10 years of breaking news

From the horrors of Middle East endurance to Britain’s own welfare crisis and Olympic upheaval, here’s a look back at the biggest news stories in the equestrian world since 2010.

- Eleanor Jones

WELFARE ISSUES ON THE RISE

OVER the past 10 years, the equine crisis has roared on unabated — to the point that World Horse Welfare chief executive Roly Owers said it can no longer be considered a crisis but is instead the new norm.

Mr Owers has added that while calls at the beginning of the decade tended often to be about one or two horses in need, more recently these can be regarding much larger groups.

The Control of Horses Act, which came into force in 2015, gave landowners the power to deal with abandoned equines, but while this had a “significant impact”, charities said, and did decrease fly-grazing numbers, the horse crisis continues.

As well as cruelty, neglect and abandonment, less obvious welfare issues have been on the rise. Equine obesity is seen by leading vets as the biggest welfare issue facing UK horses today, while education of the “well-meaning owners who kill horses with kindness” by over-feeding, over-rugging and anthropomorphizing their animals, is key.

ENDURANCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

THE horrors of Middle East endurance have been put, and remained, firmly in the spotlight, thanks to the efforts of campaigners including H&H’s Pippa Cuckson.