Editorial standards

Where our information comes from, and the rules every page follows.

Where the facts come from

Facts we take from elsewhere come only from the organisations listed at the end of this page: veterinary bodies, government, universities, charities, regulators and the breed societies that keep the studbooks. Each citation has to be a page on that organisation's own website. This is checked automatically, and a guide, breed profile, tip or news story with a citation that fails the check is not published.

Guides and breed profiles list their sources at the end, and each care tip shows the pages it came from. We write in our own words and don't copy the sources' text.

Our guides are not a diagnosis

Our guides help you care for a horse and recognise when something may be wrong. They can't diagnose a problem or replace your vet. If you are worried about your horse, call your vet.

News

Every news story comes from an organisation on our list, either from its own news feed or written up by our editors, and names that organisation as its source. For stories from news feeds we show the headline, a short summary, the date and a link to the original, and never copy the full story. Editors can take any story down.

Photos

Photos illustrate a page; they are not evidence. They don't show a particular horse's condition, and their descriptions say only what is in the picture.

Drafts

Guides, breed profiles and tips can be kept as drafts, which never appear on the live site. Anything still containing placeholder text can't be published.

Organisations we cite

Editors decide who is on this list. Each entry gives the reason it is trusted.

Veterinary bodies 2

  • British Equine Veterinary AssociationUK professional association for equine veterinary surgeons
  • Royal College of Veterinary SurgeonsStatutory regulator of veterinary surgeons in the UK under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966

Government departments and agencies 5

  • Animal and Plant Health AgencyExecutive agency of DEFRA responsible for animal disease surveillance and control; publishes on GOV.UK
  • Department for Environment, Food & Rural AffairsUK government department responsible for animal health and welfare policy; publishes on GOV.UK
  • Driver and Vehicle Licensing AgencyGB government agency that issues driving licences and keeps the record of licence categories; publishes on GOV.UK
  • Driver and Vehicle Standards AgencyGB government agency responsible for vehicle and driver standards, including roadside checks, MOTs and drivers’ hours; publishes on GOV.UK, including the guidance for horsebox and trailer owners
  • Veterinary Medicines DirectorateExecutive agency of DEFRA that regulates veterinary medicines in the UK; publishes on GOV.UK

Regulators and governing bodies 5

  • British EquestrianNational governing body for equestrian sport in Great Britain; runs the equine anti-doping and controlled medication rules for its member bodies
  • British Horseracing AuthorityGoverning and regulatory body for British horseracing, including its equine anti-doping rules
  • British ShowjumpingNational governing body for show jumping in Great Britain
  • Farriers Registration CouncilStatutory regulator of farriers in Great Britain under the Farriers (Registration) Act 1975; keeps the Register of Farriers
  • Horse Sport IrelandIrish national governing body for equestrian sport, approved by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to keep the Irish Sport Horse and Irish Draught Horse studbooks

Universities 10

  • Bristol Veterinary School, University of BristolUK university veterinary school
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of CambridgeUK university veterinary school
  • Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of EdinburghUK university veterinary school
  • Royal Veterinary College, University of LondonUK university veterinary school
  • University of EdinburghResearch university; its repository, Edinburgh Research Explorer, holds the published versions of peer-reviewed papers by its researchers
  • University of Edinburgh Library and University CollectionsLibrary and heritage collections of the University of Edinburgh, including the historic Veterinary Library
  • University of Glasgow School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary MedicineUK university veterinary school
  • University of Liverpool School of Veterinary ScienceUK university veterinary school
  • University of Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and ScienceUK university veterinary school
  • University of Surrey School of Veterinary MedicineUK university veterinary school

Charities 7

  • Bransby HorsesUK equine welfare charity; registered charity no. 1075601
  • Rare Breeds Survival TrustUK conservation charity for native livestock and equine breeds; publishes the annual Watchlist of breed status
  • Retraining of RacehorsesBritish horseracing charity for the retraining and rehoming of horses that have retired from racing
  • The British Horse SocietyUK equestrian charity publishing horse care, safety and welfare guidance
  • The Horse TrustUK equine welfare charity; registered charity no. 231748
  • The Pony ClubUK youth riding organisation; registered charity no. 1050146
  • World Horse WelfareUK-based international horse welfare charity

Membership bodies 3

  • European Conference of Arab Horse OrganisationsEuropean body of national Arab horse organisations that sets the rules and judges’ training for Arab horse shows
  • National Equine Welfare CouncilUK membership body for equine welfare organisations
  • World Breeding Federation for Sport HorsesInternational umbrella organisation of sport horse studbooks, working with the FEI

Breed societies and studbooks 25

  • Arab Horse SocietyCharity founded in 1918 that keeps the Arab Horse Stud Book, the Anglo Arab Stud Book and the Part Bred Arab Register for Great Britain
  • British Connemara Pony SocietyBreed society that keeps the studbook and publishes the breed standard for the Connemara pony in Great Britain
  • British Hanoverian Horse SocietyUK society for the breeding and registration of Hanoverian horses in Great Britain
  • Cleveland Bay Horse SocietyBreed society that keeps the studbook and publishes the breed standard for the Cleveland Bay
  • Clydesdale Horse SocietyBreed society that keeps the studbook and publishes the breed standard for the Clydesdale
  • Connemara Pony Breeders’ SocietyBreed society that keeps the studbook and publishes the breed standard for the Connemara pony (the society of the breed’s origin, in Ireland)
  • Dales Pony SocietyBreed society that keeps the studbook and publishes the breed standard for the Dales pony
  • Dartmoor Pony SocietyBreed society that keeps the studbook and publishes the breed standard for the Dartmoor pony
  • Eriskay Pony SocietyBreed society that keeps the studbook and publishes the breed standard for the Eriskay pony
  • Exmoor Pony SocietyBreed society that keeps the studbook and publishes the breed standard for the Exmoor pony
  • Fell Pony SocietyBreed society that keeps the studbook and publishes the breed standard for the Fell pony
  • Hackney Horse SocietyBreed society that keeps the studbook and publishes the breed standard for the Hackney horse and pony
  • Hannoveraner Verband (Hanoverian Society)Keeps the Hanoverian studbook and sets its breeding programme; founded in 1922; WBFSH member
  • Highland Pony SocietyBreed society that keeps the studbook and publishes the breed standard for the Highland pony
  • Irish Draught Horse Society (Great Britain)Breed society that keeps the studbook and publishes the breed standard for the Irish Draught in Great Britain
  • KWPN (Royal Warmblood Studbook of the Netherlands)Dutch studbook for show jumping, dressage, harness and Gelder horses; royal predicate granted 1988; WBFSH member
  • KWPN of North AmericaNorth American daughter studbook of the KWPN; WBFSH member
  • New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle SocietyBreed society that keeps the studbook and publishes the breed standard for the New Forest pony
  • Shetland Pony Stud-Book SocietyBreed society that keeps the studbook and publishes the breed standard for the Shetland pony
  • Shire Horse SocietyBreed society that keeps the studbook and publishes the breed standard for the Shire horse
  • Suffolk Horse SocietyBreed society that keeps the studbook and publishes the breed standard for the Suffolk horse
  • Thoroughbred Breeders’ AssociationCharity founded in 1917 representing British Thoroughbred breeders and safeguarding the health and welfare of the breed
  • Warmblood Breeders Studbook – UKUK warmblood studbook, founded in 1977 as the British Warmblood Society; grades stallions and mares and is a full member of the WBFSH
  • WeatherbysKeeper of the General Stud Book, the official record of Thoroughbreds in Great Britain and Ireland, since 1791; registers every Thoroughbred foaled in Great Britain and Ireland
  • Welsh Pony and Cob SocietyBreed society that keeps the studbook and publishes the breed standard for the Welsh Mountain Pony, Welsh Pony, Welsh Pony of Cob Type and Welsh Cob