Martin Fuchs, the swiss steeplechase current number one in the world, has been criticized for using a whip in the FIMA Federation's three-star Linze obstacle course three months ago. Earlier, Fox issued a statement saying it had no intention of abusing the horses. Recently, the International Horse Federation and the Swiss Animal Welfare Organization have also responded to this.
The FIA replied that the use of whips did not violate THE IMA regulations and that after inspecting the horses, no signs of encroachment on the welfare of the horses were found. In addition, Foss explained to the judge the situation clearly. The FIA also mentions the rules for the use of whips: whips cannot be used as a tool to vent anger, cannot be whipped on the horse's head, and riders can only use the whip up to three times. In addition, after leaving the race, the relevant personnel did not find any traces of whip whipping on the horses.
The Swiss Animal Welfare Organization, on the other hand, shared the opinion of their Austrian colleagues that the use of whips was a violation of the welfare of horses. This was reported to the Government in accordance with the rules of Switzerland and Austria.
In fact, this is not the first time that a well-known equestrian athlete has been accused of violating the welfare of horses. At last year's Tokyo Olympics, a modern pentathlon competition in which riders were suspected of abusing horses in order to compete for results caused an uproar, which once put the modern pentathlon and even equestrian events in danger of being kicked out of the Olympic Games (in fact, the modern pentathlon equestrian sub-event has been determined to be replaced by other events after the Paris Olympics). Some time ago, Ludger Beerbaum, the father of German equestrianism, was exposed by television to have abused horses in training, and in February this year, two-time Olympic equestrian gold medalist Mark Todd was also exposed to abusing horses during training. In the face of video evidence, Mark Todd acknowledged the authenticity of the video on social media and apologized for it.
It is understood that the exposed video was released by a British triathlon rider who initially posted a short video on TikTok and later a longer video on Instagram. The video was taken two years ago, in which Mark Todd repeatedly whipped (more than ten times) a horse that did not want to jump off the riverbank.
The British Horse Racing Authority (BHA) has announced the suspension of all Todd's duties after learning of the incident, meaning he is not allowed to race horses in the UK or elsewhere in the world while the incident is being investigated. However, the BHA Committee then met to consider the issue of Mark's reinstatement and held a private hearing to reach a final decision on the evidence provided by the Commission's Disciplinary Panel. Ultimately, a BHA spokesperson said after the hearing that "the two sides agree on the outcome of the ruling and Mark Todd will reinstate qualification".
The FIA also said that everyone in the equestrian community has a responsibility and obligation to maintain and protect their horses and to adopt a zero-tolerance approach when it comes to any form of horse abuse and abuse. Any breach of this important responsibility cannot be ignored or condoned, and as long as the sport and training methods clearly ignore the health and well-being of the most important partner horses, the INTERNATIONAL HORSE Federation will investigate. "The foundation of this sport lies in our partnership with horses, and all equestrian athletes should adhere to and respect this core principle in the pursuit of sport and recreational cycling."
Mark Todd infographic
As some experts have said, horses are everyone's companions, friends and even family, not tools to win the race, to ensure that they are respected and enjoy the five major benefits that horses and animals deserve, "free from hunger and thirst, free from harm, free from disease, free from any discomfort, able to express natural behavior." ”