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A Social Licence to Operate (SLO) is an intangible, implicit agreement between the general public and individuals who pursue an activity as a hobby, for pleasure and for sport, amongst other reasons. The SLO is integral in ensuring evidence for public approval of the activity and enable the activity to be pursued with minimal formal restrictions or public interference. If, however, public opinion changes or there is not public support for the activity, legal restrictions may be placed on the activity or the activity may be banned completely.

Within the equestrian industry, negative publication of certain aspects of global horse-related sports has resulted in regulations of activities or banning; famous examples of this included the removal of equestrianism from the Olympic Modern Pentathlon competition after the 2024 Olympics following the public outcry over riding competency at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The public interest in equestrianism and horsemanship after the Tokyo Olympics highlights the importance of public opinion and perceptions in ensuring longevity of horse-related sporting activities.

Researchers from the University of Nottingham and World Horse Welfare published a review article highlighting the current threats to equestrianism’s SLO, suggesting actions for improvement which could be implemented throughout the equine industry, and identified the need for all stakeholders to protect the SLO.

The paper reports that the general public now places a much higher emphasis on ethical training approaches and compassionate care of animals than previously, which can be evidenced by changes in legislation and opinions of hunting, zoos, circuses and aquariums. Ethical and scientifically-based training methods that reduce stress, pain and fear are now implemented widely in the canine industry, and are perceived more favourably by the general public. Whilst the understanding of equine welfare, training and ethical treatment is still advancing, stakeholders within the equine industry need to change how they train and manage horses if they are to be seen practicing good welfare. The rise of the ‘social media age’ has resulted in greater transparency and publication, however images, videos and content can therefore be spread widely in an instant, leaving the equine sector open to adverse public attention.

Janet Douglas from World Horse Welfare, and first author on the paper, outlined: “There is a lot that equestrianism can learn from industries that have previously faced challenges to their social licence, both in terms of how to do this well, and what doesn’t work”. We should be taking an evidence and ethics-based, progressive, proactive approach to supporting and protecting equine welfare, alongside improved communication with all stakeholders involved in the industry. All stakeholders should be operating transparently, with regulations, rules and sanctions upheld. Practitioners and leaders within the industry should be competent, legitimate and credible, endorsing ethical and welfare values in all their practices. Whilst the requirements outlined in the publication may appear at first to be a challenging task, the alternative of negative public outcry, greater regulations and loss of support for equestrianism, and the potential for legal restrictions or bans on certain aspects of horse-related sports, would be infinitely more damaging to the industry. Janet additionally highlighted: “If we want to maintain our social licence, we have to learn to look at what we do with horses through a different, and more welfare-focused, lens”.

The suggested improvements to the industry will require substantial effort by all involved and extensive funding; however, these should be viewed as an investment in the future and longevity of equestrianism, rather than a barrier to improving the sport.

Actions resulting from the paper can be implemented by all individuals involved within the equine sector:



·      Promote animal welfare in all aspects of management, training and competition

·      Improve equine safety

·      Ensure horse mental, physical and social health and welfare is upheld, recognised and any issues addressed

·      A holistic view of welfare should be taken

·      Adherence to rules and sanctions should be enforced, particularly in competitions

·      Ethics of all practices should be considered

·      Positive communication should be upheld with all stakeholders, including the general public and the media

·      Research should be conducted to the highest standard, with results communicated to all individuals involved in the equine industry, with clear actions for management and training improvement

·      All stakeholder should embrace industry reform and improvement, guided by scientific research and ethical standards.

The full paper was published on 5^th August 2022, in Animals. The paper is published Open Access, and can be found at: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12151987

Using robotics engineering to develop a next generation horseback riding simulator with multiple equestrian industry applications

~ summarised by Michelle Quinlivan

The Saddle Research Trust was pleased to host an exciting talk from Professor Heikki Handroos at its 4th International Conference on December 11th, 2021. The Professor presented his Finnish team’s most recent research developments in robotics engineering with the aim of creating a realistic horseback riding simulator for use in the equine industry.

Professor Heikki Handroos is the Head of the Laboratory of Intelligent Machines in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT). He has been the principal investigator or work package leader in more than 50 international (EU-funded) projects and has four international patents in robotics and manipulator control.

Professor Handroos and Robbie, his original simulator

The 2-year (2019-2021) Horzim project followed on from Robbie, funding for which came from Business Finland. The project was a joint undertaking between the Handroos team at LUT and the LAB University of Applied Sciences, the former taking responsibility for technical development and the latter, commercialisation research. The project goal was to create a horseback riding simulator, as realistic to true life as possible, which had commercially feasible applications in various sectors of the equine industry. To this end, the Horzim project required an impressive, large multidisciplinary team of specialists, including those with expertise in robotics, software development, market research and hippotherapy.



In the Horzim project, advances were made in motion capture whereby two systems of measurement were employed in parallel, to feedback data to the simulator. The first was an inertial motion unit (IMU) mounted on the back of the saddle. The second system supplemented and verified this data and came from the XSens motion capture suit. Maria Eckman, the owner of the local RC Lappeenranta Stables, provided her expertise and resources for the data capture.   

Inertial motion units were mounted on the saddle and in a suit (Xsens) worn by the rider.

The results of the Horzim project were very positive in motion comparisons between the new simulator platform and the actual horse. The next generation simulator was able to mirror any motion the horse performed during riding, be it walk, trot, collected canter or extended canter. The simulator could even mimic the motions of jumping however Professor Handroos admitted improvements were required in this area, notably in the landing angle. Test riders also commended the new simulator, including Maria Eckmann, the stables owner, whose horse was used in the dressage data collection. Maria noted that, “I could even feel my horse is in a lazy mood from riding the simulator”. Another expert test rider commented, “this tool has great potential in improving and promoting horse welfare by educating riders”.

Real world comparisons from the Horzim project can be viewed on YouTube 

Following on from the success of the Horzim project, Professor Handroos has many current foci for development to improve his horseback riding simulator. Some of these include: allowing interactions between the rider and the simulator; a rein tension system akin to that which Robbie had; and a simulator body with a moving head and neck (for which patent application is underway). Interestingly, Professor Handroos also mentioned the possibility of a system whereby a client could use a motion sensor themselves, upload data collected from any of their own horses to the cloud, which in turn would inform the simulator with relative ease. In effect, a client could have a bank of motion data from many real horses, movements that the simulator could then recreate on demand.  

It seems the potential for applications of this horseback riding simulator are endless, a prime example being its potential use in hippotherapy. It has been shown that horse riding can improve the sitting ability of children with cerebal palsy and that where use of horses is unsuitable/unavailable, a simulator is a good substitute (Temcharoensuk et al., 2015). Professor Handroos and his team have developed a fully programmable simulator which allows for the concurrent use of biosensors, this provides an ideal Hippotherapy platform, allowing for symmetrical movement, but tailored to the individual needs of different patients.

Another application for the riding simulator is in rider coaching, from allowing beginner riders to experience the different gaits, to teaching advanced riders more technical skills, all in a controlled, safe environment, where minimising risk to horse or rider is of importance. In consideration of equine welfare, this is also of benefit where repetitive exercises necessary for rider advancement protect the horse from injury or even boredom.

Whichever ways his next generation horseback riding simulator is used by the equine industry, with the advancements Professor Handroos has made in the Horzim project and with the planned continued developments for the technology, there is little doubt these simulators will be a more common sight in the equestrian world in the near future. 

Share YOUR success stories with us!

Continuing on from the SRT 'Happy Athlete' feature, we'd love to see examples of your horses enjoying their ridden careers. Whether that be happy hacking or competing at the upper echelons of the sport, help us to spread examples of the vast numbers of good equine role models at all levels and aspire to proliferate a new normal of happy, healthy horses in the media!

Share to your socials using the tag #SRTHappyAthlete or email to admin@saddleresearchtrust.com 

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