The New Blood Rule: A Historic Leap Backwards

The FEI Votes to Let Horses Bleed — But Only a Little Bit. How Civilised.

Today, November 7th, in Hong Kong, the Fédération Equestre Internationale voted 56–20 (with two nations looking politely at their shoes) to approve a rule that will now allow horses to continue competing while bleeding, so long as officials decide it’s the right kind of blood.

Yes, really.

We are now categorising types of blood — like wine tastings for injuries.

“Ah yes, a light smear of mouth blood with notes of stress and a finish of rider error. Quite acceptable. Let the round continue!”

Let’s Ask the Only Rational Question Here:

What on earth is accidental blood?

Horses do not spontaneously injure their own lips or tongues mid-round.

They do not accidentally stab themselves with spurs.

They do not accidentally saw their own gums open on a bit.

When there is blood:

Something has gone wrong.

It happened because of training, tack, or riding.

But under the new rule?

“If the blood is from a bitten lip, a bloody nose, or is judged accidental, the horse may continue.”

Oh, so now nosebleeds are normal?

We’re normalising mouth blood as a casual sporting inconvenience?

What next?

A sponsorship deal for “Athlete-Grade Equine Kleenex”?

Let’s Talk About Mouth Wounds

Mouth tissue does not heal in 24 hours.

Often not in 48 hours.

Sometimes not in a week.

So when a horse is bleeding from the mouth — it means:

The horse is in pain.

The horse is injured.

Continuing to ride on that injury is harmful and stress-amplifying.

And here’s the kicker:

In Swiss Law, knowingly continuing to work an animal with an open wound that cannot heal under continued use?

That meets the definition of animal abuse.

There is no elegant wording around that.

Meanwhile, the FEI Says:

“Zero tolerance for abuse remains firm.”

Yes.

Like a wet paper napkin remains firm in a thunderstorm.

You cannot both:

Allow bleeding horses to continue

and

Claim “zero tolerance.”

That is zero understanding, not zero tolerance.

And While the FEI Polishes Its Press Lines…

TIR — the Swiss Foundation for Animals in Law — is over here quietly stating the obvious like the last adult in the room:

Pain is pain.

Blood is a sign of pain.

Pain means stop.

Not assess.

Not evaluate.

Not negotiate.

Stop.

TIR does not engage in semantic origami to make bleeding sound “contextual.”

They simply advocate for the horse’s legal and physical reality.

Thank God someone still does.

The Petition

65,000 people said no to this.

Coaches, vets, riders, owners, everyday horse people.

People who know what it means when blood shows up.

But 56 votes in Hong Kong said:

“Actually, we think we can work with this.”

Final Word

If the sport is now deciding how much blood is acceptable,

the problem is not the horse.

It is the culture of competition itself.

Because a horse is not a piece of sports equipment with legs.

It bleeds because it feels.

It feels because it is alive.

And if we need to be reminded of that in order to keep medals shiny—

Then maybe the horses are not the ones unfit to compete.

Sources:

FEI Press release: https://inside.fei.org/media-updates/fei-general-assembly-approves-restructured-fei-jumping-rules

Stiftung Tier Im Recht statement, 6. November, 2025: https://www.thecarrotpost.com/post/new-no-blood-rule-vs-swiss-law ISES : Statement: Proposed changes to Blood Rule in FEI Showjumping competitions https://www.equitationscience.com/fei-blood-rule-release