All Rules and Regulations valid for 2024 are now published on the FEIF website. A summary of all changes is available here. In addition, the minutes of the annual meetings (FEIF Conference 2024 in Luxembourg), the sport judges guidelines and the booklet with approved...
Mike’s and Johannes’ participation in the conference was a great honour and eagerly awaited by participants. Apart from visiting most department meetings to discuss horse welfare and possible approaches of the Icelandic horse scene concerning the social license to...
The European Horse Network (EHN) invites for a webinar on 'How to communicate on the equine industry'. There is enough data to show that the concerns around horse involvement in sport are rising. The equine world must positively engage with both perception and reality...
The following trainers/instructors were nominated by their national associations this time (in alphabetical order): Dana Hausherr (Switzerland), Emma Möller Ljungqvist (Sweden), Fia Bergman (Finland), Jacqueline Van Den Heuvel (Belgium), Jana Meyer (United States),...
The past year has been characterized by debates on horse welfare and the concept of Social License to Operate (SLO). The importance of the reputation of the Icelandic horse sport among the public cannot be denied and underestimated, the reputation is a prerequisite...
In 2023, the WorldRanking event in Osterfingen, Switzerland ended the WorldRanking season 2023: 12 countries registered a total of 112 WorldRanking events, with 5037 horses and 19.923 results from preliminaries. https://www.feif.org/sport-dept/worldranking-statistics/...
A new documentary film was recently released by the Animal Welfare Foundation/Tierschutzbund Zürich, which recommends a ban on PMSG and informs on alternatives using hormone-free methods or synthetic preparations. Earlier this year, the Icelandic Ministry announced...
Challenges and opportunities on how to attract a young workforce in the equine industry The entire equine industry is struggling to employ a new workforce, whatever the activities, from breeding and racing/sport to veterinary professionals. The industry offers many...
Following complaints with the EFTA Regulatory Authority (ESA) on the topic of blood mares in Iceland, an official letter of warning was sent by ESA to the Icelandic government on May 10, 2023. Today, the Icelandic Ministry announced that the current regulation will be...
In the continued push to improve riding skills to advance the welfare of our Icelandic horses, the Board of FEIF decided in 2002 to establish a new prize: the FEIF Feather Prize. The aim of this prize is to encourage good riding and good horsemanship, a tribute to...
Dr. Prof. emer. Ewald Isenbügel, Founding and Honorary President of FEIF. Since 1968 the Icelandic horse community has celebrated European and World Championships alongside the Landsmót in Iceland. The Netherlands are hosting the World Championships this year, and we...
Credibility, professionalism and trust! After numerous incidents that were problematic from an animal welfare point of view, there has recently been harsh criticism of equestrian sports. More and more often we read headlines in the public media such as : "Sport or...
The description of the permitted equipment is now published in its final version for 2023. Certain measurements for the Icelandic curb bit have been removed after intense discussions and measuring lots of standard bits during the last weeks. The FEIF equipment...
Animal welfare organisations, business people and tourism experts call for an end to Iceland’s blood farms. In a new documentary, following the film from 2021, the Germany’s Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF) and Tierschutzbund Zürich (TSB), business, tourism, breeding...
There are currently strange emails sent out to many FEIF contacts asking for money or for help.Please do not click on any links, do not answer or forward them but categorize them as spam emails or deleted them. The email addresses are fake addresses!
The Delegates’ Assembly 2023 unanimously decided to set a positive sign regarding FEIF’s commitment to horse welfare and the fact that horses should be ridden and presented with as little mechanical and external influence as possible and thus to switch to a list of...
At the FEIF Conference 2023, Mike Weishaupt, professor at the Equine Department of the University of Zurich, presented the topic on Social Licence to Operate and what it includes to participants from several FEIF member associations. How to explain the term SLO? The...