In April 2020 and in the interest of legacy I wrote a Wikipedia entry recording the thoughts and notable works of Harveywetdog. I admit I was ignorant of the rules concerning self promotion on Wikipedia and consequently my entry was correctly deleted and my account expunged from the system. As a result my original words and links were sadly lost but nevertheless here is a rewrite. Perhaps when I'm gone someone will be able to enter it onto Wikipedia as a fitting epitaph for my time on the Harveywetdog Project.
The Paris Olympics 2024; a great time to bury good news?
The last time we discussed the work of the FEI Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission (EEWC) they had made their final report and recommendations to the FEI Board and I suggested they had been kicked into the long grass while the FEI got the Olympic Games of Paris 2024 out the way. Well it transpires I was wrong; I now see the FEI Sports Forum met in April 2024 and set the action plan for the implementation of the EEWC recommendations.
The Action Plan is based on the work of the EEWC and comprises six priority areas of focus:
Training, Riding, Tack and Equipment
Recognised Physical and Emotional Stress
Accountability, Enforcement and Knowledge
The Other 23 Hours
Competitive Drive/Horse as a Number/Object
Not Fit to Compete/Masking Health Problems.
The focus areas were divided into action points and entered
into a matrix linking each point to the recommendations made by the EEWC,
persons or groups in charge of delivery, finances, and deadlines. A series of
other actions not linked to the six focus areas but addressing the EEWC
recommendations have also been incorporated into the Action Plan, including
education on the Five Domains of Animal Welfare approach, communications
strategy, and reporting mechanisms.
The EEWC Report outlined 30 recommendations – six of those
presented at an early stage in the Commission’s work – which had been divided
into six priority areas of focus - training and riding, tack and equipment;
recognising physical and emotional stress; accountability, enforcement and
knowledge; the other 23 hours (the life of horses outside of competition);
competitive drive; not fit to compete (masking health problems). Once combined,
the early recommendations, the Final Report recommendations and priority areas
of focus generated 62 action points.
The Commission had further outlined a suggested approach
urging the FEI to be a Leader; be Trusted; be Transparent; be ProActive; and be
Accountable, and had proposed tools for action.
This approach had informed the FEI Welfare Strategy, the
initial stage of which was presented at the session, based on a Welfare Vision
for a good life for horses, and a Welfare Mission, with the FEI serving as the
guardians of FEI horses by formulating and implementing rules, guidelines,
educational programmes and other initiatives. Where required, the FEI applies
sanctions to ensure good horse welfare with the overall mission to lead, drive
and develop equestrian sport globally.
The Five Domain Model
An
essential tool for action to deliver this Welfare Strategy is the Five Domain
model, which had been updated in 2020 to achieve and measure horse welfare
through nutrition, physical environment, health and fitness, and interactions
with the environment, with other horses and with humans. A positive mental
state equals good welfare.
The Action Plan
The 62 action points have been loaded into a matrix listing the actions
already put in place by FEI, possible future actions, ways for the FEI to
support and collaborate with the National Federations and other official
stakeholder groups, plus linking to the relevant domain of animal welfare.
At the 2024 sports Forum the FEI Veterinary and Legal Directors presented the main
elements of the matrix and provided details for some of the key proposed
actions, including a broader approach to reviewing tack and equipment; resuming
scientific research on hyperflexion and rollkur; and developing guidelines,
principles, rules and registration of trainers across the disciplines to ensure
ethical training methods.
"developing guidelines, principles, rules and registration of trainers across the disciplines to ensure ethical training methods"
Other key projects discussed in detail were the
development of harmonised post mortem reporting protocols in national events
with the support of the NFs; updating the FEI Code of Conduct for the Welfare
of the Horse in collaboration with World Horse Welfare; strengthening the
awareness and use of the FEI Equestrian Charter, and the implementation of an
Out of Competition Testing Programme.
An in-depth Communications strategy is to be developed and
will be presented at a special session at the FEI General Assembly 2024 in Oman
in November.
The FEI Secretary General emphasised that the FEI Welfare
Vision and Mission would inform all FEI activities going forward. She urged
participants to consult the presentation used during the session, urging Sports
Forum participants and the community as a whole to provide their feedback. This will be used as part of
developing a detailed action plan to be presented at this year’s FEI General
Assembly.
In order to implement the action plan FEI have set aside roughly £1 million. The action plan is available on the FEI website, in interactive format, and its effectiveness needs to be assessed by better equestrian minds than mine. While BEF are issued their Charter for the horse as a high level statement of intent the FEI encourage us to "Be a Guardian" of our horses to achieve the same goal.
It is hoped that "Be a Guardian" will be the central message that unites the
community around the FEI
Action Plan.
The term 'guardian' marks an evolution in the FEI's
narrative of the horse-human partnership, chosen to better represent the human
role in caring for horses and to underscore each individual's responsibility
for ensuring horse welfare.
Still a Long Way to Go?
So why haven't I heard about this until today? I can see nothing on the BEF website although I accept they will have been focused on Paris (plus some serious issues closer to home) during this time. Can it be, as I suggested in the title to my blog, that the Paris 2024 Olympics have been seen as a great time to bury good news?
We certainly have a lot to absorb and I assume that in the U.K. BEF are taking the FEI output and building it into a revision of “the rule book” to be published in 2025. Unfortunately many of the outputs of the FEI Equine Welfare Strategy Action Plan will only deliver in 2025, so we may see ourselves iterating all the way to Los Angeles 2028.
David spent approaching 50 years in Her Majesty's Electricity Supply Industry before retiring
He was part of the highly successful design team on the Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station Project before spending 25 years producing safety cases to keep our aging AGR fleet generating for the good of the nation
He is responsible for the Harveywetdog YouTube Channel which he maintains as an outlet for his creative talents
David is now in remission from blood cancer but refuses to be a victim
All views are now his own but might be influenced by the medication he's had to take
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