Call for new sport horse movement protocols
The World Organisation for Animal Health and the Federation Equestre Internationale called for new protocols for the movement of 'high health, high performance' sport horses during the 80th general session of the OIE's world assembly, held in Paris last month.
The OIE and FEI are continuing to collaborate on defining and creating a subpopulation of horses to reflect the high health status of top level, international equestrian sport horses. Cross-border movement of these animals would be helped by the recognition of a lower risk of disease amongst them.
A growing awareness was reported among governments that the measures taken towards importing and exporting horses - designed to protect against disease - do not take into account the meticulous veterinary care given to elite-level performance horses; a working group has been established to investigate.
Bernard Vallat, OIE director general, commented: "As a result of the high increase in international equestrian sport, important constraints to the movement of horses have been revealed. It is clear that there is a need to define the criteria for healthy, high performance horses as a subpopulation, which reflects the low level of disease risk involved in their movement."
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