enlightened horsemanship through touch

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FEI PRESS RELEASE
21 June 2010

Safety helmets strongly recommended by Dressage Committee

Following the accident in which Courtney King-Dye (USA) sustained serious head injuries in a schooling fall in Florida earlier this year, the FEI Dressage Committee has today issued a recommendation regarding the wearing of protective headgear. The FEI Dressage Committee strongly recommends that all riders should wear properly fastened safety helmets when training and in pre-competition warm-ups at all international Dressage shows.

Riders still have the choice of wearing protective headgear in the competition arena.

Media Contact:
Grania Willis
FEI Director Press Relations
Tel: +41 787 506 142
Email: grania.willis@fei.org

Still, what harm could a mandate do?

Finally, a coherent collection of alternatives to LDR by Linda Tellington-Jones, entitled Rollkur, Hyperflexion, LDR (Low, Deep & Round).

Let me know what you think.

Here is a brief article on the roundtable conference decision at the FEI today.

image courtesy FEI

Following constructive debate at the FEI round-table conference at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne today (9 February), the consensus of the group was that any head and neck position of the horse achieved through aggressive force is not acceptable. The group redefined hyperflexion/Rollkur as flexion of the horse’s neck achieved through aggressive force, which is therefore unacceptable. The technique known as Low, Deep and Round (LDR), which achieves flexion without undue force, is acceptable.

The group unanimously agreed that any form of aggressive riding must be sanctioned. The FEI will establish a working group, headed by Dressage Committee Chair Frank Kemperman, to expand the current guidelines for stewards to facilitate the implementation of this policy. The group agreed that no changes are required to the current FEI Rules.

The FEI Management is currently studying a range of additional measures, including the use of closed circuit television for warm-up arenas at selected shows.

The group also emphasised that the main responsibility for the welfare of the horse rests with the rider.

The FEI President HRH Princess Haya accepted a petition of 41,000 signatories against Rollkur presented by Dr Gerd Heuschman.

The participants in the FEI round-table conference were:

HRH Princess Haya, FEI President
Alex McLin, FEI Secretary General
Margit Otto-Crépin, International Dressage Riders Club Representative
Linda Keenan, International Dressage Trainers Club Representative
Sjef Janssen, Dressage Representative
Frank Kemperman, Chairman, FEI Dressage Committee (by conference call)
François Mathy, International Jumping Riders Club Representative
David Broome, Jumping Representative
Jonathan Chapman, Eventing Representative
Roly Owers, World Horse Welfare Representative
Tony Tyler, World Horse Welfare Representative
Ulf Helgstrand, President, Danish Equestrian Federation
John McEwen, Chairman, FEI Veterinary Committee
Dr Sue Dyson, Veterinary Representative
Dr Gerd Heuschman, Veterinary Representative
Prof. René van Weeren, Veterinary Representative
Jacques van Daele, FEI Honorary Steward General Dressage
Graeme Cooke, FEI Veterinary Director
Trond Asmyr, FEI Director Dressage and Para-Equestrian Dressage
John Roche, FEI Director Jumping and Stewarding
Catrin Norinder, FEI Director Eventing
Carsten Couchouron, FEI Executive Director Commercial
Richard Johnson, FEI Communications Director

The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), founded in 1921, is the international body governing equestrian sport recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and includes 133 National Federations. Equestrian sport has been on the Olympic programme since 1912 with three disciplines – Jumping, Dressage and Eventing. It is one of the very few sports in which men and women compete on equal terms. It is also the only sport which involves two athletes – horse and rider. The FEI has relentlessly concerned itself with the welfare of the horse, which is paramount and must never be subordinated to competitive or commercial influences.

(all emphases mine)

In true FEI style, this is a shimmer of progress for the welfare of the horse, but no definitive steps have been taken.

To address the points I emphasized above:

1. The group redefined hyperflexion/Rollkur as flexion of the horse’s neck achieved through aggressive force, which is therefore unacceptable. Thank you FEI for listening.

2. The technique known as Low, Deep and Round (LDR), which achieves flexion without undue force, is acceptable. This is problematic.

3. The group unanimously agreed that any form of aggressive riding must be sanctioned…The group agreed that no changes are required to the current FEI Rules.
Translation: “It’s not OK but we’re not going to do anything about violators.”

4. The group also emphasised that the main responsibility for the welfare of the horse rests with the rider. They take no responsibility for enforcement other than placing cameras. Though the FEI will establish a working group to expand the current guidelines for stewards to facilitate the implementation of this policy, we know how slowly this process moves forward. It will take continued pressure to make the change that has begun here a definitive and permanent success for the good of the horse.

5. The FEI President HRH Princess Haya accepted a petition of 41,000 signatories against Rollkur presented by Dr Gerd Heuschman.
41,000 and growing by the minute.

Please keep the pressure on. And have a wee dram of something good to celebrate a success. Thanks to all who participated in bringing this to reality. So many people worked behind the scenes to force the FEI to consider the welfare of dressage horses and by extension horses working in many disciplines. I am grateful to all of them. The weeks leading up to this decision have not been easy. May they take a few days’ rest before beginning anew.

Colonel Carde, image courtesy www.ecuries-de-penfrat.fr/

Message de soutien à Gerd Heuschmann de la part du Colonel Carde

Cher Gerd,

Vous avez été invité à participer à une réunion le 9 février à la FEI. L’hyper-flexion de l’encolure sera au cœur des débats. Je tiens à vous dire que, comme de nombreux entraîneurs, de nombreux juges et des milliers de cavaliers, je serai avec vous ce jour là par la pensée. Il faut que le Roll Kur soit déconseillé dans la pratique équestre, et interdit en compétition:

• parce qu’il n’a pas sa place dans une philosophie de l’action qui conduirait à faire du cheval un athlète heureux,

• parce qu’il est contraire aux principes classiques de dressage des chevaux dans toutes les Ecoles,

• parce qu’il est dangereux pour la santé des chevaux lorsqu’il est mal employé c’est-à-dire dans la plupart des cas.

Dans les compétitions de Dressage il faut qu’il soit interdit sur toute la durée du concours. Pour que ceci soit appliqué il est nécessaire, au moins, que la détente des chevaux soit surveillée par un juge, au mieux, qu’elle soit notée et que la notation compte dans le classement final des concurrents.

Bon courage, nous comptons sur vous.

Colonel Christian Carde

Ancien écuyer en chef de l’Ecole Nationale d’Equitation et du Cadre Noir de Saumur

and now in English:

(Letter from Colonel Carde to Dr. Heuschmann in preparation for the FEI Feb. 9th discussion)

Dear Gerd,

You have been invited to take part in the FEI roundtable discussion scheduled for February, 9th.
At the heart of the debate will be the hyperflexion of the horse’s neck. I want to personally let you know that like many trainers, judges and thousands of riders, all my thoughts will be with you on that day.

Rollkur must be strongly discouraged in riding/training and banned from competition:

• Because it has no place in a philosophy of training designed to develop horses into happy athletes.

• Because it is contrary to the classical Dressage principles applied in all the Schools.*
•  Because it is dangerous to the horse’s health when badly executed – which is the overwhelming majority of cases.

In Dressage competition, it must be forbidden for the entire duration of the competitions. In order to implement this rule, at the very least, the warm-up should be monitored by a judge and at the very best, it should be scored and that score should be included in the competitors’ final ranking.

Good luck, we are counting on you.

Colonel Christian Carde
Ancien écuyer en chef de l’Ecole Nationale d’Equitation et du Cadre Noir de Saumur
(Former Head Rider of the French National School of Riding and of the Cadre Noir in Saumur.)

*The term Schools refer to the German and Latin Schools of riding.

(Translated from the German)

Originally Sent Feb. 3 2010
Federation Equestre International
Avenue Rumine 37
CH – 1005 Lausanne Rosendahl
SWITZERLAND

February 3, 2010

Dear Sirs and Madames:

We submit herewith some comments concerning your upcoming roundtable discussion, scheduled for February 9th, at which you will be establishing a final plan for the handling of the topic of Rollkur/Hyperflexion.

Those of us who have signed this letter wish to point out sharply that new or amended rules with regard to the accepted classical precepts of riding, which are contained in the guidelines written down in your Handbook, are absolutely superfluous and therefore unnecessary. These precepts, which the FEI has up until now felt obliged to uphold, are already fully developed, tried and tested! They are already recognized world-wide as authoritative, and as fair to the horse. Based on centuries of experience, they offer a stable and secure foundation even for today’s riding.

No changes may be made that constitute a burden to the well-being of the horse, either physically or mentally. If you accept riding in hyperflexion as a permissible training method, you legitimize aggressive riding. We protest that in the strongest possible terms!

As horse people, we expect the FEI to maintain unaltered their regulations, which have until now been valid, resting as they do upon the classical precepts of riding – for the good of the horses and the continued good repute of international equestrian sport.

The undersigned support this statement:

Klaus Balkenhol (Olympic medalist)

(Joined by, in alphabetical order)
- Laura Bechtolsheimer (British Record Holder, 3. Europameisterschaften 2009)
- Wilfried Bechtolsheimer (Trainer)
- Ingrid Klimke (Olympic medalist)
- Ruth Klimke (Vice President of the German Riders Union)
- Beezie Madden (Olympic medalist)
- John Madden (Trainer)
- Debbie McDonald (Olympic Bronze medalist)
- Susanne Miesner (Trainer)
- George Morris (Chef d’equipe USEF show jumping team, Olympic silver medalist)
- Martin Plewa (former German national Three-Day Event trainer, Director of the Riding and Driving School of Westfalia)
- Michael Putz (Trainer and judge)
- Klaus-Martin Rath (Trainer, member of the Dressage Committee of the German Olympic
Committee)
- Matthias Alexander Rath (German Meister 2009)
- Hinrich Romeike (Olympic medalist)
- Hubertus Schmidt (Olympic medalist)
- Günter Seidel (Olympic bronze medalist)
- Christine Stückelberger (Olympiic medalist)
- Paul Stecken (Trainer)
- Hans Günter Winkler (Olympic medalist)
- Harry Boldt, Dressur. Doppel-Olympiasieger, früherer Bundestrainer Dressur, GBR
- Beatrice Büchler-Keller, Swiss, FEI O-Richter
- Nadine Capellmann, Dressur, Olympiasiegrin
- Carsten Huck, Springen, Olympia Bronze-Gewinner
- Michael Klimke, Deuscther Meister, Dressur
- Ann Kathrinne Linsenhoff, Olympiasiegerin, WElt- und Europameisterin, Mitglied im FN-Präsidium
- Michael Robert, Olympia-Gewinner Bronze, Trainer

In a January 3 Daily Mail article on 2012 Olympic Boycott Threat, Roly Owers, of the World Horse Welfare charity, said of the use of hyperflexion in dressage training:

In the right hands it is a valuable training method, and it cannot make a horse’s tongue go blue, no matter what people seem to think.

Has he seen the video and photos? Even if the video and images had been enhanced (and this is NOT an intimation that I feel they have), heaps of other evidence prove that hyperflexion is harmful to the horse in both body and spirit.

In contrast to Owers’ statement, Lady Sylvia Loch, dressage trainer and author, told the Observer,

It is a shocking symptom of where the sport is going, it’s the tip of the iceberg. What is going on behind closed doors in the training of these horses is very wrong.’Rollkur is so, so cruel. The horse can only see its own feet, so it is reliant on the rider for balance which is simply psychological torture.

Patrick Print, chairman of the British Horse Society, has written a letter to the FEI, asking it to investigate. In it he wrote,

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. Our concern is only to speak out when we believe that the welfare of horses demands it.

Esthetics? I was unaware that mere esthetics were the issue. Why the British Horse Society bothered to comment at all is a mystery when I try to parse the actual meaning of the sentence above. They are speaking, but what are they saying? Have they been taking lessons on communication from the FEI?

Maybe they had just read A Beginner’s Guide to Rollkur, where I found this image reproduced from Horsetalk NZ. If they tried out the head and neck position depicted here, it’s possible that their clarity of focus and communication were compromised.

I’m delighted a rag like the Daily Mail has taken up the cause. No one likes a good kerfuffle like the British newspapers. Awareness outside the realm of the insular horse world may just bring the kind of scrutiny needed to call a halt to this crime of training methodology.

Take a look at two nice posts about the nature and disadvantages of hyperflexion at In Pursuit of Classical Perfection and Writing of Riding

The reason why you can’t pull a horse’s head down to his knees and hold it there is not only because the current science approves or disapproves. The reason why you can’t pull a horse’s head down to his knees and hold it there day after day, hour after hour, is the same reason why you can’t pull a man’s head down to his knees and hold it there. The reason is that it is demeaning to the dignity of the horse or man. It is an ethical, philosophical problem, as well as a scientific one. Even in the handling of prisoners of war there are conventions of dignity. When you act this way toward a horse with this unprovoked, irrational and unrelenting constant aggression, you demean everything: the horse, nature, yourself, the art and the observer.

–Paul Belasik, The Search For Collection

Click here to read a brilliant article in Horses For Life by Susannah Cord. Cord suggests that the FEI demeans both horses and horse lovers by defending rollkur and its perpetrators.

It’s like watching a trainwreck in slow motion. A magnificent horse, struggling in a straightjacket punishingly enforced between his rider’s seat and a double bridle leveraged by the rider’s back and braced legs, a curb bit engaged to the max, the deep chestnut stallion struggles through a dance macabre, his legs jerking unnaturally through paces that look less like those of a horse and more like a hopping puppet on a string. And then the stunner, the slack tongue dangling from his mouth. And it’s blue, a clear sign of hypoxia. Oblivious, the rider pushes the horse on. The horse, his eyes withdrawn and prematurely old with pain, soldiers on. Finally, realization dawns, the rider halts, adjusts the tongue so it is out of sight, stuffed back in the mouth like an old sock in a leaky faucet….and rides on like all is well, nothing out of the ordinary has just occurred. Carry on, folks, nothing to see here, just a little blue tongue. Just another day in paradise.

The FEI makes another reassuring statement, an investigation is underway, the horse’s welfare always comes first. The FEI machine rumbles slowly on, secure in its own entrenched views, and one hand washes the other. But past experience has not inspired confidence in the FEI standing up for the horse. The time has passed for talk, the time is now for action. Rollkur is not training, it’s abuse. And FEI – Enough IS Enough

I like this woman!

I’m not usually a fan of wistful statements about “the good old days,” but in this case I think it’s important to look at how different the good old days really were:

But compare the joyful victory lap of Reiner Klimke in 1984 as he and Ahlerich skipped the light fantastic in perfect harmony with an endless, effortless, one handed single tempi change series all the while waving at the crowd, to today, where horses that have just won the World Cup can’t handle a medal ceremony, and bolt with rider screaming and sawing on her double bridle? Who needs the runner up to give her horse a lead-in into the arena?

If it weren’t so sad, I’d laugh, because she paints such a perfect picture of the cruel ineptitude of these riders. Is this the “intelligent horsemanship” Patrik Kittel speaks of?

Take a look for yourself: Clearly, it can be done with “legerete.” With humanity. With love and connection.

There is no room in governing bodies for hypocrisy and “Shape shifting.” Let the FEI know in no uncertain terms that, as representatives of equestrian sport, they are failing. Please don’t support the sponsors of the 2010 World Equestrian Games. It’s Christmas time. You might be thinking of purchasing something for someone on your list from this list. Please think hard before you do. Not only do I suggest boycotting their products, but I also suggest contacting them to tell them you are doing so. You can click on the names of the companies below to go to their websites. Send a message they will understand.

Rolex
John Deere
Alltech
Meydan
The AQHA
The University of Kentucky
Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital
Bluegrass Airport
Fortune Realty
L.V. Harkness & Co,
Tarter
Premier Equestrian Dressage Arenas
The NHRA
The American Farriers Association. They should be ashamed of themselves.
and, yes, Ariat. It’s time to find another brand.
almost worse, Breyer Horses.

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

I found this letter and comments about it at Dressage Drisgrace.com. Though I’m not taking up horse torture in the dressage world as a cause, I think it’s very important to remember that winds of change blow in all directions. Mindless acts of cruelty in the name of sport and achievement in one discipline bring us all down. When and if the FEI begins to make changes in the kinds of bits it allows, the kinds of training it tolerates, etc., every single equestrian discipline will eventually feel the repercussions. Note, the emphasis on the word, eventually. It’s a big world, with a lot of different attitudes. Let’s BE change. As Lisa Illichman reminded me just today, Mahatma Gandhi told us,

We must be the change we wish to see in the world

In an August 4 announcement, Horsetalk.com, the New Zealand online magazine, said,

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, whose wife Princess Haya of Jordan is president of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), has been banned from endurance racing for six months over horse doping.
The ban on the Dubai ruler came as a result of his horse Tahhan testing positive in two two-star races for a hypertension drug and the steroid stanozolol.
Sheikh Mohammed was also ordered to pay 4500 Swiss francs in fines and legal costs.
His trainer, Abdullah bin Huzaim, who admitted giving the horse drugs before the desert races at Bahrain and Dubai, was handed a one-year ban.

The Sheikh and Princess Haya of Jordan

In my post entitled, An Alarming Alliance, I linked to a Horse Connection.com editorial entitled, The Emperor Has No Riding Breeches by publisher Geoff Young. In it Young warned of the FEI’s dangerously close relationship with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, also an alleged supporter of the Mongol Derby. It appears that this possibly mutually beneficial association is on at least a six month hiatus. One wonders whether the Sheikh will continue to exert his influence over the sport of endurance riding while banned from participating in it.

Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum aboard Tahhan image courtesy www.endurance.net

“This behaviour is not acceptable and needs to be sanctioned severely,” the FEI said.

Sheikh Mohammed was suspended for six months starting from April 3, the date of the initial notification. He was fined 3000 Swiss francs and ordered to contribute CHF1500 towards legal costs. The trainer, Abdullah bin Huzaim, was suspended for 12 months, also from April 3. He was also fined CHF4000 and ordered to contribute CHF1500 towards legal costs.

DISCLAIMER: The opinions and speculations in this post are those of the writer and are NOT NEWS. Any news contained herein is quoted as such.  All else is speculation.

© 2009 enlightened horsemanship through touch and Kim Cox Carneal

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