I’ve said it before, and I’ll warn you again–always remember there are eyes on you when you’re working with horses.
Actually, the eyes are the least of it. Videos, the livestream of competitions and photos can do plenty of damage when they’re posted, and that’s not just if you’re doing something questionable.
Those who don’t know anything about horses have their own interpretations of what goes on around the animals.
Perhaps they see horses “as prisoners in tiny stalls,” U.S. Hunter Jumper Association President Mary Knowlton suggested this week at a Town Hall Zoom meeting, the second in a series of four.
She added practices that feel normal to those involved with horses “might not seem that way to people without knowledge of the sport.”
Mary advised that we have to “get our story out there early and explain what we do.”
This is all about Social License to Operate, the hot catch phrase summing up the type of “permission” needed to pursue horse sports in the era of social media, and in the view of people in the larger community who are always watching.
She warned that if those involved in horse sport don’t make sure that the picture of how they operate can withstand widespread consumption, there is always the possibility the federal government will step in as it did with racing. The Federal Trade Commission has oversight of HISA, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. The program includes racing and training safety standards, as well as injury and fatality analysis, as well as evaluation and accreditation.
As one person on the Zoom call pointed out, the phrase, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help you” is not synonymous with good news.
“I think we can police ourselves,” Mary emphasized.
It’s up to everyone to report when they see something that isn’t going right; a horse being longed to exhaustion, a pony being whipped, a syringe where it doesn’t belong.
“There’s much more policing of each other. People are watching now and some are speaking up,” said Mary.
Steward Sheila Murphy, who was among the 98 people on the Zoom meeting, cited an instance where “just my presence,” stopped abusive longeing after she had been told what was going on.
At the same time, steward Cricket Stone noted that while informing stewards or the U.S. Equestrian Federation about misbehavior is important, “videos and photo evidence go a lot further than hearsay” when it comes to calling out perpetrators.
The USEF board next month will consider several rules pertaining to horse welfare, including requiring horses being longed or ridden in a schooling or warm-up area to have a show number attached, or have the number on the rider or handler. Attachments to longe whips, such as flags or bags, would be forbidden, along with cracking the whip while a horse is being longed.
Also to be discussed is penalizing by elimination if a horse has raw or bleeding sores on its sides, as that would be considered cruelty and abuse. The current rule only covers competing with raw or bleeding sores around the coronets, pasterns or legs.
While it’s unfortunately common for a horse to be longed far too long to get it ready for an amateur rider or a child, the same thing can happen to horses competing in other divisions. Is a happy bounce of a horse’s head after a fence something that should be penalized if that joyful expression goes no further? Or do horses really have to be dead quiet to pin in a big class?
Perhaps, it was suggested during the Town Hall, “We need to change what we’re judging for.” And Mary suggested that if a rider can only compete if their horse is longed for too long, perhaps the trainer instead should focus on training the rider to perform more competently.
Other abuses mentioned included showing horses too many times at one competition. The example given was a 23-year-old horse doing 20 classes in a week. Perhaps that is something that should be regulated, it was mentioned, since it’s less arbitrary than trying to judge whether a horse has been on the longe line too long.
On another topic, Mary explained the difference between Channel I and Channel II shows, which many USEF and USHJA members still don’t understand. Channel I is a combo of the former Premier and National Shows; Channel II shows are what used to be called, B, C and Local Member shows, and subsequently, Regional. Outreach, at the lowest level, doesn’t have to be run at a USEF licensed show.
“Outreach is growing huge and the federation’s Regional is a little bit stagnant. Part of the reason for that, I think, is because Outreach is an overlay on an unrecognized show and we don’t have a lot of rules they have to follow,” said Mary.
“It’s more of a `Hello, come in, meet USHJA, see that we’re not scary, get introduced to what we do. Compete, have fun.’ ” An Outreach Festival, at the next level, is held at licensed shows. That gives participants a chance to see what goes on in other rings.
She said Outreach shows may consider becoming licensed, but noted “We’ll see about that. That’s uncertain to me at this moment.”
On the topic of saving the Regional horse show, Mary said, “California got some new Channel II shows.” but at the same time, “Zone II (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania) has lost some for sure. Some other zones don’t really have Regional shows. I think Outreach has helped a lot to introduce people to being within USHJA’s umbrella. Hopefully, that will translate into people actually wanting to run Regional shows.”