Every piece of equipment on a horse’s head is designed to apply pressure. Presenting to the ANZCVS Animal Welfare Chapter, Cristina Wilkins used a photographic dataset from elite competition to argue that curb bits and nosebands routinely exceed the biological limits of the tissues they act on — and block every attempt a horse makes to resolve them.
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Unlike most reports quoting only veterinarians, this analysis comes from Dr James Cooling—a medical doctor, qualified bit-fitter, and rider. He explains why blue tongues in elite horses are not cosmetic, but clear evidence of pressure, pain, and compromised welfare.
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In this final paper, the late Dr Robert Cook reviews decades of anatomical, physiological, and behavioural research showing how bits cause pain, breathing restriction, and performance loss in horses. He argues that allowing bit-free options across all disciplines would improve welfare, enhance safety, and restore public trust in equestrian sport.
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Commonly employed husbandry, training and other management practices used with racehorses and...
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The joint position paper by the members of the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE)...
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Many features of the Thoroughbred Horseracing sector have been seriously challenged from an animal...
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Horse welfare is difficult to talk about, almost impossible sometimes! It is probably because many...
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Without food, a horse’s expectation of life is measured in weeks; without water, in days; without...
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A critique by Professor Emeritus David Mellor, ONZM, of the website Horse PWR, British...
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This post is an AI aided translation of the online article published by Le Parisien, following up...
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Last Sunday’s edition of Le Parisien, a French daily newspaper with a circulation of over a...
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Racing representatives from around the world have been urged “to positively engage with both...
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