TV Tip: NDR Report “Horses as Commodities” – Is Money Ruining Equestrian Sports?

TV Tip – The NDR film “Ware Pferd” asks: “Is money ruining equestrian sports?”

Scene 03.10.2026

NDR film “Ware Pferd” asks: “Is money ruining equestrian sports?” Photo: NDR

For many people, horses are their best friends, a source of comfort, and partners in sports and leisure. But they are also a product backed by an industry. NDR has made a film about this tension and spoke with two very different protagonists on the subject: Paul Schockemöhle and Kerstin Gerhardt.

Industry meets a representative of the “true way”—in the NDR film “Ware Pferd,” the filmmakers Maren Höfle and Sugarka Sielaff examine the horse industry in Germany from, as the title suggests, a commercial perspective. Horses—behind them lies a multi-billion-euro industry. If you want to know how globalization works, just take a look at the flight schedules of international sport horses.

Market Shifts

As part of the “Sportclub Story” series, this film takes a look at the industry and spoke with Paul Schockemöhle. He not only breeds thousands of horses a year, but also sells a similar number. “The average horse is becoming harder and harder to sell, while top-tier horses have become increasingly expensive,” says Schockemöhle, summarizing the trends in the horse trade over the past 30 years.

Health on the Decline

“The modern sport horse—and I have to put it this bluntly—is bred for disease, because the focus is on beauty rather than substance and longevity,” says Kerstin Gerhardt. The riding instructor from the Lüneburg Heath has long been one of the voices calling for a return to the training principles that used to prevail.

The topic of health features prominently in the documentary. The announcement states: “Drawing on (…) well-informed expert opinions from the field of veterinary medicine, the film sheds light on the fatal consequences of extreme economic pressure, performance-oriented breeding aimed at maximizing output, and increasingly aggressive training practices.” And the filmmakers’ intention is clearly articulated: “The film *Ware Pferd* provides a controversial and highly topical assessment of an industry undergoing radical change—and unsparingly demonstrates that equestrian sports must fundamentally reexamine its system if it is to survive.”