By Cristina Wilkins 24th April 2025

In February, our research team submitted a formal letter to the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), including photographic evidence currently under review in our academic work, in which we expressed concerns for the welfare of elite dressage horses. In response, we were invited to present our findings to the FEI Veterinary Committee, and that meeting took place on 9 April 2025.

For the first time, Crispin Parelius Johannessen’s widely circulated photographs have been animated into “moving pictures,” revealing that the documented welfare concerns—such as blue tongues, compressed tissues, and restricted airways—are not isolated moments, but representative of entire performances.

We believe that the scientific foundation that we present is sufficient to support recognition and reform. Our aim is not to assign blame, but to safeguard horses with informed solutions.

Horse Sport By: Pippa Cuckson | April 21, 2025 Horse Sport

World-renowned scientists tell the FEI that harm to sport horses is hiding in plain sight, giving no reason to delay reforms.

Hest.no Maren G. Kalleberg Ansvarlig redaktør 22. april 2025, 14:00

Den allerede eksiterende vitenskapelige kunnskapen er mer enn tilstrekkelig for å konkludere med at bildene viser skade, mener forskergruppen som i februar sendte et bekymringsbrev til FEI.

EPONA.tv by Julie Taylor 22. april kl. 13:01

Do not look away. Bridle pain evident in elite dressage horses. Concerned scientists have briefed the FEI. Photos of crushed tongues and jaws are not just moments in time. Watch the full presentation, get a rare peek into the massive photo archives of Olympic level dressage horses performing in sport, and hear world famous scientists explain why change is needed.

Link in comments. Or use the QR code at the end of the video.

Tidningen Ridsport AVCATHARINA HANSSON23 APRIL 22:09

Blå tungorNu kan alla ta del av den presentation som en forskargrupp för hästvälfärd nyligen gjorde för FEI:s veterinärkommitté. Mötet hölls efter att gruppen skickat ett upprop till FEI tillsammans med en stor mängd bilder på hästar med gapande munnar, blå tungor och korta halsar.

Horse&Hound Eleanor Jones29 April, 2025 16:25

The FEI has acknowledged the need to “explore a more balanced and comprehensive view of the sport”, after evidence was provided of “potential welfare issues hiding in plain sight”.

The term “bit blindness”, coined in 2020, emphasises that after its inception four millennia ago, bit use in horses has long been normalised [1,2]. Moreover, not only has the use of bits been normalised, so too were the distinctive behaviours associated with that use. Indeed, this dual normalisation was so widely accepted that when published evidence increasingly showed bit-induced mouth pain was the cause of clearly identifiable behaviours within the normalised spectrum [e.g., 3-11], it shocked equestrians who believed it [12].

In this compelling critique, Professor Emeritus David Mellor examines a recent study published in Animals by Kathryn Nankervis, Jane Williams, Diana Fisher, and Russell MacKechnie-Guire. Mellor questions the almost complete absence of references to bit-induced mouth pain, and a failure to comprehensively evaluate the associated welfare concerns.

Curb bits are very powerful, second-class levers of the 'nutcracker' or 'lemon squeezer' type. They are literally a 'tongue, lips and bars squeezer'. They are meant to enforce poll flexion with minimal rider effort - through pain or the threat of pain as the mouthpiece compresses the tongue, lips and bars. Like all bits, curbs ARE A WELFARE RISK Horses are at risk because riders can easily underestimate the mechanical advantage and how it amplifies the pressure the horse is receiving on sensitive tissues.

Some dressage horses, even Olympic champions, have blue tongues when they are ridden. Why is this happening? This video exposes some of the evidence, and suggests that tight nosebands are at the centre of the problem - aiding and abetting training practices that are leading to blue tongues; which means that some riders may not realise this is likely to violate the animal welfare legislation in many countries they compete in. This is not good news, for the horses, riders, the sport, and all the businesses who rely on them.

This video explains what the social licence to operate is; why it affects horse sports, and why tack and equipment is at the top of the FEI's priority list for welfare reform. I presented this at the Horse Welfare Conference 2024, hosted by the Danish Knowledge Centre for Animal Welfare and the Centre for Research in Companion Animal Welfare. The conference sold out in less than two weeks, demonstrating the strong interest in horse welfare.

In July, the traditional Falsterbo International Horseshow took place as usual. These photos are of Tørveslettens Stamina who has replaced Akeem Foldager as Andreas Helgstrand's premier Grand Prix horse. The pair took part in the FEI Longines Nations Cup dressage and the Danish team came 4th. These photos (scroll down for link to all photos) were taken over two days in Falsterbo and sent to us by photographer Crispin Johannessen.

"Why do you always publish this type of pictures of Andreas Helgstrand?" That's a question we get sometimes and only one answer is needed: "Because you are still asking that question". As long as there are people who can look at photos like these and only pity the person holding the reins, we have a job to do. Remnants of taboo to shatter. But for those who really want to know what makes Andreas Helgstrand hit the headlines again and again, here's a brief history lesson from the only people who can tell you the truth about Epona.tv.

The Danish Equestrian Federation has finished its investigation of the controversial photos of Tørveslettens Stamina and Andreas Helgstrand at Falsterbo this year. According to a press release issued today, the Danish FN sees no evidence in the photos that a steward ought to have intervened on welfare grounds. However, to protect the image of the sport and himself, Andreas Helgstrand has been asked to make sure all his warm up sessions are video filmed from now on and the footage made available to the federation's officials.

What the eye can't see; equestrian photo controversy through the ages Why do fans of horse sport find it so difficult to believe their eyes when they see photographs of ugly riding? The usual explanation is that you can't make up your mind based on "a single moment in time". But fine art photographer and lifelong horseman, Crispin Parelius Johannesen, offers a different perspective: Perhaps equestrian fans believe too much in moments in time. Perhaps the strict policing of the moments in time published in the popular, equestrian press has given people the wrong idea about what riding really looks like. In this feature, Crispin Johannessen takes us through a short history of equestrian photography and moment-in-time controversy. From Edweard Muybridge to the present horse welfare debate. Copyright Epona.tv - all rights reserved.

Sometimes your horse needs "more motivation than what is beautiful" "Sometimes your horse needs more motivation than what is beautiful" - the quote is from an article in Sweden's premier equestrian newspaper from 2016. In the aftermath of ugly warm up photos from Falsterbo Horse Show causing a scandal on social media, the publication sought to calm its readers by reminding them that riding isn't always beautiful. To photographer Crispin Parelius Johannessen, this quote sums up the problem faced by equestrian sport. Riding is not always beautiful. In fact, it is usually ugly. And nowadays, every spectator carries in their pocket the power to expose it. Copyright Epona Media A/S - all rights reserved All photos and video courtesy of Crispin Parelius Johannessen.

FEI stewards are on an impossible mission. They have to be of service to the riders but they also have the job of protecting the horses against abuse from those same riders. As scientific evidence has emerged that competition horses are suffering from excessively tight nosebands, a new and thankless job has been added to the list for the stewards. They now have to be seen to perform noseband checks on nosebands which we all know are too tight to pass. And the stewards have to do this without embarrassing the riders or - Heaven forbid - give out any yellow cards for abuse. In 2016, photographer Crispin Parelius Johannessen decided to document the elaborate theater that is the mandatory noseband check. Here is what he found. Photos and video from Falsterbo Horseshow 2016 courtesy of Crispin Parelius Johannessen Copyright Epona.tv - all rights reserved

At Epona.tv, we don't just know that we're not welcome at horse shows. We also know why. We know because years ago, show organisers, stewards and riders used to be honest enough to admit that they didn't want us to show the ugly images from the warm up. Eventually, they learned not to say that. It doesn't sound like a very good reason to prevent journalists from doing their jobs, and major media outlets were becoming interested by all the secrecy. So the sport invented a new reason: Broadcasting rights. The IOC tried it in 2012. The FEI European Dressage Championships tried it in 2013. In 2017, Falsterbo Horse Show decided to introduce a hasty photo ban when it became clear that Epona.tv was documenting what was happening in the warm up arena. Here's the story of how we managed to get thrown out by the police for simply showing the world what equestrian sport really looks like. All still images used in this video are courtesy of Crispin Parelius Johannessen. This feature was originally published on www.epona.tv in 2017 Copyright Epona Media A/S - all rights reserved

‘Catalogues what happens to sport horses in plain sight … should be compulsory reading for all of us who care about horses.'— Professor Paul McGreevy BVSc, PhD, FRCVS, Professor of Animal Welfare and Behavioural Science, University of Sydney

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Passionate, yet rigorous and meticulously researched, this eye-opening book holds equestrian sport up to Olympic standards and finds it sadly wanting.

Doping agents that used to cost Olympic medals, rebranded as benign ‘medication’. Shell federations with no riders or horses, propped up to make the sport seem ‘global’. Judging that favours spectacle over the welfare of the horse. From the failure to prevent rollkur, to the easing of the ‘blood rule’ to appease riders, to horses competing with the nerves in their legs cut to numb the pain of injuries: this is a tale of entitlement, privilege, and spineless regulation, always at the expense of the horse.

This compelling book challenges the reader to confront the reality of high-level equestrian competition today and say, along with so many others, ‘I can’t watch anymore’.

cover photo @Crispin Parelius Johannessen

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