What you must report and how to (anonymously) do it
By Jennifer O. Bryant
Reprinted from the July/August 2025 issue of USDF Connection.
In his address to the USDF Board of Governors at the 2024 Adequan®/USDF Annual Convention, US Equestrian Federation (USEF) chief of sport David O’Connor said: “You change or you get changed.” He was referring to the horse industry’s collective need to put more teeth into their equine-welfare rules, in view of several high-visibility cases of unethical treatment of horses that have cost the industry valuable currency in the “court of public opinion” known as social license to operate, or SLO.
Although some of the high-profile equine-welfare cases have concerned horse racing and sports such as the hunter/jumper disciplines and modern pentathlon, dressage has received perhaps the most scrutiny and public criticism, with cases including alleged mistreatment of horses by such high-profile riders/trainers as the Colombian-American international competitor Cesar Parra and British Olympic dressage gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin. Both Parra and Dujardin appear in videos taken by observers that were shared on social media and with the equestrian governing organizations; the fact that the incidents in both cases took place not on show grounds but at private facilities presumably were a factor in equine-welfare rules’ being expanded to allow the governing organizations to take action against offenders even if an incident took place outside the scope of their own competitions.
Rules have changed rapidly, and equine enthusiasts may have a hard time keeping up. Critical in helping to uphold the highest standards of equine welfare is understanding what actions constitute unethical treatment of horses, and also being clear on what you should do if you believe you have witnessed an infraction. In this article, we’ll explain.
Definitions and Rules
The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) publishes an Equine Cruelty Abuse Neglect FAQ. It states: “The legal definitions and even the legal definition of ‘animal’ vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and clinic descriptions and public perceptions may vary from statutory terminology. Nevertheless, the following are commonly used to describe the types of animal maltreatment seen in practice.” The AAEP goes on to list its eight legal terms: animal abuse, animal cruelty, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, hoarding, neglect, and non-accidental injury (NAI).
USEF General Rule (GR) 838.1, The Unethical Treatment of a Horse (formerly Cruelty to and Abuse of a Horse), describes unethical treatment as “any action or omission that causes or is likely to cause pain or unnecessary discomfort to a horse,” including actions that can lead to “physical or emotional distress, such as excessive use of equipment, hyper- or hypo-sensitization, or denial of basic necessities.” These actions include:
- Excessive use or misuse of a whip, spur, or bit, including use for punishment rather than to provide encouragement
- Misuse of any equipment or device, including tack
- Creating hyper- or hypo-sensitization to enhance performance
- Any practice or devices to enhance performance based on fear or intimidation
- Restricting access to food or water, except under the guidance of a licensed veterinarian
- Withholding medical treatment for a prolonged period
- Training, riding, or competing a horse with raw, bleeding, or irritated skin consistent with inappropriate use of equipment, including spurs
- Riding, driving, or lungeing an obviously exhausted, lame, or injured horse.
Passed in June 2024 in the wake of the Parra scandal, which had broken that January, the GR 838.1 changes were further amended that December, expanding the scope of USEF jurisdiction to include not only its licensed competitions, but also private barns and stables (with the recognition that the organization does not have the authority to make site visits to private property). USEF GR 702, which describes the actions constituting violations committed by individual USEF members, was similarly amended.
What Does This Mean for You?
You might be wondering: Now what? What should you do if you believe you may have witnessed mistreatment of a dressage horse?
Start by recognizing that USEF GR 838.1 expects mandatory reporting from participants (we’ll define that term in a minute), who can report suspected unethical treatment directly to a licensed official at a USEF-licensed competition or, if witnessed elsewhere, to the USEF organization. This expectation stems from the fact that USEF does not have government authority to investigate or pursue violations. It cannot get a search warrant. So it relies on its officials and witnesses to file reports and to participate honestly in this process.
Any person of any age, regardless of whether they are a USEF member and including including individuals with green cards, may report alleged rule violations or unethical treatment of equines.
So who is a “participant”? Pretty much anybody. According to the USEF GR 838 Implementation Guide, a participant is any person who is or has been a USEF member; has participated in a USEF-licensed or -endorsed competition as a rider, vaulter, driver, handler, owner, lessee, trainer, coach, groom, competition veterinarian, or support personnel for any of these roles; or is present on the grounds of a USEF-licensed or -endorsed competition.
And no, you can’t make an accusation to spite someone you have a beef with. USEF warns that “anyone reporting a violation or suspected violation must be acting in good faith and have reasonable grounds for believing the information disclosed indications a violation. Any allegations that prove not to be substantiated and that prove to have been made maliciously or knowingly to be false will be viewed as a serious disciplinary offense and will be considere a rule violation, subjecting the reporting party to disciplinary action.”
How to Make a Report
USEF offers several avenues for filing a report of alleged unethical treatment:
- Send an anonymous text message to 2USEF
- Send an e-mail message to generalcounsel@usef.org
- Visit the USEF website (usef.org) and click the red File a Report button (find it under Horse Welfare/Unethical Treatment of a Horse)
- Call USEF at (859) 225-6954
Be prepared to provide:
- Unaltered photos and/or videos
- Names/contact information on anyone involved
- Name/information on each horse involved
- Where the misconduct occurred
- A detailed description of what occurred.
Within five business days of filing, the resolution process—Report, Intake, Investigation, and Action— should begin and may take several months, depending on the complexity of the case.
If the alleged mistreatment is severe or if it occurred at a Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) competition, it should be reported to the FEI. FEI Rule 142.2, Abuse of Horses, states that “Any person witnessing an abuse must report it without delay. If an abuse is witnessed during or in direct connection with an Event, it should be reported as a protest (Article 161) to an official. If the abuse is witnessed at any other time, it should be reported to the FEI through the FEI Horse Abuse Reporting Form. Following a review of the report, the FEI shall take a decision as to whether or not to open disciplinary proceedings (either through the administrative disciplinary procedure or by referring the matter to the FEI Tribunal).”
The FEI Horse Abuse Reporting Form (inside.fei.org/abuse-of-horse-report-form) can be filed anonymously and bolstered with supporting evidence of the alleged incident using a WeTransfer link for videos and images.
Change for the Better
Despite their grim origin, the words necessitating the original USEF rule-change proposal are holding up and stepping up: “The social license under which equestrian sport operates requires that horses be treated as athletic partners and receive appropriate training as required by all athletes. In competing and preparing for competition, horse welfare must be paramount at all times.”
For more, including additional equine-welfare resources, visit usef.org/compete/regulation/reportingprocesses/unethical-treatment-of-a-horse.
Note: In July 2024, a day after video was released showing her whipping a ridden dressage horse from the ground several years prior, Charlotte Dujardin withdrew from the 2024 Olympic Games and was provisionally suspended by the FEI. In December 2024, the FEI suspended Dujardin for one year and fined her 10,000 Swiss francs.
After videos and photos were released showing him whipping horses and committing other alleged abuses, Cesar Parra received provisional suspensions from the FEI and the USEF in February 2024. At press time, the investigation was ongoing.
Thanks to Laura Roberts and Carly Weilminster of the US Equestrian Federation for their help with this article.
