What will be the next big change in equestrianism?

A return to long-format eventing and old-school rider-frighteners instead of the ridiculously techie fences that cause slow rotationals? Greater availability of side-saddles? Dressage and show horses that are actually an appropriate weight becoming the norm?

In all probability, we're just going to be forced out of riding by lack of land and ever-tighter health and safety regulations, though I sincerely hope that doesn't happen until I'm no longer around to see it.
 
pennandh said:
A return to long-format eventing and old-school rider-frighteners instead of the ridiculously techie fences that cause slow rotationals? Greater availability of side-saddles? Dressage and show horses that are actually an appropriate weight becoming the norm?

In all probability, we're just going to be forced out of riding by lack of land and ever-tighter health and safety regulations, though I sincerely hope that doesn't happen until I'm no longer around to see it.
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Hopefully stringent licensing for horse owners, as discussed with my vet who has seen some horrendous cases, hopefully this will prevent a *certain group* who as we know cannot be discussed from owning and breeding horses. No more riding on roads - too dangerous. With Brexit hopefully removal of rules that assume every horse will be eaten, so vets able to use appropriate drugs rather and those approved by the corrupt EU. Hopefully this will reduce the number of horse available so no more morons able to pay £50 for a pony they do not have the knowledge or money to look after properly.
 
A lot less horses on the roads, simply because the roads will be too congested, and way too dangerous :(

The only horses kept will be in mega-big equestrian "facilities", and the majority of the riding will be in the school. There will be a few lucky people who live in the wide open spaces and can still hack outside, but the majority of DIY horse-owning and private yards will cease to exist.

This is my fear.
 
Given the way the horse feed industry is going, it will be genetically modified to include molasses and all the vitamins and minerals you horse will ever need.

On the plus side, I remember seeing a proto type saddle that included a built in heart rate monitor, with plans to include a GPS, temperature and respiration monitoring and calories consumed for both horse and rider. Now there is something that would be useful.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
A lot less horses on the roads, simply because the roads will be too congested, and way too dangerous :(

The only horses kept will be in mega-big equestrian "facilities", and the majority of the riding will be in the school. There will be a few lucky people who live in the wide open spaces and can still hack outside, but the majority of DIY horse-owning and private yards will cease to exist.

This is my fear.
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Your fear is justified. Somerford Park, not far from me, has nine different livery yards run by nine different people, a huge indoor, two multi-arena outdoor areas, a six mile all weather farm ride, eighty acres of cross country practice and a full BE course, plus in a separate unit two full barns of visitor stabling and two more ginormous arenas with a cross country bank in the middle. A vets hospital (huge replacement under construction), an enormous tack shop (replacement under construction) and a cafe.

It used to be out in open countryside. It's now increasingly hemmed in by new housing estates (one currently under construction was a green field with gypsy cobs in it three months ago).
 
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I think horse veterinary insurance will become a thing of the past, there can't be much profit in it, and of course if the insurance goes so will many of the expensive investigations and scans that insurance now funds....so less equine vets. Not that this will matter because pressure on grazing and cost of feed and fodder will mean that very few people will be able to afford to keep a horse for pleasure.
Hunting in any form will disappear..too few horses and nowhere to ride.
None of this will really matter though as most of the population will probably be too obese to get out of their self drive cars. Virtual riding will satisfy any horsey needs and the majority of the population will never meet a horse in the flesh.
 
I'd like to see a properly policed passport system so that no-one can claim they don't know who the starving yearlings or dumped broken-necked colts we read about belong to. However, I suspect I am more likely to win Badminton, the Grand National and an Olympic gold medal for dressage in the same season than that ever actually happen.
 
Eventing and Dressage will be out of the Olympics. There will be a massive loss of funding for world class training once there are no longer medals to aim for. Both disciplines will become accessible only to the super-wealthy or those with private backing. Horse-owning and riding will become for the wealthy only as livery costs/land pressures increase. There will be no DIY. Horse welfare might actually improve as only those who can afford horses will keep them.
 
Horsewithsocks said:
Hopefully stringent licensing for horse owners, as discussed with my vet who has seen some horrendous cases, hopefully this will prevent a *certain group* who as we know cannot be discussed from owning and breeding horses. No more riding on roads - too dangerous. With Brexit hopefully removal of rules that assume every horse will be eaten, so vets able to use appropriate drugs rather and those approved by the corrupt EU. Hopefully this will reduce the number of horse available so no more morons able to pay £50 for a pony they do not have the knowledge or money to look after properly.
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Oh good - another layer of bureaucracy, just what we want. And don't you think it would perhaps be better to be a little more upfront and use the term Romanys/Gypsies/Travellers if you feel they are particularly bad horse owners. I think the term "a certain race" always has rather nasty overtones, as well as being un-clear...perhaps you are actually worried about Eskimeaux horse owners....or Chinese ones. I don't know, you tell me :)

And while I agree that vet drug licensing can be a bit annoying, do please explain in exactly which way the EU is "corrupt" in this case.
 
Gosh, not a lot of happy predictions.

I understand that a lot of places are becoming crowded and urbanised, but there are more opportunities now to move and work away from that environment. While that is not strictly "equestrian" orientated, it allows for completely different work practices which benefit those looking to move more country or another country. Working remotely on line is completely normal now and I have several friends who only "go into the office" once or twice a month.

Another related modernisation here is flexi hours - once upon a time starting at the office at 8:00 am was unheard of. Now I work 7:00 am to 3:00 pm and the benefits to me (more pony time) and my employer (I get more done) are huge. Not to mention helping with traffic congestion.

While I agree that dressage and 3DE might not survive as Olympic sports, I don't see why that will kill them. We are so far away from international competition here (which is why the NZ 3DE team are based in the UK) that it just isn't on most peoples radars. Both sports survive just fine and we are growing a wonderful range of new ones like Cowboy Challenge and Working Equitation. WE has it's eye on the Olympics, but has a way to go.

I think that people will look for horse sports that are easier, and require less effort than the hard core 3DE, GP or 160 km endurance, but that's because we just want to have fun!
 
NZJenny said:
While I agree that dressage and 3DE might not survive as Olympic sports, I don't see why that will kill them. We are so far away from international competition here (which is why the NZ 3DE team are based in the UK) that it just isn't on most peoples radars. Both sports survive just fine and we are growing a wonderful range of new ones like Cowboy Challenge and Working Equitation. WE has it's eye on the Olympics, but has a way to go.
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I'm talking about the UK where lottery funding (which provides a significant proportion of funding for the world class programmes) is dependant on Olympic medal potential. If there are no Olympic medals to be won, then the funding vanishes with the subsequent knock-on effects on national sports.
 
Swirlymurphy said:
I'm talking about the UK where lottery funding (which provides a significant proportion of funding for the world class programmes) is dependant on Olympic medal potential. If there are no Olympic medals to be won, then the funding vanishes with the subsequent knock-on effects on national sports.
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Elite sport has always been that - elite. People with a true love and passion for horses will still enjoy them and want to learn about them and how to ride them whether or not there's funding for WCP.
To stir the pot a little - are elite-level horse sports actually in the horses' best interests anyways?
 
Given how the climate is changing, I think that hay and haylage production is going to require giant marquee type structures to keep the rain off during harvesting and baling.
 
Temperature strips on rugs which visibily show if the horse is too hot or cold etc. That would sort out so much guess work! I really hope that far more modern shoeing methods are made the norm so horrid traditional metal shoes will be long gone, in favour of flexible and cushioning ones which can be taken on and off (so horses can be kept barefoot all the time and these could be slipped on when required).
 
NZJenny said:
While I agree that dressage and 3DE might not survive as Olympic sports, I don't see why that will kill them. We are so far away from international competition here (which is why the NZ 3DE team are based in the UK) that it just isn't on most peoples radars. Both sports survive just fine and we are growing a wonderful range of new ones like Cowboy Challenge and Working Equitation. WE has it's eye on the Olympics, but has a way to go.
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Eventing xc will no longer be 4* at any of the Senior champs from 2017 - the sport could be unrecognisable in a few years.

The mass increase on business rates could be interesting next year too.
 
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I think we are going to see a very different market with horses. I have seen so many yards close down as the owners have got planning permission and the pressure to just find a yard is huge where I am (Surrey). Prices will rise for livery and we are already seeing so much more traffic on the roads. We have a sharp divide already with people who buy very cheap horses and don't have the knowledge to care for them (thinking of the huge number of dumped horses in Kent). I think horse ownership will get pushed further out to further regions as well. In terms of care, I think we will end following s lot of the measures already standard in racing (feed analysis etc) and general care will improve, but less focus on general riding ability/stick ability as people will get pushed more and more into just riding on surfaces and in a set discipline.
 
MagicMelon said:
Temperature strips on rugs which visibily show if the horse is too hot or cold etc. That would sort out so much guess work! I really hope that far more modern shoeing methods are made the norm so horrid traditional metal shoes will be long gone, in favour of flexible and cushioning ones which can be taken on and off (so horses can be kept barefoot all the time and these could be slipped on when required).
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Not read all the thread but love these suggestions!
 
I think shoeing will definitely change, as it's already happening in the racing industry. Less nails and more glue. It doesn't mean you can pop shoes on and off as you like, but the glued shoes don't interfere with the hoof wall like nails do and allow for much more natural flex in the hoof. The glue is very specialised and very good - our farrier says it can be a bit tricky to get off even after six weeks - but currently quite expensive. I think more will use it when it eventually becomes cheaper.

On top of that there are so many people around the world developing new kinds of shoes made out of hard wearing polymers and such (also offering flex and better cushioning) that are designed to be glued on, I think it's definitely a thing that is already changing and will become more widespread.
 
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