The FEI have suspended a rider over alleged horse abuse ©FEI

The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) have suspended rider Khaled Ebrahim Khalil Khairi after he was found guilty of horse abuse.

The Bahrain rider was accused of using an extra pair of reigns as a whip on horse Happy Jack during a 120 kilometre endurance event in Sakhir on January 14.

The FEI said that whips are not allowed in endurance racing.

Khairi has been suspended for three months by the FEI, while he has also been fined CHF2,000 (£1,500/$2,100/€1,700) with costs of CHF1,000 (£675/$1,065/€886).

The FEI have also confirmed a two-year ban has been imposed on South African jumping athlete Jeanne Engela.

It follows her horse Chanel Van De Zeshoek testing positive for paracetamol at a competition in Polokwane during 2016.

Paracetamol is a banned substance under FEI equine anti-doping and controlled medication regulations.

The sanction has been backdated to the date of the sample collection on September 3, 2016.

Van De Zeshoek's sanction is set to run until September 2, 2018.

She has also been fined CHF2,000 (£1,500/$2,100/€1,700) and ordered to contribute CHF 1,500 (£1,100/$1,600/€1,300) towards the cost of the procedure and the B-sample.

Two athletes have been found to have "no fault or negligence" for positive tests for their horses.

The offence was believed to have taken place at an endurance event ©Getty Imagres
The offence was believed to have taken place at an endurance event ©Getty Imagres

The substance sparteine was detected in a sample taken from the horse Sirene de la Motte in February 2017, ridden by Brazil's Marlon Modolo Zanotelli at a competition in Vilamoura, Portugal.

Blaze of Glory II, which was ridden by British rider Henry Turrell, tested positive for the same substance at the same venue one month later.

Sparteine was reclassified as a specified substance as part of the updated World Anti-Doping Agency rules on January 1, 2018.

Both athletes were successfully able to prove that their horses had eaten hay that had been contaminated by lupin flowers, which grow readily in Portugal.

As a result, a verdict of "no fault or negligence for the positive findings" was given to the two athletes.

They reached an agreement with the FEI on February 6, which was approved by the FEI Tribunal and incorporated into the final decision dated February 13.

Under the terms of the agreements, there are no sanctions against either Turrell or Zanotelli.

Both horses were automatically disqualified from the events where they tested positive.