Horse Whiskers Must Stay Put

FEI notice regarding Veterinary Regulations Article 1004 Prohibited Methods:

The FEI would like to draw the attention of all National Federations that as of 1 July 2021, a penalty of disqualification (not being able to compete) will be issued if horses are found to have their sensory hairs clipped or shaven at an FEI competition, as per point (i) of the FEI Veterinary Regulations Article 1004 (Prohibited methods) unanimously voted at the FEI General Assembly 2020.

This applies to all FEI Events as of 1 July, including the Tokyo 2020 Games this summer.

Here is an extract of point (i) from the FEI Veterinary Regulations Article 1004 (prohibited methods):

Horses are not permitted to compete in FEI Events:

i) if the Horse’s sensory hairs have been clipped and/or shaven or in any other way removed unless individual sensory hairs have been removed by a veterinarian to prevent pain or discomfort for the Horse. Areas of hair that must be clipped, shaven or removed to allow veterinary treatment are exempt from this rule. As of 1 July 2021, Sanction 39 in Annex VI will be applicable.

The FEI Veterinary Regulations 14^th edition, effective 1 January 2021 is available here.

Supplied by the FEI