Apologies for those of you who could not listen in live via the webcast player. For some reason it decided not to work yesterday, the first time this has happened in a year. However, I hope the replay above is of some recompense if you also did not manage to call in by phone. There will hopefully be a transcription of the call coming soon too.

Carolyn Resnick:

“A teacher of mine once said to me that you should be able to ride with string for reins and if you can’t, then you’re no horseman.”

For those of you interested in learning more about Carolyn’s Uberstreichen Excercises, she has just begun a free class on them, which is happening over on her Horsemanship From The Ground Up blog.

What is Rollkur?

Rollkur, or hyperflexion of the horse’s neck, is defined by the FEI (Fédération Equestre Internationale, the international governing body for all Olympic equestrian disciplines) as:

A technique of working/training used to provide a degree of longitudinal flexion of the mid-region of the neck. Hyperflexion cannot be self-maintained by the horse for an extended period of time.

In everyday terms, this exercise uses reins and pressure from the bit to pull the horse’s nose to its chest, thus over-bending the neck.

Why is it an issue?

Rollkur utilizes force to pull the horse’s head down to its chest. In this position the horse cannot see in front of itself, its breathing is impaired, and many experts and professionals believe rollkur may damage the horse both physically and psychologically. Ridden this way, the horse’s natural dynamic movement is lost, and classical dressage movement, as defined by the FEI’s own standards, becomes impossible.

If rollkur is so terrible why are riders using the technique winning at the upper levels of the sport?

Ask the FEI. The following is excerpted from the FEI Rules available to anyone as a downloadable PDF from their website. Read and compare to the Epona TV video. Search for online videos of winning FEI riders for the past few years and compare what’s being rewarded with the actual written standards.

Chapter I Dressage
Article 401 OBJECT AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF DRESSAGE
The object of dressage is the development of the horse into a happy athlete through harmonious education. As a result, it makes the horse calm, supple, loose and flexible, but also confident, attentive and keen, thus achieving perfect understanding with the rider.

These qualities are revealed by:
• The freedom and regularity of the paces.
• The harmony, lightness and ease of the movements.
• The lightness of the forehand and the engagement of the hindquarters, originating from a lively impulsion.
• The acceptance of the bit, with submissiveness/throughness (Durchlässigkeit) without any tension or resistance.

2. The horse thus gives the impression of doing, of its own accord, what is required. Confident and attentive, submitting generously to the control of the athlete, remaining absolutely straight in any movement on a straight line and bending accordingly when moving on curved lines.

3. The walk is regular, free and unconstrained. The trot is free, supple, regular and active. The canter is united, light and balanced. The hindquarters are never inactive or sluggish. The horse responds to the slightest indication of the athlete and thereby gives life and spirit to all the rest of its body.

4. By virtue of a lively impulsion and the suppleness of the joints, free from the paralysing effects of resistance, the horse obeys willingly and without hesitation and responds to the various aids calmly and with precision, displaying a natural and harmonious balance both physically and mentally.

5. In all the work, even at the halt, the horse must be “on the bit”. A horse is said to be “on the bit” when the neck is more or less raised and arched according to the stage of training and the extension or collection of the pace, accepting the bridle with a light and consistent soft submissive contact. The head should remain in a steady position, as a rule slightly in front of the vertical, with a supple poll as the highest point of the neck, and no resistance should be offered to the athlete.

6. Cadence is shown in trot and canter and is the result of the proper harmony that a horse shows when it moves with well-marked regularity, impulsion and balance. Cadence must be maintained in all the different trot or canter exercises and in all the variations of these paces.

7. The regularity of the paces is fundamental to dressage.

Why is this important now?

Rollkur is not new. After Dutch Olympic dressage champion Anky Van Grunsven was videotaped in a warmup arena riding her horse using this method and created a public outcry, the FEI met with a panel of world-class biomechanics and equine anatomy experts in Switzerland on January 31, 2006.

The FEI concluded that there was no evidence that rollkur causes direct harm to the horse when used in the right way by expert riders. They did add, however, that it could cause harm if used incorrectly by inexperienced riders and that hyperflexion cannot be self-maintained by the horse for an extended period of time.

The controversy surrounding rollkur rekindled recently when Epona TV published a video of dressage rider Patrik Kittel riding his stallion Scandic in a World Cup Qualifier in Denmark. The video showed Scandic’s discolored, limp, tongue hanging out of his mouth. The video has created a global outcry. Groups have been formed and petitions are being signed protesting the use of this controversial method and demanding investigation and action by the FEI.

What you can do to help:

Join Heather Moffett’s Blue Tongue Facebook Group for up to the minute updates.

Help get the word out. Put links on your blogs and web pages educating your readers about this issue. YOU MAY REPRINT THIS ARTICLE IN FULL OR TAKE THE LINKS PROVIDED.

Sign the existing petitions.

BAN USAGE OF ROLLKUR

REQUEST FEI TO BAN HYPERFLEXION IN COMPETITION

Use the growing directory of dressage associations and rollkur sponsors to write and complain.

Support riders and trainers who ride and train without using rollkur.
Support companies who sponsor these humane riders and trainers.

Thanks to Billie Hinton for permission to reproduce this article.

VIDEO1

As suggested by Emma:

VIDEO 2

As suggested by SHARON:

VIDEO 3

The FEI condemns all training methods and practices that are contrary to horse welfare. The welfare of the horse has always been and will always be at the core of every aspect of the Federation’s work as the international governing body for equestrian sport.

During its meeting in Copenhagen (DEN) on 15 November, the FEI Bureau had extensive discussion on the issue of hyperflexion. The FEI Bureau insists that, with immediate effect, stewards in all disciplines use the disciplinary measures available to them, such as verbal warnings and yellow warning cards *, to prevent any infringement of FEI rules.

The FEI is now engaged with World Horse Welfare, a leading international equestrian organisation, in addition to continued consultation with riders, trainers, officials and veterinarians to thoroughly research the issues. The further education of stewards will also continue to ensure that welfare issues at FEI events are dealt with promptly and professionally.

The FEI acknowledges and welcomes public opinion and will continue to ensure that the welfare of the horse, which has been central to this debate, will remain its absolute priority.

* If a rider receives two yellow warning cards within one year, he / she is automatically suspended for a period of two months immediately following the event at which the second yellow warning card was received.

A study of the Rollkur technique used in dressage horse training has been carried out in Canada.

In Rollkur, the horse’s neck is hyper flexed so that the nose is very close to, if not touching, the chest. The front of the head is behind the vertical (angled in) instead of being vertical or slightly forward of vertical as in normal poll flexion.

Dr Ute von Borstel and others working at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada conducted a series of tests to investigate whether the technique adversely affects the horse’s welfare.

The FEI’s draft description of Rollkur states that:

“Hyperflexion of the neck is a technique of working/training to provide a degree of longitudinal flexion of the mid-region of the neck. Hyperflexion cannot be self-maintained by the horse for an extended period of time.”

With the help of two equestrian centres – one in Ontario, the other in Ohio – the researchers devised a preference test, to see if horses would choose or avoid Rollkur if they had the choice.

Equine Science Update e-news reports that each horse was ridden into the trunk of a Y-shaped maze and allowed to choose which arm of the maze to take to enter an exercise area. After leaving the maze the horses would be ridden in 20 metre circles in either the Rollkur or normal poll flexion posture, depending on which arm of the maze they had chosen.

Previous training had taught the horses that leaving through the left arm would result in being ridden in the Rollkur posture. Leaving through the right arm resulted in being worked in a normal outline.

A rider would ride the horse into the maze, but allow the horse to choose the exit – and by implication the style of riding that would follow.

Fourteen of the 15 horses in the study chose the normal poll flexion.

Another part of the study involved horses being exposed to a “fear test” whilst being ridden either Rollkur or normally. Each horse suddenly encountered a fear-inducing stimulus: a fan blowing air with plastic strips attached to it; and an umbrella that was opened and closed as the horse approached.

The researchers found that horses tended to have higher heart rates and to react more to the fear-inducing stimulus, when ridden in Rollkur rather than in normal poll flexion.

The researcher concluded:

“Horses show higher levels of discomfort when ridden in a coercively obtained Rollkur posture compared to regular poll flexion, and that they will avoid being ridden in Rollkur if given the choice.”

Impact of riding in a coercively obtained Rollkur posture on welfare and fear of performance horses.
UU von Borstel, IJH Duncan, AK Shoveller, K Merkies, LJ Keeling, ST Millman. Applied Animal Behaviour Science (2009) 116, 228 – 236.
Equine Science Update

HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein
President Federation Equestre Internationale
Avenue Mon-Repos 24
PO Box 1571005
Lausanne
Switzerland

29th October 2009

Your Royal Highness,

You cannot be unaware of the disquiet – not to say anger – which has arisen following the depiction on Epona TV of Patrik Kittel’s horse in apparent distress as it competed in Odense on 18th October. As you are doubtless aware, in terms both of membership and breadth of interest, The British Horse Society (BHS) is the largest single equestrian organisation in the UK. Our examinations system, and the training and education which underpin it, have earned for the Society international recognition. No less important is our work to promote the highest standards of equine welfare, which suffuses every facet of our work.

I am pleased to report that our commitment to equine welfare is shared by all our colleagues within the British Equestrian Federation, although on this occasion I am writing solely on behalf of the BHS. Let me acknowledge straight away that no representative of the BHS was present in Denmark to witness the horse’s apparent distress, nor do we have the benefit of a contemporaneous veterinary report. Moreover, we do not for one minute suggest that Patrik Kittel at any time sought to treat his horse other than with proper care and respect.

Nevertheless, in matters of equine welfare, the precautionary principle must always apply: if, despite the absence of conclusive proof, the wellbeing of a horse is called into question, there will exist a strong moral obligation on the FEI to respond immediately. In our view, the concerns so widely expressed are reasonable and therefore deserving of an urgent two-part investigation: first, an inquiry into the treatment of this particular horse on this particular occasion; and, second, a broader inquiry into the ethics and consequences of hyperflexion.

In this second aspect The British Horse Society stands ready to assist the FEI in any way it can. Please note that we pass no comment on the aesthetics of seeing a competition horse contorted in a way it never appears to choose for itself when in its natural state. Our concern is only to speak out when we believe that the welfare of horses demands it.

Yours sincerely,

Patrick Print FBHS
Chairman,
The British Horse Society

“What struck me in this revealing and devastating video in addition to the abhorent and obvious abuse of this horse, is the looks on the faces of the spectators. They obviously see what is happening – yet did the conventions of society prevent them from speaking out? Surely the other riders in the arena were watching too? What elevates a rider to such a status that his conduct is overlooked by these witnesses? This sort of thing is what causes horse abuse to exist in our world, as much as the actual abuse itself. It is the silence of the onlooker, in the moment the abuse is happening.

Just because an authority is not present in the moment, one can speak out, or track down an authority to report this violation and even if action is not taken, then there is more fuel for the fire of accusations of abuse being overlooked. Does the fear of making a scene or being socially outcast for standing up for a creature that has no voice of its own condone not coming to its defense? Where is the celebration of the horse as the magnificent creature it is? This beautiful horse has become a machine, and is obviously deadened to its own survival needs by emotional apathy knowing its needs will never come first.”

Kim McElroy

Margaret Mead once said:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world: indeed it’s the only thing that ever has”

“This is the uncut version of the video sequence, which shows the KWPN stallion, Watermill Scandic, being ridden in the hyperflexed/rollkur position with its blue tongue lolling out at the World Cup dressage qualifier in Odense, Denmark in October 2009.

It has been stated that the original video did not accurately represent events because part of the footage had been slowed, and part had been edited out. Whilst editing ones footage is a normal part of a journalistic process, and by no means devalues ones work, here is the entire sequence in its uncut state. For good measure.

Sorry about the shaky bits this is what unedited footage sometimes looks like “

Luise & Julie, EPONA.tv