Under the FEI Jumping Rules, 28th edition, effective 1 January 2026, blood caused by tack or equipment, or induced by the athlete during a competition, brings a Jumping Recorded Warning. A second warning for the same Person Responsible within 12 months brings a fine and an automatic suspension. Other blood cases are handled under a separate article, and in every blood case the horse may continue only if the Ground Jury, consulting the Veterinary Delegate, judges it fit to compete.
Whether that amounts to a step backwards is a judgment about welfare safeguards, fair attribution, consistent enforcement and public trust. The rule text answers the first of those questions with some confidence. The others are open, and the rest of this article explains why.
What the 2026 jumping text requires
The governing text is the FEI Jumping Rules, 28th edition, effective 1 January 2026. The mechanics below belong to that jumping text. They are not a general FEI policy applied unchanged across every discipline. The copy reviewed for this article is a third-party version hosted by Parcoursbouwers.nl, which identifies itself as the 28th edition effective on that date.
| Situation | Governing provision | Recorded consequence | Can the horse continue? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blood caused by tack or equipment, or induced by the athlete, found from warm-up through post-competition controls or testing | Article 259.1 | First case: Jumping Recorded Warning. Second warning for the same Person Responsible within 12 months of the first: CHF 1,000 fine and automatic one-month suspension. | Only if the Ground Jury, in consultation with the Veterinary Delegate, deems the horse fit (Article 259.3) |
| Other detected blood, such as a horse that appears to have bitten its tongue or lip, or is bleeding from the nose | Article 259.2 | No Jumping Recorded Warning where officials permit the blood to be rinsed or wiped and allow the combination to continue, provided the horse is considered fit | Only if the Ground Jury, in consultation with the Veterinary Delegate, deems the horse fit (Article 259.3) |
| Marks indicating excessive use of spurs or whip anywhere on the horse | Separate provision, Article 264.2.1 in the copy reviewed | Disqualification | Not stated in the sources reviewed |
Blood caused by tack, equipment or the athlete
Article 259.1 covers “any blood on the Horse caused by tack or equipment or any Athlete induced blood” found during a competition. The first case produces a Jumping Recorded Warning. If the same Person Responsible receives a second warning at the same or another event within 12 months of the first, the rule requires a CHF 1,000 fine and an automatic one-month suspension.
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Other blood cases
Article 259.2 treats other detected blood differently. Officials may permit the blood to be rinsed or wiped away and let the combination continue without a Jumping Recorded Warning, provided the horse is considered fit. The warning system is therefore not a response to every drop of blood, and it is not the only outcome available under the text.
The fitness decision that applies to every blood case
Article 259.3 is the safeguard most relevant to horse welfare. In all Article 259 blood cases, the horse may continue in the current or a later competition at the event only if the Ground Jury, in consultation with the Veterinary Delegate, has deemed it fit to compete. A warning does not mean the horse carries on automatically, and a case recorded without a warning still requires that fitness judgment.
Does a blood finding still eliminate the horse?
The provisions summarised above describe warnings, fines, suspensions and a fitness decision. They do not describe automatic elimination for a blood finding alone. Whether a particular horse continues depends on the Ground Jury’s fitness decision under Article 259.3, so the outcome of a specific case should be read from the official decision and the full rule text, not assumed from the existence of blood.
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How the debate developed
The FEI Sports Forum 2025, Session 4, addressed the full Jumping Rules revision. The FEI’s session summary records that the blood provision then in force, Article 241.3, was introduced to uphold equine welfare and fair play. Participants acknowledged a positive impact but raised two problems: ambiguity in applying the article, and inconsistent severity of sanctions. Education and uniform application among officials were also called for. Because the 2025 discussion refers to Article 241.3 as it then stood, the 2026 numbering should not be read as a line-by-line carry-over.
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Ideas raised at the session included graduated sanctions: a warning, then a yellow card, and potentially suspension for repeat or severe cases. These were proposals. The sources reviewed do not show that a yellow-card step appears in the 2026 text.
Two positions from the session
The International Alliance of Equestrian Journalists reported the session on 31 March 2025 and quoted two speakers. Stephan Ellenbruch, FEI Jumping Committee Chair, defended the need for a blood protocol while saying sanctions could be discussed: “The rule as it is does still make sense. But if there is a better way to sanction riders, let’s discuss it.”
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Francois Mathy Jr., speaking for the International Jumping Riders Club, said the aim was clearer definitions and sanctions matched to the seriousness of a case: “We are not looking to weaken the rule. We want to define it more clearly, to better align the sanction with the seriousness of the case.”
These are reported remarks, not regulatory language. Both speakers accept that the sanction needs to be clearer. The reported remarks do not show whether either would change the core structure of the rule.
Beyond jumping: harmonisation is still open
A September 2026 Horse & Hound report says the FEI set up a Horse Condition Task Force to examine a more harmonised approach to blood rules across disciplines. According to that report, the task force met in June 2026 without reaching consensus, no change would be put to the General Assembly, and discussion continues. Cross-discipline harmonisation has not been adopted.
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The same report gives an administrative count of 282 warnings and 13 suspensions under the new jumping approach since 1 January 2026. It is a secondary report’s figure, and the sources reviewed do not include an FEI primary data release confirming it. It counts enforcement actions. It is not a measure of injuries or welfare.
Dressage takes a different line. The same report says British Equestrian has recommended keeping dressage’s zero-tolerance approach. Its spokesperson argued that it can be difficult to identify exactly what caused blood during a competition or warm-up without clear definitions and appropriate veterinary checks. That is one federation’s stated position, not an established consensus across dressage or equestrian sport.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Testing the “jump backwards” claim
“Jump backwards” compares the 2026 jumping approach with a baseline the title does not name. The claim is therefore only as strong as the standard behind it. Five tests separate the arguments.
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Welfare precaution: does the horse’s condition stay central?
The 2026 text requires a fitness decision by the Ground Jury, with the Veterinary Delegate, before any blood case allows continuation. On paper, that is a clear veterinary-linked check. The sources reviewed do not show whether it produces better or worse outcomes for horses, so the test is about design, not results.
Attribution and fairness: can officials tell where the blood came from?
The rule divides cases by cause: tack, equipment or athlete action on one side, and tongue, lip or nose bleeds on the other. That division only works if officials can apply it consistently. The 2025 discussion named ambiguity as a central problem, and British Equestrian’s dressage concern makes the same point about cause. This is the test where the case for caution is strongest.
Proportionality and deterrence: do warnings lead to meaningful consequences?
A repeat case brings a CHF 1,000 fine and an automatic one-month suspension. That gives the warning a real consequence on a second offence. The 2025 proposals for a yellow card and graduated sanctions aimed at the gap between a warning and a suspension. Whether the current two-step structure is proportionate for minor or first-time cases is the question those proposals raised, and the sources reviewed do not settle it.
Transparency and public trust: can officials explain each outcome?
The Sports Forum discussion linked the rule to public acceptance and called for consistent procedure. A rule that looks uneven to riders, owners and spectators can lose trust even when it is applied in good faith. The question is whether officials can explain why one blood case produces a warning and another does not, and that explanation depends on the cause-based division described above.
Scope: is this a jumping question or an all-discipline question?
An argument about jumping does not automatically transfer to dressage or other disciplines. Harmonisation remained unresolved as of September 2026, so any verdict on the entire blood-rule system would be premature.
What the evidence does not establish
- The sources reviewed contain no longitudinal comparison of injuries, welfare outcomes, enforcement consistency or public attitudes before and after the 2026 change.
- The 282 warnings and 13 suspensions are a reported administrative count, not confirmed by FEI primary data in the sources reviewed, and not a welfare statistic.
- No formal regulator or court statement measuring the rule’s welfare effect was identified.
- No final decision has been reached on harmonising blood rules across disciplines.
Claims that the rule has proven to improve welfare, has proven to harm it, or commands consensus go beyond this evidence. A fair reading is narrower: the 2026 text strengthens one safeguard, the fitness decision before continuation, while the open questions concern attribution, proportionality and consistency. Those are the same concerns the 2025 forum raised. Judging whether the approach truly moves backwards would require data on blood cases by cause, records of how fitness decisions were reached, injury outcomes after blood cases, and evidence that officials apply the categories alike.
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