German FN to further promote horse welfare after conference
In early February, the German equestrian federation FN, to which Luxembourg’s FLSE is affiliated, addressed the welfare of young horses in their training as part of a summit.
According to pferd-aktuell.de, specialists and participants from a wide range of equestrian disciplines engaged intensively with the education, use, and competition comparison of young horses. Experts from sport, breeding, training, judging and veterinary medicine took part in the meeting, which was also attended by FN President Prof. Martin Richenhagen and CEO Dr. Dennis Peiler.
The basis for discussion was age-appropriate riding of young horses as part of a long-term training approach that preserves health. For years there has been debate about when and under what conditions three- or four-year-olds should be presented in public performance comparisons.
A willingness to change
According to the FN’s web portal, a central question at the summit was: How must the requirements for three-year-old horses be designed so that training is given even more priority and overtaxing is better avoided? Reducing stress and too heavy work load on young animals was one approach. In addition, young horses should be given an entry into competitive sport that better suits their age. “A high willingness to change at all levels” is required for this, according to Dr. Peiler.
Various perspectives became obvious at the young-horse summit, and procedures were reportedly critically examined. Concrete change proposals and new ideas were also developed. The first measures are to be implemented in 2026 at the so called Bundeschampionate, the German national championships, in which riders licensed with Luxembourg’s FLSE also regularly participate.
To advance the implementation process, the German FN is relying on a work group that brings together expertise from different disciplines. This group is to develop proposals on how young horses can be trained, presented and evaluated in the future. Much will be questioned, adapted and continuously assessed. One already implemented measure was the abolition of the foreign-rider test for three-year-olds at the Bundeschampionate. Various tasks were shortened, loads were reduced, and extending the strides of three-year-old horses is no longer part of the tests.
The summit made clear that the welfare of horses is a continuous process and not static. The aim is to develop equestrian sport so that, alongside qualitative improvements, it is also better accepted by the public in the long term.
Source: pferd-aktuell.de (in German)
Translated from German by AI and adjusted by Paul Krier.