Yay or “Neigh” to USEF’s 2025 Rule Changes?

At USEF’s 2025 annual meeting and awards in Lexington, KY, the theme was “it’s all about the horse.”

The annual meeting captured the challenges and successes the United States horse industry experienced in 2024 and what changes should be made in 2025 to advance and protect equestrian competition and horse welfare.

After four days of meetings, discussions, and seminars with veterinarians, trainers, industry leaders, and USEF officials, here are a few 2025 rule changes that USEF competitors should be taking notice of.

• Biometric sensors and equipment – going forward such equipment will be permitted if minimal in design. However, such equipment will be prohibited if they enhance performance in real-time. Importantly, information from biometric sensors must not be accessed by the competitor during the field of play.
  
  
• Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT) – ESWT is a therapeutic modality intended to aid in the treatment of soft tissue and bone injuries. As ESWT can provide significant analgesia, this treatment is covered by the respective Veterinary Medical Practice Act in many states. The use of ESWT without the understanding of anatomy and training can decrease the therapeutic effectiveness and even put horses at risk. In response to lay persons using ESWT on competition grounds, effective April 1, 2025, only veterinarians will be permitted to conduct ESWT at Federation Licensed competitions. The rule prohibiting ESWT on horses with 72 hours of competing remains unchanged.
  
  
• New Prohibited Drugs – while the prohibitions of certain drugs and medications are already extensive under USEF rules, new substances have been explicitly banned as USEF has determined that there are no legitimate reasons for trainers, owners, riders, and grooms to have these substances on competition grounds due to the potential threat of abuse for competitive advantage. The following explicitly named substances include
   
  • Injectable ACTH
  • Injectable Adenosine
  • Injectable Formaldehyde
  • Injectable Magnesium Sulfate
  • Injectable Melatonin
  • Injectable Oxytocin
  • Injectable Pentobarbital, except by a veterinarian for the purpose of euthanasia
  • Injectable Thiamine
  • Injectable Tryptophan
  • Liquid Nitrogen
  • My injectable prescription medication in any formulation without a manufacturer or compound pharmacy label that identifies all ingredients.

While it is concerning that some of these rules needed to be considered and ultimately enacted in the first place, it is clear that USEF is continuing to make concentrated efforts to protect horse welfare. After concluding an Olympic year in 2024, it will be interesting to watch how this industry develops in 2025. Do you think these rules are a step forward for United States equestrian competition?