The recommendations go on to expand on six key focus areas that together produce the FEI’s new goal of a good life for horses. Although the FEI calls “Training and Riding, Tack and Equipment” its top priority of the six, it has also expanded its willingness to look beyond the competition grounds, with focus areas such as “The Other 23 Hours” (the welfare of the horse when not being trained or competed) and “Recognizing Physical and Emotional Stress.” The Ethics and Wellbeing Commission has provided the FEI with “a more holistic view of what needs to be further addressed,” said Ibáñez.

The Future of Social Media and SLO in Equestrian Sports

In any organization it takes buy-in from all stakeholders (riders, trainers, owners, etc.) for a new process or culture to be truly embraced. Officials at Paris 2024 said they want riders and trainers to own the guardian role the FEI is promoting. “One of our broadest challenges is not only to communicate with the public but (also) with our own community, so they really understand what they need to do and what the new philosophy is,” said De Vos.

“We will involve experts from various aspects of veterinary science, welfare science, behavioral science, but also our riders and trainers because they are critical (when studying ethical training methods),” said Åkerström. “We need to have them also embrace this message. They need to be part of this movement. They need to be guardians.”

The FEI has recognized it is the riders whom audiences look up to and emulate and who might wield the most power in effecting change. Seven-time dressage Olympian Isabell Werth of Germany, who added another team gold and an individual silver to her collection at Paris 2024, spoke to reporters about her views of both social media and SLO. Thanks to instantaneous transmission of images and video, a rider must expect that audiences on the other side of the globe “know more than you at the situation already and that moment already,” Werth said. The volatile nature of social media means “you never know how the reaction will be.

“We had some really bad videos and clips,” said Werth (of the sport of dressage). “We have to be really transparent, and … the most important thing is that we all—all—be really open-minded. We have the responsibility, if something (goes) wrong, we have to stop it immediately. This is a responsibility of all of us if we love the sport and we want to keep it going.”