As a coach / judge / manager of an equestrian  centre, I have a duty of care… a duty of care not only to my students or my riders but also to the horses that I work with, and to the equestrian industry as a whole.

What is “duty of care”? It is the moral or legal responsibility not to allow someone to be harmed. 

Why is this important? It is because horses have no voice. That is why it is so important that they have an advocate. This advocate is YOU! Whether you are a rider, horse owner, coach, judge or an official in the equestrian industry, you should be a good advocate for the horse.

We have to take into consideration ; good horse welfare, good horse management, fair and correct training methods, good farriery / tack / transportation. If we see something that is detrimental to the above, we need to speak up, educate and make things right for the horse.

Therefore it is imperative that we are also educated and updated with our knowledge. Do we know what is good for the horse, do we know what is correct feeding methods for the horse and what types of feed suits them best, do we know how to spot signs of lameness or injury, do we know the function of the equipment that we use and do we know how to use it correctly. Do we know the correct training principles?

The above is especially important if you are a coach. If you are coaching students, they rely on you to mentor them. They may be first time horse owners and need you to tell them when the horse is lame or not right. We owe it to our students to teach them correctly and fairly and to also instill not only good horse management, but also good sportsmanship. Are we teaching them to blame the horse when things go wrong or are we teaching them to be accountable for their own actions? Are we teaching them to be good sports and good losers?

If you send your student out into the competition ring, it is your duty to make sure that they know the rules of the competition and what tack / equipment they are allowed to use. It is not fair to the rider if they get eliminated for wrong tack because they were not taught accordingly. Teach your students where they can find the rules and encourage your students to learn about good horsemanship.

As officials / coaches / judges etc., I believe that we are role models. Someone somewhere will be looking at us and following our lead. How we carry ourselves, how we behave towards the horses, our colleagues etc., how we portray ourselves, not just in real life but also on social media matters a great deal.

The equestrian industry can only improve if everyone believes that they have a duty of care and exercises it accordingly, putting ego and arrogance aside for the betterment of the sport and the welfare of the horse.