Editing Dressage (section)

== Cruelty to animals ==

The [[International Federation for Equestrian Sports]] (Fédération Equestre Internationale, FEI) Code of Conduct for the Welfare of the Horse states that "Training methods: Horses... must not be subjected to methods which are abusive or cause fear."
<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://inside.fei.org/system/files/Code_of_Conduct_Welfare_Horse_1Jan2013.pdf|title=The FEI Code of Conduct for the Welfare of the Horse|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410050807/http://inside.fei.org/system/files/Code_of_Conduct_Welfare_Horse_1Jan2013.pdf|archive-date=10 April 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> The FEI is sensitive to public perception of [[cruelty to animals]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lesté-Lasserre |first1=Christa |title=FEI Moves to Raise Equine Welfare Standards |url=https://thehorse.com/1121843/fei-moves-to-raise-equine-welfare-standards/ |agency=The Horse |date=May 11, 2023}}</ref> Their recently enacted Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission published [https://equinewellbeing.fei.org/key-documents.html recommendations and documents] to promote ethical and evidence-based equestrianism. The FEI has banned hyperflexion of horse’s neck, the [[Rollkur]] technique, but a July 2014 article in the Guardian notes that it was still in use.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kevany |first1=Sophie |title=‘Dressage is in trouble’: where is the line between horse abuse and training? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/24/dressage-is-in-trouble-where-is-the-line-between-horse-abuse-and-training |agency=The Guardian |date=July 24, 2024}}</ref> 

Equestrian journalist and horse welfare activist Julie Taylor has argued for equestrian dressage to be dropped from the Olympics.<ref>{{cite book | last=Taylor | first=Julie | title='I Can't Watch Anymore': the Case for Dropping Equestrian from the Olympic Games | date=2022-01-15 |publisher=Epona Media A/S| isbn=978-87-973543-0-8}} </ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|title='Dressage is in trouble': where is the line between horse abuse and training?|first=Sophie|last=Kevany|date=24 July 2024|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/24/dressage-is-in-trouble-where-is-the-line-between-horse-abuse-and-training}}</ref> The ban on star UK rider [[Charlotte_Dujardin#Animal_cruelty_allegations|Charlotte Dujardin]] before the Paris Olympics in July 2024 raised the public awareness on the welfare of dressage horses.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hunt |first1=Elle |title=‘The horses don’t choose to take part’: should equestrian sports be removed from the Olympics? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jul/31/the-horses-dont-choose-to-take-part-should-equestrian-sports-be-removed-from-the-olympics |website=[[The Guardian]] |publisher=[[Guardian Media Group]] |access-date=1 August 2024 |date=31 July 2024}}</ref>