FAQs — Horse Welfare
What About Horse Safety?
Indian Relay Racing horses are not equipment. They are family. The teams that compete in this sport have a generational bond with their animals that goes far deeper than sport.
One of the most common questions asked about Indian Relay Racing is whether the horses are treated humanely. The answer is unequivocal: yes. These animals are cared for with a level of devotion that most horse owners would recognize immediately — and that animal welfare organizations have found no cause to challenge.
PETA, the nation's most prominent animal rights organization, has raised no objections to Indian Relay Racing. That is not an accident. It reflects a sport whose relationship with the horse is rooted in respect, tradition, and genuine affection.
No Issues Raised by PETA
PETA actively monitors equine sports and has been vocal about practices in thoroughbred racing, rodeo, and other disciplines where welfare concerns have been documented. Indian Relay Racing has not drawn that scrutiny. The sport's structure — short sprint distances, no spurs, no mechanical aids — combined with the deep personal investment each team has in their horses, has meant that the welfare record of IRR stands on its own merits.
Horses Treated Like Family
In Indian Relay Racing, the horse is not a commodity. Teams are often multi-generational — grandparents, parents, and children competing together — and the horses are woven into that family story. Many riders have grown up alongside the same horses, training with them from a young age, sleeping near them at events, and forming bonds that last the animal's entire life.
The care these teams provide is intensive and personal. Horses are groomed, fed, and monitored by the same people who race them. There are no anonymous stable hands or corporate ownership structures distancing the rider from the animal. The person on the horse's back is the same person who brushed it that morning.
This is not a sport where horses are pushed past their limits for prize money. The cultural values embedded in Indian Relay Racing — respect for the land, for the animal, for the tradition — make the welfare of the horse inseparable from the integrity of the competition itself.
The Sport's Structure Supports Welfare
- No whips, spurs, or mechanical aids used during competition
- Short sprint distances — races are typically under two minutes
- Horses are conditioned and trained by the families who race them
- Riders race bareback, requiring a cooperative partnership with the horse
- Teams travel with their horses and provide direct, personal care at every event
- Horses are retired with dignity — many remain with the family after their racing years
“When you watch an Indian Relay team, you are watching a family compete alongside an animal they love. That relationship is the foundation of the sport.”
— Horse Nations Racing Group