With the growing need to maintain a “social license to operate”, equines in sport can no longer be taken for granted and we must respond positively to the challenges and concerns over equine welfare in modern competition from within, and importantly, from outside the equestrian community.

The British Breeding Futurity and British Breeding Equine Bridge programmes support breeding and management of horses and ponies for longevity and soundness by collecting data and resources to improve future breeding decisions and by providing detailed professional veterinarian and allied professional feedback to optimise the management and production of young horses and ponies.

As part of the Equine Bridge programme, every horse or pony undergoes a detailed soundness and performance evaluation with our senior veterinarian and their team of allied professionals, comprising:

• Evaluation under saddle
• Evaluation in hand on the soft
• Evaluation in hand on the hard

The allied professional team comprises an experienced master saddler, a master farrier and a qualified nutritionist from Baileys Horse Feeds, providing a holistic assessment of the horse or pony’s overall wellness, conformational traits, muscle development, saddle fit and foot balance.