Today the Hoof Blog offers a preview of some key points in this report.
Authors of the report are three leading competition horse veterinarians who attended the Summit: Drs. Kent Allen, Stephen Schumacher, and Tracy Turner.
In a hurry? Use this link to download the full report.
The authors believe the care and safety of horses is a collective responsibility of veterinarians, trainers, and owners, with veterinarians prioritizing the horse’s health over competitive pressures.
The paper encourages future research in the following areas:
USEF is seeking donor support for these research efforts through its Chromatic Fund, a collaborative initiative of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, US Equestrian (USEF), breeder KC Branscomb, and The Foundation for the Horse.
Background
In March 2025, 28 veterinarians gathered at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida to review this agenda:
- Examinations and preventative health measures
- Injury prevention and management
- Fitness to compete
- Wearable technology/biometrics
- Science-based treatments vs. anecdotal evidence-based treatments, including joint injections, vitamins and minerals, nutrition, homeopathy, and shockwave
- Treatment modalities
- Research priorities
Summary report now published
According to US Equestrian, the white paper includes input from all the veterinarians who attended the gathering. Titled 2025 US Equestrian Veterinary Summit Best Practices, the paper may be read online or downloaded by clicking this link.The authors believe the care and safety of horses is a collective responsibility of veterinarians, trainers, and owners, with veterinarians prioritizing the horse’s health over competitive pressures.
The document includes useful definitions of terms like "fitness to compete", which is understood by the authors to refer to a horse’s overall readiness, health status, and freedom from doping.
The paper encourages future research in the following areas:
- Competition numbers: how frequently horses are entered in shows and how often they compete, compared alongside demographics such as age, competitive success, and injury history;
- Longevity at various levels of competition compared with frequency of competition;
- Appropriate nutrition options to limit the need for post-competition “muscle recovery” treatments;
- Evaluation of potential “recovery” biomarkers to assess appropriate treatments;
- Evaluation of wearable technology to gauge fitness and preparation (already being done in eventing), as well as impacts of pollution, heat, and shipping;
- Detection of shockwave biomarkers.
Information for this article was provided by the US Equestrian Federation and was edited into bullet points and quotes by your editor for quicker reading on phone screens.
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