17th Equirencontres - The well-being of horses in sport and leisure activities

Like the conference on Thursday, the 17th Equirencontres (Equestrian meetings), organised by Boehringer Ingelheim, focused on the well-being of horses. Specialists from a wide range of backgrounds (riders, vets, influencers, ethologists, etc.) shared their knowledge and experiences on the topic of well-being in sport and leisure riding.

As always, there was a full house in the Health Area at Longines Equita Lyon to address a subject that is close to the hearts of all horse lovers. To start the meeting, Alice Ruet, an ethologist and engineer at IFCE-INRAE, reminded everyone what 'animal welfare' means: "A positive mental and physical state linked to the satisfaction of the animal's physiological and behavioural needs and expectations. This state varies according to the animal's perception of the situation". 

The 17th Equirencontres then focused on the relationship between well-being and sport. "Assessing a horse's well-being in sport means taking a whole range of indicators into account. Today, animal well-being is a genuine science and our knowledge is constantly evolving. Horses are highly sensitive animals and research is helping us to understand them more and more. This knowledge helps promote harmonious interactions between People and Horses. This also involves taking into account what riders feel and observe," explained the ethologist. 

This view was echoed by the French Eventing silver medallist from last summer's Olympics, Nicolas Touzaint: "I'd like to think that my horses enjoy what they do when I ask them to do something. But it's my job to make them comfortable. I educate them when they are young by proposing different things. By listening to them, I can adapt the work to suit them. The advantage in my riding discipline is that we do a wide variety of different sessions, so my horses never get bored."

The entire equestrian sector is concerned by equine well-being. "Today, we are the guarantors of a horse's well-being and comfort. Over the last 40 years, we've seen a lot of changes already, and things have accelerated in recent years. People have a real awareness of this issue. Our role is to work with all the stakeholders to improve practices," concluded Richard Corde, a veterinary surgeon and the Horse Welfare Coordinator at the recent Paris Olympic Games.