We all think we know what is going on in the industry we love, but after serving as the chair of the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association Horse Welfare Commission for the past year, now I do know, and I can’t un-ring that bell. I was sickened, as anyone would be, to hear of some of the atrocities committed by those whose greed is causing harm to horses and to our industry.

The commission was put into place by past USHJA President Mary Knowlton, who felt strongly that a group of veterinarians and stewards should investigate reports of horse abuse and develop a plan to help end the many abuse issues in our industry. This was not an easy ask from Mary, given the sensitivity of the subject.

Our investigation brought forth disturbing issues of doping, physical and psychological mistreatment of horses, and aggressive, outdated training methods. Much of what some people do to the horse in an effort to win is hard to believe and impossible to understand.

“Much of what some people do to the horse in an effort to win is hard to believe and impossible to understand.”

There is a big difference between drugs used therapeutically and doping. Doping is the illegal use of drugs to create performance-enhancing results. The USHJA commission and U.S. Equestrian Federation veterinarians have identified many drugs being used illegally for doping, including substances such as injectable formaldehyde and pentobarbital, and they are prohibited. The complete list can be found in the USEF Rulebook under GR 414, Prohibited Practices, among the rule change proposals going to the USEF board of directors during its annual meeting in January.

It is important to realize that if the drugs named were not a current problem, they would not be listed.

Equally alarming, beyond the new list of prohibited substances that are seriously harmful to horses, the commission found far more abusive practices being used to win at any cost.

Winning At Any Cost

Our sport, like so many other sports and businesses, has bad actors. While they are the exception, they are willing to do anything to win. Just as horrifying are abuses caused by uneducated professionals. Often a rider ’s anger and frustration, caused by his or her own inadequacies, leads to tragic abuse. They simply have come to the end of their knowledge, but they should not be considered different than the person knowingly doping to win.

I have been made aware of people putting gasoline in a water bucket to stop a horse from drinking, thereby causing him to dehydrate and become lethargic. They disguise this practice, of course, so that those who know the importance of water to horses will think that proper care is being used in their barn.

I have been made aware of people hanging horses by tying their heads up high in a stall and leaving them there for hours. Just why would anyone think this method of teaching a horse a lesson would work? It is animal abuse. This practice has already caused one strangulation death of which I am aware. It was committed by an uneducated professional. This professional is still in business and does not appear to be embarrassed, sorry or ashamed. This person has clients and is attending USEF shows. Why? It appears no one turned them in. Not the owner of the horse, not the veterinarian, not the other clients in the barn. It appears many do not know what they should do or who to notify.

Everyone in this industry needs to know they can text 2USEF to report. It is an anonymous report.

The use of the euthanasia drug pentobarbital to create a quiet horse has truly caused our sport to hit rock bottom. Pentobarbital is a controlled substance that only a veterinarian may have in their possession to humanely euthanize an animal. What type of person—who is supposed to love horses and wants to be a top trainer—would stoop so low to use it to win a blue ribbon? What type of person is willing to bring a horse so close to death? More than that, what vet would dispense such a drug to a professional client to help them win? Both the vet and the professional have truly lost their moral compass in the name of keeping clients.

I don’t think this abuse is about winning money. Prize money is not the reason that most people are in our sport today. No, it’s about the professional proving to clients that they should entrust their horse or child to a professional who is a proven winner.

For some, winning has become a desperate pursuit, and those people are willing to destroy a horse to achieve a blue ribbon, gain industry fame or keep a client. They are willing to risk getting caught and banned for life from the sport.

Top catch-riders tell me they are becoming much more careful about accepting rides. They are aware that a doped horse is more likely to trip, stumble or fall. These things can happen when jumping a horse that hasn’t been doped, but the reaction time of a horse that is fully aware of where his feet are is less likely to cause catastrophic injury to himself or his rider.

I was sad to learn that some trainers and their clients won’t even participate in certain big events because they are not willing to endanger their horses and violate rules in order to successfully compete against trainers who may be doping or committing these other abuses. But these same trainers and clients are the people who could help to put an end to the greed and abusive practices that have crept into our sport and industry.

Strong and immediate response to all abuse is important. Aggressive sanctions for violations should be required. These are all important elements that will help ensure that our industry is socially accepted and sustainable in the future.

Owners need to realize the issues on the table for our sport. They should be just as responsible as the professionals they hire for ensuring their horses are not doped or abused. Shared accountability, with no excuse for not knowing, would encourage change.

Finding and working to eliminate the unscrupulous veterinarians dispensing illegal doping drugs has got to be a priority. They are licensed, and they should lose their licenses.

Cleaning Our Own House

Beyond the most heinous examples of doping and abuse, there is still more to be done to ensure we clean bad actors out of our industry and put the horses first. Here are just a few of those things:

• Professional licensing: I believe we need to license everyone. A license—not a certification—should require a full curriculum of education and practical experience for every aspect of our profession.

We need a “professional equine sport pathway” that works to ensure the person responsible for the care and development of the horse and/or athlete is qualified. It would include professionals, assistants, grooms and amateurs. No one should be able to just become a professional after they turn 18. No one without a license should be allowed to train, teach or compete at a USEF competition without an education on best practices and humane, socially accepted training methods.

• Define what constitutes a responsible show schedule: How many classes should a horse compete in within a week? How many in a month? How many in a year? 

Racing and several other equine sport federations are analyzing this now, and I believe it is something our industry must do as well. I have seen data showing a single horse competing in over 15 classes in a weekend. Some say flat classes don’t count. I wonder how the 18-year-old horse feels about that. 

• Independent policing: Stewards should not be selected and hired by show management. Just like the NBA or NFL, rather than the teams playing selecting referees for their games, USEF should assign stewards. 

Stewards that depend on show management for their next paycheck have a conflict-of-interest factor that they should not have to navigate. They need to be paid well and work appropriate hours, and they must be able to issue yellow cards and report violations without feeling the pressure of job loss. The old method of “just let the problem go with a warning” is not OK anymore. 

Similarly, I would like to see independent night and day watch. Night watch sees everything. They walk the barns and check the stalls. The good ones leave hourly notes for the horse’s connections to see the next day. They catch the start of a colic, fill water buckets, and help cast horses get up. They can document the abuse they find and report immediately to USEF the horse involved, so the organization knows what owner and professional is not meeting best practices. We need night watch in every barn at the shows. 

• Random tack room and tack truck inspections: Probably not legal, but I like the idea. 

• Regulating longeing: Longeing areas need to be fenced and locked at night. Longeing sessions should be timed by a longeing supervisor. 

• No junior should be allowed to give an injection: This is happening now, but do the juniors even know what they are giving and the effect it will have on a horse, short- or long-term? Do they realize their liability? I think for the most part they do not. 

• Use of the crop: A rule change is being proposed regarding use of the whip. The phrase “consecutive hits” is being discussed, but in my opinion there is no need for the word “consecutive.” The word “whip” should be changed to “crop,” and the allowed length of a crop needs to be shorter. If there is a welt on the horse, even after only one strike of the crop, a yellow card should be issued. A rider who gets three yellow cards should be temporarily suspended. 

The Fédération Equestre Internationale and USEF are cracking down and passing new rules and regulations. At the U.S. Equestrian Federation Annual Meeting in January, the list of substances prohibited on show grounds will be voted on as an extraordinary rule change that, if approved, will be implemented April 1, 2025. 

I believe many in our sport thought that only horse racing would feel the pressure of social license to operate and the spotlight of animal rights groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Not so; these groups will pursue an aggressive agenda to shut down the use of horses in all equine sports if the sport federations do not step up and clean out bad actors and abuse. 

This is not something that is going away. We can face the issues, or we can deny they exist and be ignorant until horse sports are shut down. Personally, I choose to stand up and work for a clean sport and a healthy sustainable industry. 

A Final Warning 

Any abuse that endangers the horse or the rider’s life or horse’s quality of life, including doping, hanging a horse or throwing it to the ground and withholding food or water, unless directed by a veterinarian, should carry the penalty of an automatic ban for life. 

To the bad actors in our sport: I want to remind those using the practices mentioned that you have neighbors at the show, stabled in the same barn, and many of us know who you are. Your actions can be recorded. Someone will turn you in. Prosecution without evidence won’t happen, but surveillance can and will be something your neighbors can do. I think we can win the war against abuse. It will take all of us to participate in cleaning up our sport. I am hoping many will feel the same disgust I feel when seeing this abuse. See something, say something. An anonymous text to 2USEF is all it takes to report abuse.

I’ll end with this thought. I am clear that all of us, myself included, may have done something in the past that we wish we hadn’t. We have been embarrassed by our own lack of control and knowledge. We were angry. Instead of stepping back and taking a breath, we lashed out. Some of us were trained by those who used abusive training methods, and they were trained by someone who used abusive training methods. 

But we know better now. New training methods, vocabulary and attitudes will need to evolve, or we will not succeed as an industry. Perhaps the one thing that brings it all together, the horse, will be lost. The worst result of no horse sport is no horses. 

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DiAnn Langer is president of the Youth Show Jumping Foundation, which is dedicated to the education of horsemanship, sportsmanship and sport integrity for equestrian youth and their future as the guardians of the horse. She serves as the USEF Show Jumping Youth chef d’equipe. She owns Red Top Farm Retirement and Hunter/Jumper Training in Johnston, South Carolina. She earned the 2024 USHJA Lifetime Achievement award. The opinions expressed in this article are her own and not that of any organization she represents. 

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This article originally appeared in the December 2024 issue of The Chronicle of the Horse. You can subscribe and get online access to a digital version and then enjoy a year of The Chronicle of the Horse. If you’re just following COTH online, you’re missing so much great unique content. Each print issue of the Chronicle is full of in-depth competition news, fascinating features, probing looks at issues within the sports of hunter/jumper, eventing and dressage, and stunning photography.