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Survey highlights public opinion of horses in sport

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World Horse Welfare has announced the results from its annual YouGov survey of public opinion, which this year focused on how the public’s view of equestrian sport is – or is not – influenced. This third annual survey underscores the consistency of public sentiment about equine participation in sports, and offers interesting insights into how that sentiment is shaped…

  • The number who feel their confidence in welfare in horse sport has been positively impacted by media coverage has grown from 10% in 2022 to 17% this year.
  • The leading factor that influences how much trust the public places in horse sport to protect horse welfare is what riders and those who are directly involved in horse sports say and do (28%), followed by what they see and hear in the media (25%), what people who are directly involved with horses (but not in horse sports) say and do (20%), and what the horse sports’ governing bodies say and do (18%).
  • The individuals or organisations that most influence the general public’s opinions about the involvement of horses in sport are animal welfare organisations (26%), followed by vets and animal health professionals (20%), and people they know who are involved with horses (18%). In contrast, those who interact regularly with horses were most influenced by people they know who are involved with horses (62%) followed by vets and animal health professionals (47%), and animal welfare organisations (35%), with only 12% having no opinion/not being influenced
  • Mainstream media influenced almost one in three respondents’ views on the involvement of horses in sport (29%), compared to only 14% who highlighted social media.
  • For those who interact regularly with horses, after television (44%), Facebook is the most popular source of horse sport-related content (41%)
  • The proportion of the public who do not support the use of horses in sport at all (20%), who support it only if welfare improves (41%) and those wanting increased welfare measures (56%) has barely changed in the past three years.

Roly Owers, Chief Executive of World Horse Welfare, said, “There has been some real momentum in parts of the horse world to improve welfare and safety in recent years, and it’s encouraging to see that media coverage is helping to boost public confidence.”

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