The full version of this article by Luise Thomsen and Julie Taylor is available at: EPONA.tv
A quick glance at the warm up arena at the World Cup dressage qualifier of the season in Odense, Denmark, revealed hyperflexed horses and blue tongues.
For a minimum of two hours, Swedish Olympic rider Patrik Kittel trained his stallion, Watermill Scandic, in various degrees of hyperflexion, on Friday ahead of Saturday’s Grand Prix Special. EPONA.tv was passing by the warm up at 3.45 pm, and at this time, the rider was well into his session. At circa 5.45, the session ended.
During the training session, EPONA.tv spoke to a spectator who claimed to have notified one of the show’s officials of the prolonged hyperflexion. Odense’s Chief Steward confirms to EPONA.tv that a complaint was lodged against Patrik Kittel’s riding, but it was not deemed necessary to comment or take action, because Kittel was no worse than other riders using the same method.
EPONA.tv has spoken to Patrik Kittel, and asked him if he thinks he is riding in accordance with the FEI Code of Conduct.
“I think you should send the questions in an email along with the footage, so I can give it to my lawyers,”
said Patrik Kittel. EPONA.tv follows up by asking whether he himself is unaware of whether he rides in accordance with the FEI Code of Conduct.
“Of course I do. Otherwise a steward would do something about it. But I don’t want to discuss it with you now. Have a good day,”
concludes the rider.
There were more horses at the World Cup qualifier whose tongues were blue. Here, the retracted lips clearly show how the curb is pressing down on the tongue, impairing blood circulation. Note the difference between the colour of the tongue and the mucus membrane of the bars.
Blue tongue due to ischaemia
“When we see dressage horses with blue tongues, it’s because blood circulation is reduced in the tongue. When the blood supply is reduced, tissue hypoxia ensues in the tongue, and it turns blue,”
says Marianne Dahl, DVM, a Danish equine welfare specialist. She elaborates:
“The explanation is in the horse’s mouth and it’s the curb bit and rein tension which cause the problem. As long as a horse is not bitted, the tongue is relaxed and takes up the entire oral cavity. The tongue is a very dextrous and sensitive organ. In a well fitted curb, the tongue can still be relaxed and fill out the oral cavity as long as there is no rein tension. The moment the rider puts tension into the reins, the angle of the curb to the mouth is altered, and pressure on the tongue is increased. The tongue, which consists of muscle tissue, becomes tense and may be flattened.
If the tension is high – which is to say that there is a marked change in the angle between the shank of the bit and the bars of the horse’s mouth – and if the pressure is held for a prolonged period, ischaemia and hypoxia may follow. The tongue will become discoloured and turn blue or purple. If the chain on the curb is tight, the pressure on the tongue will be stronger, and if the nose band is tight, so the horse can’t open its mouth, the pressure on the tongue will be even stronger still.
Hypoxic muscle tissue is extremely painful. So therefore, it’s completely unacceptable to subject a horse to riding techniques which causes hypoxic discolouration of the tongue.”
The full version of this article by Luise Thomsen and Julie Taylor is available at: EPONA.tv
Chris Sakoutis, I couldn’t agree with you more – dressage is a business, horses are expensive and those who make money at this game are few and far between. It’s down to the judges, who apparently reward this kind of training, and the officials who condone it. Of course the horses are not being ridden in this extreme frame in the arena, but you judges know fine well what is going on in the collecting ring, and at home – indeed, you may well be training these techniques yourselves. Either the spectators’ expertise is starting to exceed that of the judges – unlikely – or the judges choose to ignore the evidence of the damaged goods paraded before them. So, no more sniping and backbiting, it’s not in the interests of the horse. Instead, listen to the irrefutable scientific facts from the likes of Dr Gerd Heuschmann regarding equine biomechanics and you will perhaps begin to appreciate why we – the educated enthusiast – just don’t want to watch this kind of digusting abuse in the name of dressage.
Dressage is Meant to be a very graceful well disciplined sport. The extended periods of Rollkur is totally Uncalled for. And in the article where it says
” lodged against Patrik Kittel’s riding, but it was not deemed necessary to comment or take action, because Kittel was no worse than other riders using the same method.”
Are you kidding me? THEY ALL SHOULD HAVE BEEN WARN OF HAVE POINTS DOCKED FOR NEGLEGENT RIDING!!
Dressage is a wonderful sport of riding… But really your going to lower your self to hurting your horse to get the kind of flex? Ahh that is disgusting!
Obviously I have seriously misunderstood the intent of Dressage. Silly me, I always thought it was a beautiful relationship between horse and rider.
Quite obviously it is more about control at any price. As much as I have enjoyed watching Dressage in the past, forever more it will be tainted with visions of this lovely horse being handled in such a distasteful and cruel manner.
Jan
I would love to this rider come back in life as a horse and have this done to him….it is a shame that nobody felt it necesary to do anything..there were other horses there in the same shape…what does that say for the sport…
The justification is the winning.
Simply put, the trainer trains them this way, they win, they continue to use rolkur.
The rider rides them this way, they win, they continue to use rolkur.
Take out the winning and you take out the rolkur.
How disgraceful – anyone who does not see that it is animal cruelty should try having a bit in the mouth and been ridden they way that so called professional is riding. How can that be olyimpic standards? The FEI should be the leading body to put a stop to unacceptable riding techinics and equipment that courses pain and suffering to horses not the leading body turning a blind eye and allow it!
And who is Kittel’s trainer . . . . . . there are obviously trainers who see nothing wrong in this sort of massacre? And of course Kittel is not the only rider at that level inflicting this on horses . . .
i cannot believe Kittel’s ignorance…he goes and inserts the stallion’s toungue back into his mouth, but choses to ignore the sign of blocked blood flow and goes straight back into hyperflexing the horse…thank you for launching Dressage Disgrace and driving attention to this issue…seeing the sport and the animal i love so dearly pushed over the limits makes me very sad…i wonder is it the money that turned the beauty of classical dressage to this uber competitive horse violation?
I just don’t understand how anyone can justify this sort of abuse. It is totally unacceptable, and totally unnecessary.