The official claimed he raised concerns about the horses, provided by the United Arab Emirates - a nation that has come under considerable pressure over the alleged abuse of horses in the discipline, and their racing workload - several weeks ago but his advice was ignored.

"It should be unthinkable for the KNHS, as a Federation, to send horses under ownership of the UAE to an international championship, especially now that they have written and spoken out internationally, denouncing the abhorrent [endurance] practices in the Middle East," Van den Dungen said in a statement published on his Facebook page.

"I do not wish to be associated with an organisation that pays lip service to horse welfare by putting success at the World Equestrian Games at the top of its agenda, instead of the welfare of the horse."

He raised particular concerns about two of the horses' participation in five International Equestrian Federation competitions within an eight-month period and claimed the riding of "strange" horses went again the guidelines of the Dutch coaching team.

Maarten van der Heijden, sports director of the KNHS, hit back at Van den Dungen's claims.

"We have horse welfare as a very high priority," he insisted.

"Not only in endurance, but in all disciplines.

"We are very critical, and we will continue to fully monitor and supervise.

"The coach insists continually that the riders train horses in a way that they form a combination with each other as much as possible.

"I understand that all this is a sensitive issue, but we have acted in accordance with the FEI rules.

"We would like to perform well at the World Equestrian Games but never at the expense of horses."

The FEI World Equestrian Games are due to take place in Normandy from August 23 to September 7.

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