Equestrian X – Connecting You to the Global Equestrian Community

Equestrian x is a free app that helps you find horses, scout talent, keep an easy overview of videos and discreetly communicate and conduct business. Created by riders, it connects you to the global equestrian community.

For many people, horse riding is more than just a hobby or pastime. It’s a way of life. They spend hours each day at the barn, and are willing to give up their weekends to competitions. The sport can be expensive and challenging, but the rewards are immense.

Despite the popularity of the sport, there are concerns that equestrian athletes are not sufficiently protected from risk. As a result, the number of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) suffered by equestrians has increased significantly in recent years. While these incidents are not as common as they used to be, it is important for anyone who participates in equestrian sports to be aware of the risks and take steps to protect themselves.

The FEI has taken a number of measures to address these issues, and more will be implemented in the future. One of these is a new equestrian sport rule, which will require all riders to wear protective headgear when participating in jumping and dressage competitions. The rule also requires coaches and officials to be trained to recognize signs of a possible TBI in their participants.

In addition to these changes, the FEI has announced a new partnership with the National Safety Council to provide education and training for all equestrians, particularly coaches and officials. These educational programs will be based on the new FEI Sport Injury Prevention manual.

One of the major challenges facing equestrianism is evolving attitudes to ethics and equine wellbeing. The FEI has responded to these concerns by establishing the Equine Welfare Commission, which will develop independent, objective advice and recommendations to the FEI on equine welfare issues. However, the Commission will be dependent on the support of the equestrian world to succeed in its mission.

A key part of this support is the provision of behaviour change frameworks that have been proven to work. These include established models such as Michie et al ’s COM-B model and Behaviour Change Wheel. These have the potential to significantly enhance equestrianism’s capacity to improve animal welfare outcomes, and help ensure that horses and their riders remain safe in the future.

Xenophon, an ancient Greek military commander and horseman, is held up as the ultimate equestrian philosopher. He is known for his approach to horsemanship and his philosophies have influenced the development of classical dressage to this day. Despite this, he has been widely criticized for his treatment of horses.

Morgane Schmidt is an equestrian and a writer. Her humorous reflections on life with horses are published on her website, Life with Horses Is Never Orderly, and she writes the weekly column ‘At the Barn Door’ for Horse Nation. Her first book, a memoir called ‘Secrets of the Saddle’ was published in 2017. Her second, ‘Life with Horses’ is due to be released in 2021.