Equine Behaviour during Show Jumping Competitions

Recently, the concept of social license to operate has reached the equestrian sports. The loss of trust from the public has been met with new rules and practices to increase equine welfare in competitions. In show jumping, courses are extremely fast, lasting around 60 seconds, meaning judges need to recognized and act fast when conflict behaviours are endangering the horse's wellbeing. Based on the observation of jumping courses and the horse's behavior, it can help further understand the reaction of the horses in a competition environment and how to better their wellbeing. Judges and other officials also benefit from this increase in knowledge, as it helps them to know when to act to protect the horse.