Boundary Bay Pony Club

You ask your horse to move forward, but they plant their feet.

You ask for canter, and they rush, pigroot or pin their ears.

You ask them to stand quietly, but they paw, call out, fidget or pull back.

It can be easy in those moments to say the horse is being naughty, lazy or stubborn. But unwanted behaviour is information. Labelling a horse as naughty, lazy or stubborn can stop us from understanding the cause.

The Pony Club Australia Horse Welfare Policy is clear that using terms like naughty, lazy or stubborn to describe unwanted behaviour demonstrates a lack of understanding.

That does not mean people are trying to do the wrong thing. These words are common in horse communities, and many of us have heard them used for years. But they can lead us down the wrong path.

When we call a horse stubborn, we may stop asking whether the horse is confused, worried, uncomfortable, in pain, tired, overwhelmed, or responding to unclear aids.

The Policy reminds us that horses need clear and consistent aids, and consistent expectations for their behaviour. When aids are unclear, or expectations change from one day to the next, the horse’s world can become confusing and worrying.

Good horsemanship means looking deeper. Before we label the horse, we need to ask:

❓ What is the horse trying to tell us?

❓ What part might our timing, pressure, training, handling or environment be playing?

❓ How can we make the right behaviour easier for the horse to understand?

Understanding the cause helps us support the horse, improve safety, and build better partnerships.

Equestrian Canada is reminding all hunter/jumper sport licence holders, coaches, officials, and competition organizers that traditional peacock safety stirrups are prohibited as per the rule change to Section G202.13 and G1005.5 at all competitions effective January 1, 2026.

Peacock stirrups, which use a rubber band and metal hook on the outside branch, were originally developed as a safety device. However, documented incidents and ongoing safety reviews have identified significant risks associated with this design, including the potential for hooks to catch clothing or skin and for bands to fail to release properly during a fall.

The decision to prohibit peacock stirrups reflects a broader shift within the equestrian industry toward modern safety technologies that offer more reliable release mechanisms and improved rider protection. A wide range of approved safety stirrup options remain permitted under current rules.

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Canada Équestre souhaite rappeler à la communauté de chasse et de saut d’obstacles que les étriers de sécurité avec élastiques de type Peacock sont interdits dans tous les concours depuis le 1er janvier 2026. Cette information est notamment importante pour les titulaires de licence sportive, les entraîneur(e)s, les officiel(le)s et les organisateur(-trice)s de concours.

Les étriers de type Peacock ont été conçus comme dispositifs de sécurité. Ils sont dotés d’un élastique et d’un crochet métallique sur la branche extérieure. Toutefois, des incidents documentés et des évaluations continues en matière de sécurité ont mis en évidence des risques importants associés à cette conception, notamment le risque que les crochets s’accrochent aux vêtements ou à la peau ou que les élastiques ne se détachent pas correctement en cas de chute.

La décision d'interdire les étriers de type Peacock reflète une évolution plus large au sein du secteur équestre vers des technologies de sécurité modernes qui offrent des mécanismes de déclenchement plus fiables et une meilleure protection des athlètes. Un large éventail d'étriers de sécurité homologués reste autorisé en vertu des règles actuelles.

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