06 July 2022

Statement on riding horses

Redwings appreciates that there is controversy around the issue of working with horses and this subject divides many people who love these remarkable animals. As an equine welfare charity, we always work to prioritise and promote the health and wellbeing of our rescued residents and horses are only ever brought under saddle gradually and with constant monitoring of their willingness and comfort, so they can be withdrawn and either rehomed as a non-ridden companion or returned to Sanctuary life. We are very aware that horses have limited ways to tell us when they are not comfortable and we have spent a great deal of time training staff to be alert to even small signs of pain or stress. No Redwings horse ever has to learn that putting up with discomfort is preferable to an unwelcome alternative, so we feel we can be confident of an honesty in their communications with us that allows us to adapt to their needs rather than their having to adapt to ours. Redwings offers permanent, unconditional Sanctuary care to well over 1,500 equines, which far exceeds the number of ridden horses we place in loan homes, demonstrating that being brought into work is an option, not a necessity. Rehoming willing horses to suitable homes is undertaken with great care, and we continue to monitor and support the wellbeing of all our horses in loan homes. It is an important way of enabling rescued horses to have a secure future while helping us find space to rescue more horses in need. We are already very restricted on the space we can find for emerging welfare situations, and to have to turn away horses in need would be incredibly tough for any charity. We also need to accept that there are around a million horses in the UK and the vast majority of these are used for the purposes of riding and driving. We want to be able to impact positively on the welfare of these tens of thousands of individuals, which means we have to work with the industry rather than disengage ourselves from it. Caring well for a horse takes significant time, money and effort and if no horses were ridden, the simple truth is that very few would secure the committed, caring home each individual deserves. Redwings firmly believes in the value of horses in ways beyond riding and will continue to promote this often-underrated aspect of spending time with equines, but we also need to remain engaged with the fundamental purpose most horses are kept for. Redwings does have many questions and concerns about multiple aspects of how humans interact with horses. This includes not just riding, but handling from the ground. We are constantly reviewing and updating our own practices and are starting to work with new techniques whereby horses can signal their consent to interact with us which we welcome as a very new approach to gauging their own wishes in a given situation. By researching and developing our own knowledge and methodologies, and by having a voice within the equestrian world, we hope we can help shape a far better future for horses through systemic change. We know this will take time and there are few simple or universally accepted answers at present, but we know difficult discussions and decisions will be part of that process.