There was a plea for horse owners and riders to show greater humility at World Horse Welfares media briefing which took place at Saddlers Hall in London earlier today (Wednesday 3 June).David Mountford, Chief Executive of the British Equine Veterinary Association, made the call during a panel discussion at the event which was entitled Public acceptance of the involvement of horses in sport: what does good training look like?I think one of the things that is true in horse sports, in racing, is that we dont have much humility, said David. One of the things that we can do is bring a big box of humility to the table. We can all learn every week whether its from a colleague, whether its from someone with decades of experience and a huge tradition in the industry, or whether its from the latest research on how horses learn. Those riders at the very top level, they will be having weekly lessons and people throughout the industry should be having lessons on riding, but also lessons on whats going on with the science, how they can improve, how we can learn from others, both in research, new stuff, and tradition, old stuff.Decline in public support David was joined on the panel by Baroness Minette Batters, Chair of British Racings Horse Welfare Board,David OConnor, Chief of Sport at the US Equestrian Federation and Chair of the FEI Eventing Committee, and Lydia Hislop, a broadcaster and journalist. The panel was chaired by journalist and editor Lucy Higginson and explored the latest YouGov public opinion poll on the public acceptance of horses in sport.Results of the poll show that the public have become slightly less supportive of horse sport with 24.4% saying they do not support this under any circumstances, compared with 19.5% in 2024. The percentage of those who support the continued involvement of horses in sport has decreased from 23.3% in 2024 to 20.9%.Its really important that we speak to our audience. Well-regulated horse sports are the safest place, particularly for the Thoroughbred, that is the Formula 1 or the Porsche car equivalent, said Minette. The Horse Welfare Board has done many things since it was founded, and its really important for the independence of it that its not deemed to be just within the sport.The more we can open our doors as horse sport, as British racing, and show people what were doing because we all know that the people looking after the horse are the people closest to the horse, are the people who care most passionately. Its showing that, painting that picture, telling that story that is so important to create that better level of understanding. Weve got to keep telling that story.Horses seen as petsMost of the public viewed horses more as pets (with 65.0% indicating that was very or somewhat close to their view of horses) or leisure animals (64.9%) than working animals (56.1%), livestock (54.3%), or sport animals (49.4%). The vast majority of the public believe that welfare should always take priority, regardless of the effect on performance (70.3%), and that short-term pain or discomfort to improve performance was not very or not at all acceptable (77.3%).These results indicate that the majority of the public, including those who are closest to horses, believe a horses wellbeing should always take priority in training, regardless of the effect on performance, said Roly Owers, ceo at World Horse Welfare.However, more than half of all respondents either expressed concerns or did not trust at all that most people in horse sport train in a way that they believe is acceptable. We hope todays event provides food for thought and illustrates where those in horse sport have opportunities to build trust.Image Shutterstock.Related contentThese are the big benefits of regular hacking for horses and ridersHow to tell if a horse is happy: behaviourist reveals 13 key signsEssential horse worming schedule and management tips from a vetIntroducing your horse to a new herdThe post We can all learn every week: calls for the horse world to show greater humility appeared first on Your Horse.