For many years now, the Municipal Administration has felt the need to implement a series of initiatives for the protection of the horses used in the Campo to run the Palio.

It has therefore tried to improve internal rules and procedures, to raise awareness among professionals and the Sienese in general, already traditionally close to the theme of the well-being and protection of these animals, to incorporate every possible suggestion and innovation in the matter.
It is at the end of the 90s that the complex and in-depth reflections shared at city level by the numerous stakeholders in the Palio area are put into practice. In May 1999, the Administration begins fruitful collaborations with third parties to carry out accurate blood tests aimed at reiterating and verifying what has always been provided for in the Regulation, namely the prohibition of administering substances with stimulating and depressant activities and local anaesthetics. At the same time, there is a second important action by the Administration aimed at finding solutions for greater safety for horses and jockeys during the race; thus, in June 1999, the protections present at the San Martino curve are redesigned, which is set up with an innovative high-absorption protection barrier. A few weeks later, the "Protocol for the provision of incentives for the maintenance of Palio horses" is also approved and the Register of horses continuously and specifically trained to run on the Campo is established on an experimental basis. This is what still today, through annual renewals, appears to be the most complex and meaningful intervention.

Through this project, in fact, the following objectives were pursued:

• accreditation of owners, after verification of adequate requirements;
• selection of horses with characteristics that meet the biometric parameters considered optimal for the commitment to be faced;
• training of subjects in competitions and training races in order to optimize preparation and adaptability to the Palio route;
• implementation of a system of economic incentives to direct owners towards the purchase and breeding of horses with shared characteristics;
• constant monitoring of animals by veterinarians belonging to the appropriate Municipal Technical Commission.

text taken from the official website of the Municipality of Siena, for further information follow this link