vet injecting a horse in the pastern

Equine Veterinarian Calls For Intervention Into Reining Horses Shown Drugged

/19 Comments/in

A well-known equine veterinarian has written to the NRHA for intervention authority where animal welfare concerns are seen in the show pen. In an openly published letter the vet wants rule changes for the requirement of veterinarians on site to conduct examinations where concerns are seen in relation to animal welfare such as reining horses shown drugged, and other welfare violations following the observation of the distressed horse competing recently at a major show. Scroll down to read the letter.

With prize pools in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the questions need to be asked:

  1. Should Welfare and Drugging Rules of Western Events be managed by an independent body to ensure the highest standards are upheld in the interest of the horses. An example is the racing industry with the establishment of the HSIA   
  2. Does the board of directors of NRHA have a conflict of interest in managing and enforcing welfare and drug rules when they are involved in the breeding, training and showing of horses?
Self-regulation is not working for the horses.

 

Watch the video of the incident that has raised alarms across the world. Scroll down further to read the letter.

The publicly published letter was written to the NRHA on February 10th, 2022.