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Rollkur

‘No Rollkur’ message from Philippe Karl

February 3, 2010

Tortured show jumperTime is short for puting your name forward against the use of hyperflexion. In the following letter, Philippe Karl invites you to make a difference by signing a petition to be submitted in a week’s time at an FEI meeting in Switzerland.

Although science is to be considered at the FEI meeting, the types of tests that are undertaken are difficult morally, difficult to undertake, and the past methodologies have at times been sub-standard, which is why I think that, in addition to the science,  ‘common-sense’ should be used and erring on the  side of caution is advisable. The petition Mr Karl mentions is one way to add your voice, and I encourage you to do the same.

Hyperflexion show jumper

Dear Madam, Dear Sir,

On 9 February 2010, more than 20 experts will attend an FEI meeting in Switzerland to discuss once again whether the so-called hyperflexion (“Rollkur”) is an adequate method of training a horse. In order to support the opponents of this method and offer them further arguments, a petition has been initiated at www.no-rollkur.com. We’d like to invite you to support this action against hyperflexion – time is short!

You were so kind as to sign our own petition calling for reforms of the FN rules, which was initiated in May 2009. This obviously bore fruit: The German FN eventually invited Philippe Karl for a meeting in Warendorf, Germany. They now have to find an appropriate date. We will of course keep you informed about the outcome of this meeting.

Thank you very much again for your support!
Cordially,

Philippe Karl & his team

Here’s the link again: www.no-rollkur.com

Hyperflexion

Thanks for your time and happy riding…

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Klaus reveals horses ‘die inside’

November 16, 2009

Dressage Disgrace’s teleseminar with Klaus Hempfling on Rollkur was illuminating – it is important that we have these conversations, and I would like to thank Mark from Dressage Disgrace for making this conversation possible.

Photo courtesy of Klaus Hempfling (KFH Archives)

Photo courtesy of Klaus Hempfling (KFH Archives) http://www.hempfling.com/

What did Klaus say?

Klaus said that the dignity of the horse is lost, his sight is hampered and respiration is hindered when in Rollkur. He noted that if we were to beat a cat or dog, it would not be considered acceptable, but that hitting horses is perfectly legal in most countries.

The control of the horse’s neck has proven a very successful and speedy way to control a horse, and is also used a lot in show jumping; that this form of neck control is mostly used ‘without empathy’.

The majority of horses that are coming to Klaus are ‘depressed’. He thinks that it is a reflection of society and how humans have ‘lost themselves’.  He says that a second reason is that in horse whispering and dressage circles

the psychological level of the horse is being brought down, breaking the soul of the horse; there is no light, no magic in the horse; he has lost his dignity, is in permanent panic, and is scarred for life, because there is no way out

In some natural horsemanship practises he sees horses are ‘giving up’, as an antelope does to the lion in a predator/prey relationship when he can do no more to escape.

Sadly Klaus doesn’t have too much hope for horses that have been ridden using Rollkur. He says it is nearly impossible to restore the horse’s internal ‘fire’. Although recognising that he has a special gift, he says horses like this are

typically lost, they are half-killed

It may be possible to bring the life back to the horse, but it takes a lot of time; Klaus sometimes has to tell people that they should never ride their horse again, because the horse will ‘die again’ when the saddle goes on.

What are the alternatives?

Klaus advocates that we should open our eyes to see the reality, that indeed reality is more often not seen by those closest to the horse, but instead by the observers who may see it clearly.

Watch the world with your eyes, see the natural horse, and his typical balance – the balance is very different between native horse breeds such as the French Camargue or Haflinger with short, bulky necks and jaws, than the very different composition warmblood horses.

Go out and look at horses, he says – look at your horse, look at photos. The build of the horse dictates how the horse has evolved or been bred to ride; for example the Spanish horse needs the reins to feel that he hasn’t been deserted.  Klaus uses a cavesson halter, vibrating the rein softly, and with a loose contact, he says  ’the horse knows I am here’. Klaus says that to forget the reins (e.g. suggest the horse needs no reins at all) is quite wrong for some breeds, and that you must instead bring yourself to the suitable level to ride them.

Klaus himself uses two systems of riding – ‘natural riding’ (his favourite) on one style of horse – the stronger, more naturally evolved horse, but horses bred ‘with another set of skills’ with reins.

It is evident that Klaus has a true empathy of what it could be to be a horse, to respond to the world in the horse’s way, a view that challenges our anthropocentric view and leaves us feeling pretty uncomfortable. Like many uncomfortable experiences, it is a call to move to the next level of realisation and change.

www.DressageDisgrace.com has made the Hempfling Rollkur discussion available of this discussion.

To find out more about Klaus Hampfling’s work, go to www.hempfling.com

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Anky van Grunsven, Patrik Kittel and the horse’s blue tongue

November 15, 2009

Over on Twitter, TrotonTV (John Bethell) wanted my thoughts on Anky van Grunsven’s reply about her student Patrik Kittel’s  ‘Blue Tongue’ video recording, now being investigated by FEI. (I also wrote about it here).

140 tweet characters does not allow a particularly thorough reply!

So John, here you go…

Example of unknown dressage horse ridden in Rollkur (hyperflexion)

Example of unknown dressage horse ridden in Rollkur (hyperflexion)

We must use a degree of caution, knowing that the link is a translation (for those of us who don’t read Dutch!)  With anything translated, there is always a danger of the old problem of ‘meaning lost in translation’.

For the benefit of our discussion here, I am talking about the translation made by Google today, 15 November 2009.

  1. Anky appears to suggest that the horse’s tongue was over the bit. The question arises: ”is it OK for the horse to go with the tongue over the bit at all?; but also why would he want to put his tongue over the bit?
  2. Assuming Anky is right, and that the tongue was over the bit, the answer is: because of pressure on his tongue that he is trying to escape. A horse trying to escape tongue pressure retracts his tongue in his mouth, and can then get it ‘over the bit’.
  3. My thoughts are that if the tongue is blue: (a) it probably not simply over the bit, but is either trapped between the two bits, or under both bits, but with sufficient pressure to limit oxygenated blood supply to the tongue, making it appear blue (unoxygenated), OR (b) [and this is a very unqualified statement on my part, as I don't know of any studies that have addressed this] perhaps it possible that blue tongue is merely a symptom of lack of oxygenated blood to the horse’s whole head caused by overbent neck limiting oxygenated blood supply.
  4. I am not sure what ‘losrijterrein’ means. It is possible this means hyperflexion or Rollkur, but I do not know. If this does mean hyperflexion, I am not sure if she is saying that audiences either (a) are used to seeing hyperflexion, (b) regularly complain about it, or (c) are used to seeing it enough to think it normal.
  5. The translated reply says that horses ‘can put their tongues over the bit for any reason and that it need not be negative’ – perhaps something here is confused in translation, or maybe not. I don’t accept that a horse going with  tongue over the bit is acceptable, one wonders why this wasn’t this pointed out to the rider by officials.
  6. Anky recognises that the FEI has to uphold equine welfare, but thinks that the problem has been blown out of proportion and that they need to support riders also.

Personally, I am relieved this is getting attention at the FEI.

Somewhere I have read that Anky says the science does not show that hyperflexion is detrimental to the horse. She is right in this comment – studies of Rollkur  have been inconclusive, they are not easy undertaken, and indeed the science does not as yet point firmly in one direction. A recent report to the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality noted studies contained  flaws in methodology, limited numbers, or unhelpful parameters were used and that

This leads us to conclude there is insufficient scientific evidence to confirm unequivocally whether or not there are welfare issues involved in training techniques using hyperflexion’.

The case of hyperflexion and the blue tongue is perhaps a situation where rather than relying solely on the current scientific evidence, common sense should enable us to utilise our knowledge of biology, pain, biomechanics (and physics – e.g. the lever action of the curb), which is what I believe many educated people are trying to do.

You will see on the FEI website, their rules governing Abuse of Horses (Article 142, page 35) – specifically notes that no person may use actions ”causing pain or unnecessary discomfort to a horse’. Given what has been observed of recent times, these actions have not been held to account for years.

This raises the question: given the implications for the FEI and equestrian sport in general, is the FEI the appropriate body to conduct and impartial investigation into Patrik Kittel’s horse’s blue tongue? – or is it a case as Bidda Jones of the Australian RSPCA suggests ‘is the fox in the hen house’?

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Rollkur use investigated by EponaTV

October 30, 2009

EponaTV has sparked much-needed debate on the use of Rollkur in horse-training, having taped a 2 hour video of a World Cup dressage horse ridden by Swedish rider, Patrik Kittel in warm-up.

The horse is seen in hyper-flexion (the scientific name for Rollkur), and the tongue is well extended, flapping outside the horse’s mouth and appears to be blue, leading to the footage becoming known as ‘the blue tongue’ debate.

You can view some footage here (there are extended versions available):

The journalists asked for comment by the horse’s rider, who apparently felt he was not contravening FEI welfare rules, although he was interested in speaking through his lawyer.

Submission to 5 veterinarians for comment noted hypoxia of the horse’s tongue, and YouTube viewers are increasingly vocal on what they see, resulting in petitions and letters to the FEI.

EponaTV has a website at http://www.epona.tv/uk, where you can find out more.

If you would like to follow through in petitioning the FEI, you can do it on iPetitions

UPDATE: As a result of the video that has emerged, the following has been reported in Horse & Hound:

At the Global Dressage Forum on Monday, FEI executive sports director David Holmes announced the FEI’s decision to investigate, saying: “The FEI’s main concern has always been and will always be the welfare of the horse. We are taking the issues raised in the video and in the comments made by other Youtube viewers very seriously and have opened an investigation. The conclusions of this investigation will be made public.”

However, BHS chairman Patrick Print has since written to HRH Princess Haya requesting the FEI launch a second investigation into the practise of hyperflexion.

Print’s letter reads: “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.”

In my opinion, Julie Taylor and Luise Tomsen from EponaTV deserve an award for services to horse welfare.

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Equestrian competition’s sad expose

August 1, 2009

Show jumper water-skiingProfessor Leo Jeffcott was a plenary speaker at the ISES Conference in Sydney. having worked as an FEI event veterinarian (including 6 Olympic Games, 4 World Equestrian Games and 4 World Cups).

Professor Jeffcott was well-placed to speak on the importance of research to welfare and athletic performance. He presented a sad expose of welfare-breaches that have occurred during top-level competition – from Stockholm to The Hague and Rome – horses dying from heat stress, Aspirin use as an illegal anti-inflammatory/painkiller, anti-psychotic use on a horse and the 5 charges of illegal Capsaicin (drug) at last year’s Beijing Olympics, as well as Rollkür use (over-bending of the horse’s neck, bringing the horse’s head towards it’s chest) in dressage training.

Extreme measures show jumpers have used to inflict pain to teach horses to avoid hitting the fences include: chemical pain-induction, rapping (knocking the legs, including in some cases with nailed poles) and using mechanical bandaging techniques. Professor Jeffcott says forensic tests including thermography to identify areas of heat, has brought welfare benefits to competition horses, but that these methods can only be used at a competition.  He said that some cases were the result of ‘inappropriate medication rather than deliberate doping’.

The main issues historically facing eventing have been: heat stress, acclimatisation problems and falls, deaths of and injuries to horses and riders.  The introduction of misting fans and changes to cross-country/endurance day have produced welfare improvements for competitors in equestrian events.

Rollkür (also known as low-deep and round, LDR or hyper-flexion) has been the most publicised taint on dressage; it was noted ‘that the horse cannot self-maintain the position for a prolonged time with-out welfare implications’.

One of the conference presenters noted that the pain and discomfort of Rollkür makes it unacceptable under the Danish animal protection law.  A recent paper by ISES scientists undertaken for the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality to provide an update on hyperflexion research (since the 2006 FEI workshop), shows that the few interim studies are not conclusive in one direction, however.

A delegate said that “having the FEI in charge of competition welfare rules was like having a fox guard the henhouse”, there was then a short discussion on the possible value of independent veterinary regulation at competitions.

The conference’s organisers said that the eyes of the world are firmly focussed on the welfare implications of horse sports and that ‘animal welfare groups have a strong influence on public perceptions – the speed and scope of media delivery means that images fly around the world in seconds after an incident. Therefore we need to be proactive in discussing and promoting ethical and sustainable training and management systems before someone else dictates our practices to us’.

It is vital therefore, that riders at all levels consider the welfare implications of their actions in the training, competition and care of their horses.

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