HESTEFORSK H-21-47-631 Riding Schools as Future Learning Centers for an Environmentally Just Equine Sector and Broader Society

The purpose of the project is to lead an environmentally friendly transformation of the horse sector. In collaboration with riding schools, associations and higher education institutions in the sector, this project aims to gain an understanding of decision-making processes and actions taken by individual and collective actors, as these are crucial for a lasting change to take place. We aim to investigate and explain how stakeholders in the sector shape, execute, perceive and value environmental challenges and solutions, at local practice levels. In the media, actors in the sector have been seen as potential threats to the environment, rather than as carriers of solutions. We want to change this: a sector that better understands itself will be more effectively positioned to transform itself into a positive force for sustainable change. The project is expected to contribute to filling two knowledge gaps in relation to how actors in the sector have handled the environmental challenges: how recommendations and policies are operationalized in practice; and what strategies have been and are being used to implement environmentally friendly changes in the daily work at stables in Sweden and Norway. Based on the knowledge gaps identified above, the objectives of the project are: • Identify challenges and obstacles related to creating a more environmentally friendly equine sector in Sweden and Norway • Develop sustainable solutions to identified challenges for the equine sector in Sweden and Norway • Design effective educational tools that will promote a lasting transformation towards a more environmentally friendly equine sector. To increase the relevance, the project will be developed in collaboration with the key players in the equine sector. The project aims to promote social and environmental changes in the equine sector. The above was the starting point for the project when we began. Below, you can read about what we have concluded so far in the project: Our goal is to identify challenges and obstacles related to creating a more sustainable horse industry in both Sweden and Norway, and the work to identify these challenges is done in collaboration with various stakeholders from the horse sector. Through surveys and interviews, we have gained insight into the horse sector's perception of the most significant environmental challenges. Furthermore, we aim to develop sustainable solutions to address the identified challenges in the horse industry in both countries. Discussions with stakeholders about sustainable solutions are already underway, based on the collected empirical material and our analytical approach. As part of our objectives, we also aim to design effective educational tools that can contribute to a lasting transformation towards a more environmentally friendly horse industry. During the fall of 2023 and spring of 2024, we are collaborating with stakeholders and the horse industry to develop an educational tool based on the COM-B model and the Behavior Change Wheel. We have conducted a document analysis where we have gathered and analyzed governance documents from the national horse associations and national riding centers, in addition to curricula and syllabi from educational institutions in the horse industry. Furthermore, we conducted a survey on environmental challenges, sending questionnaires to riders, riding schools, and associations in Sweden and Norway. The questions, formulated by us researchers and collaborators, were distributed through national associations and social media. Analysis of the 697 responses has been completed. We have conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with representatives from the horse industry at both national and local levels in Sweden and Norway. These interviews have been transcribed and analyzed to further understand the sector's perspectives. Participant observations have been carried out at riding schools in Sweden and Norway. We have conducted numerous workshops to develop solutions with partners from the horse sector in Norway and Sweden. To access the results so far, you can read this article: https://idrottsforum.org/hedenborgetal231024/

While the equine sector in Sweden and Norway provides leisure activities, entertainment and employment for many people of all ages, these come with associated negative effects. Studies of the environmental impacts caused by the sector show that nutrient leakage from manure piles, paddocks and pastures is a problem, alongside issues of feed and transport. Agents within the sector have been cast as potential threats to the environment, rather than as carriers of solutions. We want to change this. The ultimate purpose of the project is to spearhead a pro-environmental transformation of the equine sector. In collaboration with riding schools, federations and higher education institutions, this inquiry aims to gain a deep understanding of the decision-making processes and actions taken by individual and collective actors, as these are crucial for a lasting change to occur. This transformation will strengthen the sector's capacity to operate as a positive force for societal change.