DAMNED if you raise the issue; damned if you ignore it. Horse welfare. A subject that is never far from the headlines, in most cases bringing with it public scorn.

Most public comment and criticism is attributed, by people involved with horses, to a lack of knowledge on the part of those voicing an opinion. In many cases this is probably correct. On the other hand, the question can be asked; does the equine sector do enough to tell its story, and are there occasions when it can do better in terms of welfare?

We would be kidding ourselves if we chose to believe that there are never improvements to be made, and there are going to be more and more challenges in the future. The concept of social licence has been around for some two decades now, but it is also not fully understood by many. At its simplest, it refers to the acceptance granted to any sector by the greater community.

Roly Owers is chief executive of World Horse Welfare (WHW), and he has a multitude of life experiences to count on when it comes to talking about welfare. A veterinary surgeon by training, he qualified in the early 1990s and began in clinical practice. He served some eight years in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, including in Northern Ireland, with the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in London, and then in Leicester at the depot for all British military animals.

A decade spent fundraising for the forerunner to WHW then led to the opportunity to become chief executive in 2008. He talks of the time since as “an incredible journey for the last 13 years. The charity has developed over that time; we have a great team and I absolutely love it.”

A key development during the past number of years has been the establishment of equally close links with horse racing as the organisation has with the sport horse sector. In fact, the use to which a horse is put doesn’t really matter. Owers explains.

“At the heart of what we are about is the horse-human partnership. When you look across the globe it comes in many different guises. So yes, it’s for a sport animal but also for a leisure animal; a working animal as well as a farm animal, and also an animal that’s used in a growing number of areas, including therapy. That’s what our work is all about, and it very much evolves from our founder, Ada Cole.”

Ethos

He goes on to elaborate on the ethos of the charity. “We are about all equines being treated with respect, compassion and understanding, and we seek to do that by working with people. Horses have an association with people, and they suffer when it goes wrong. It is really important that we work with individual owners, but also with sports regulators and governments, to create a long-lasting change.”

WHW has a focus in Britain, but also works with 16 other lower- and middle-income countries, especially in areas where equines are still used as working animals. “We are welfare advisors to the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), and we have close links with a number of different international federations.”

Partnership

Does the organisation ever meet resistance? Owers says no. “That’s a really good question. The key word here is partnership. We are not the people who know everything and go out to these countries and tell everyone to gather round. It’s very much about engaging people at all levels. So, we operate within working equine communities. We don’t actually have staff on the ground in any countries in which we work, rather we have partner organisations.”

What kind of assistance or expertise does the WHW offer to the likes of the FEI and others? “It is very much on the advice side of the fence; we are not a regulator, and would never seek to be. We don’t see it as our role to tell anyone to do anything.

“What we do see as our role is promoting sport as long as it’s undertaken responsibly, showing what that responsibility means, and providing guidance. We have given an annual presentation at the FEI General Assembly for nearly 30 years.”

The importance of social licence

A MAJOR focus for World Horse Welfare in recent years has been around the whole concept of social licence. It is a serious issue, though it remains a concept many people feel does not impact on them, or their sector.

Owers has a very different view. “All sports, but specifically equestrian sport, needs to maintain its social licence to operate. We need to talk about what it means, what the threats are to it, and then what people can do to protect and enhance that licence.

“We cannot view social licence as being a barrier. It is to a degree, but we have to recognise that society is changing over time, and there are certain cultural differences, even between Britain and Ireland. Go further afield and they are more pronounced. For example, in Britain we don’t eat horse meat, but they do in France.

“Social licence should be viewed not as a hindrance, but as an opportunity. Society is changing, asking more questions, but that is what a responsible society does. Gandhi said you can tell the status or standing of a country by how it looks after its animals. While there is much to be applauded within racing and the sport horse sector, there are areas where things could be done better.

Mob rule

“Yes, far too often the headlines are negative ones, telling the bad news of doping offences and fatalities. The concept of social licence is very much a long-term initiative – it is not about mob rule and responding to the latest social media campaign.

“What it is about is building trust with society, and there are two critical elements to that. It is showing clearly that you are doing right by the horses in your care. However, it is also then being able to tell people that story.

“It’s not all jam and honey – sometimes it’s bloody difficult, but you’ve got to be transparent and show people the actions you are taking. That is what builds the trust, and that creates the licence. If we are going to influence people at all levels, we need to have a greater awareness around what welfare is about.”

The fallout from the Panorama programme

“THERE’S no doubt it made for hugely troubling viewing and, you know, very distressing viewing. I think it raised a number of significant issues, not just for racing but for the wider horse sport world as well.

“In this world you have to try and turn any crisis around and get some good from it. The transport narrative that we saw in that programme was extremely distressing and completely unacceptable. It made very clear the fundamental importance of having a robust system for equine identification, and without that it’s very difficult to protect equine welfare on any level.

“It certainly raised some uncomfortable questions around sending horses to the abattoir, but it would be very easy to say, after that programme, that sending horses to the abattoir is wrong. We believe that abattoirs do have a role in protecting equine welfare. Clearly equines that are sent there need to be well cared for until the end, and within the regulations.

“I think it would be very easy to just put the Panorama programme into a box and say ‘it’s the slaughter of horses that is wrong’. We don’t believe that. We believe there are many troubling questions through the programme, but it’s very important to say that the issue of euthanasia and slaughter of thoroughbreds is not a story that can be driven underground.”

Rising to the challenge involves embracing change

ROLY Owers admits that there are challenging times in his role, but they are more than made up for by the days when some good is achieved. These wins don’t always have to be headlines stories.

“Sometimes it is the rescue and rehabilitation of an equine, or a rehoming, or it can be bigger issues around the fact that the EU and Britain are looking at welfare and transport legislation. When those days come along you want to sing from the roof tops. I am an optimist at heart, so even when we have something like the Panorama programme, you have got to say, ‘what are we going to do about it?’ We have to see some good come out of this.”

Head on

There are challenges ahead in all equestrian activities, but Owers says we have to face them head on. “If you look back there have been significant positives, tangible things in areas like eventing. The key area here is risk.

“I think that’s where racing is beginning to do so much more, developing this racing risk model, especially for National Hunt racing. You need to base changes on the evidence. I think the Grand National changes over the years have, in part, been done by that - look at where the greatest risks on the course are.

“There have been changes, but we would feel that certainly more needs to be done because our understanding of the science and research is advancing all the time.

“Our understanding of welfare and how we measure it is changing and evolving. We do have to move with the times. Take the basics of how we manage and care for our horses, having access to turn outs, how long they are stabled. When you look at the basics of management I think there is quite a lot still to be done, and it’s a matter of being more open-minded about how we do things.

“It’s not going happen overnight. The evidence base is evolving all the time, and therefore change has got to happen over time. You can’t just draw a line and say that’s it. If you do that then the sport is at great risk because that’s where real issues with the whole concept of social licence comes about.”

What is World Horse Welfare?

WORLD Horse Welfare (WHW) is an international charity that strives to support and improve the horse-human partnership in all of its guises. Their mission is to work with horses, horse owners, communities, organisations and governments to improve welfare standards, and to stamp out equine suffering in Britain and worldwide.

Founded in 1927 by Ada Cole, their approach to helping horses is based on four core principles; relevance, sustainability, practicality and, finally, evidence and experience. Their vision is a world where every horse is treated with respect, compassion and understanding.

WHW believes that horses and humans have evolved a unique partnership, and that horses have an important role in society which is as relevant today as it was 100 years ago. Whether working animals, family pets, equine athletes, conservation grazers or companions, it believes that horses contribute to our lives, cultures and economies, but, most importantly, this partnership is right so long as people take full responsibility for their welfare.

When WHW was founded it was as a campaigning organisation to prevent the export of live British horses for slaughter. Ada Cole was spurred into action after witnessing a procession of British work horses being unloaded and whipped for four miles to face slaughter in Belgium.

From the start her approach was to combine practicality with passion. A decade later protection for British horses being exported for slaughter was provided, and that legislation is still in place today. Since then they have continued to campaign, expanding their activities to include welfare and protection around the world.

Notable dates in their history include:

1927: Ada Cole founded the International League Against the Export of Horses for Butchery

1937: The charity’s name is changed to the International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH). The Exportation of Horses Act is introduced to effectively stop the export of live horses for slaughter from Britain.

1949: The charity’s first horse rescue centre opens in Britain.

1952-4: The introduction of laws protecting horses transported by sea and at slaughterhouses is due in large part to the ILPH.

1950-65: ILPH engages in activities to improve horse welfare in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Greece and South Africa.

1978: ILPH rehomes scores of old police horses and pit ponies, emerging as the largest equine rehoming charity in Britain.

1985: The ILPH’s first international training course is launched in Morocco after encouragement from Sir Peter O’Sullevan.

1994: HRH The Princess Royal becomes president of the ILPH.

1996: The ILPH hands a petition containing 3,286,645 signatures to the European Parliament to demonstrate public feeling against long-distance journeys of horses to slaughter.

2007: Regulations come into force improving conditions for horses transported long distances for slaughter in Europe.

2008: The ILPH is re-branded as World Horse Welfare. The charity becomes an associate member of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) after almost three decades as their welfare advisors.

2010: Written Declaration highlighting the horse slaughter transport trade is adopted by the European Parliament.

2014: WHW hosts the 7th International Colloquium on Working Equids.

2015: At the request of the European Commission, WHW and Eurogroup for Animals publishes the report ‘Removing the Blinkers: the health and welfare of European Equidae in 2015’, the first document setting out the scope, scale and welfare challenges of the European equine sector.

**See www.worldhorsewelfare.org