UN introduced World Horse Day only in 2025
On July 11th, World Horse Day will be celebrated for only the second time.This day was established in 2025 by the UN at the initiative of Mongolia. According to kuriose-feiertage.de, there are more horses than people living in this country. July 11th was chosen as the date because it is Mongolia’s national holiday.
Traditionally, the Naadam Festival takes place during this period, focusing on equestrian sports and horse racing. The United Nations honors Mongolian equestrian culture by choosing this date. According to the UN, designating such a day of recognition for horses would increase media attention, which in turn would, for example, raise awareness of abuses.
Ideally, this attention would then be followed by concrete actions in implementing measures for animal welfare. Furthermore, this day aims to highlight the economic importance of horses, to illustrate that around 600 million people worldwide depend directly or indirectly on horses, donkeys, and mules, and also to help preserve a cultural heritage.
Translated from German by AI and adjusted by Paul Krier. Original article was also published in the “Lëtzebuerger Bauer” weekly newspaper.