There is plenty of rotten apples in the equestrian world.

Alot of pictures were taken by amateurs at the JBK horse show in Odense (Denmark) this weekend and shared on facebook, this blogpost was also posted: http://starstonestenfalk.wordpress.com/2014/05/21/jbk-festival-torture-like-in-the-dark-ages-anything-goes-in-the-equestrian-sport/

I highly recommend everyone to read this and look at the pictures, and take a stance. Is this okay? should we really just sit down and be quiet and not talk about these extreme methods used here? not even to talk about the equipment used....

Some of the pictures (borrowed from: http://starstonestenfalk.wordpress.com/):

Barring is illegal? But apparently no Steward commented on this.

I think it is grotesque to see these kind of methods still used in this day and age. You would think people would know better.

Andreas Helgstrand and Akeem Foldager

Epona.tv has once again made an expose regarding a "big dressage talent". They shot photos during Helgstrand Dressage open house event, and what these photos show, is in no way nice to look at. I think people need to take a good hard look at riders, that practice these sorts of methods towards horses. This both during the actual training, but  also during warm ups to big horse events (and smaller ones), where it is possible to control how horses are treated.

The photos show a tongue that is being completely mashed by the briddle (kandar) and is blue as a result of the lack of oxygen, and if that isnt bad enough, there is marks on the flanks left by hard usage of spurs, which has been used hard enough to break the skin. They have covered this up, by using black shoe polish. Another thing I noticed are stripes which appears on the hind quarters of the horse. Which indicates it has been hit by the whip enough to leave marks behind.

This has all ocured in this big open house event and the horse was shown like this in the open arena (with the marks "covered up") with people applauding.

If this is what shown to the people at big shows, I dont event want to know what goes on behind closed doors.

Enough talking, I will let the pictures speak for themselves:

When did this kind of treatment of animals become okay?

Is winning really everything, and does the methods we use to achive our goals mean nothing?

Dont we as riders have a moral and ethic responsibility towards the animals we use for our sport?

I think several top riders have shown you do not need these harsh methods to become a winner in the top of the field. (just look at Carl Hester, and Charlotte Dujardin, top of their field, and not using these kind of methods, where horses are bleeding and have blue tongues.)


The Danish Equestrian Federation has reacted here: http://epona.tv/blog/2014/april/danish-equestrian-federation-reacts-to-akeem-photos

I really hope this will get taken very seriously, and AH will get much more than just a quick reprimande. Though sadly, I doubt it....

Possibly a rollkur ban in Denmark

Found this article on epona.tv today: http://epona.tv/blog/2014/january/danish-rollkur-ban-in-the-cards

and it says the following:

"The Danish Animal Welfare Society, Dyrenes Beskyttelse, has sent out a press release demanding a ban on the use of rollkur in Denmark. ”This is not a new debate” said Payana Hendriksen, who heads up the equine division of Dyrenes Beskyttelse, to Epona.tv. ”We have been talking about this for years. Dyrenes Beskyttelse is against the use of rollkur, and now that Switzerland has banned the practice, we feel that it is time to take the issue to the Danish politicians and try to make sure the same thing happens here.” - See more at: http://epona.tv/blog/2014/january/danish-rollkur-ban-in-the-cards#sthash.pn8VFniu.dpuf"

The Danish Animal Welfare Society does not distinguish between rollkur, hyperflexion and low, deep and round, according to Payana Hendriksen. ”While we understand that the FEI continues to allow the so-called low, deep and round technique which does not involve forcing the horse into hyperflexion, we feel that in practical terms, it is close to impossible for stewards and other officials to discern between LDR and rollkur. So as long as the FEI cannot provide clear definitions of rollkur and LDR, we at The Danish Animal Welfare Society consider them to be one and the same thing.”

Hendriksen adds that several of the adverse effects of hyperflexion apply whether the horse has been trained humanely to assume the position or is being forced to do so by use of the reins. ”The horse can't see where he is going when he is in hyperflexion. His breathing is restricted and his bones and muscles are also being stressed. We don't think it is humane to ride a horse like this.”

Even if the campaign to ban hyperflexion by law in Denmark is successful, it will be an uphill struggle to actually stop riders using rollkur, Payana Hendriksen acknowledges. ”This is a practice which has gone on for a very long time and we're aware that it won't stop overnight with a ban” she said. ”But we hope that by writing it into the Danish animal welfare legislation, we send out a signal to riders everywhere that this type of riding is not okay. We have a lot of work ahead of us, informing horse owners about humane training methods. No doubt, this will be a huge step for horse welfare in Denmark.”

- See more at: http://epona.tv/blog/2014/january/danish-rollkur-ban-in-the-cards#sthash.pn8VFniu.dpuf

Great article, one step in the direction. It may be babysteps, but I think the more we take. The closer we will get to reach our goal of humane equestrian welfare. Afterall these steps are being taken towards protecting the horses.

Adelinde Cornelissen Olympics 2012

One scandal after another keeps surfacing in this years olympic dressage discipline. It is about time the FEI steps up to their job and stick to their own rules.(!)

At all stages during the preparation and training of Competition Horses, welfare must take precedence over all other demands.
a) Good Horses management
Stabling, feeding and training must be compatible with good Horses management and must not compromise welfare. Any practices which could cause physical or mental suffering, in or out of Competition, will not be tolerated.
b) Training methods
Horses must only undergo training that matches their physical capabilities and level of maturity for their respective disciplines. They must not be subjected to any training methods which are abusive or cause fear or for which they have not
been properly prepared.

Watching the video above, I was in shock. I do not understand how the FEI can stand behind this. Sealing off the area to make sure none can see how the horses are trained is truly disgusting! If you cannot stand behind the training methods- then dont use them - just some common sense.

How Adelinde Cornelissen can be awarded second place when she trains her horse like this is beyond me. I could hardly watch her ride her program as she constantly pulls her horse in the mouth which is constantly whipping its tail showing obvious signs of being uncomfortable with the way it was being ridden.

That the FEI will contineously allow these kind of training methods and even help cover up the practice in some futile attempt to state that it is non occurant is not only hippocracy but also pathetic.

Pull your straw to the stack by signing this petition aimed towards the FEI and demand action towards the rollkur practice here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/ban-rollkur/
and look at this facebookgroup: https://www.facebook.com/DislikeFEIrules


For studies regarding the effects of rollkur on horses, I suggest reading this article: http://www.cavallo.de/medizin/neue-studie-zur-rollkur-liefert-alarmierende-ergebnisse.386954.233219.htm?skip=0 Unfortunately, it is in german, but with some help from google translate, you should be OK.

 

Adelinde Cornelissen and Parzival

A happy horse and athlete?

Not very pretty

 Picture source: http://www.st-georg.de/olympia-2012/detail.php?objectID=13009&class=6#

Saw these pictures of Patrik Kittel at the olympics. I dont care if it is only short moments the horse is trained like this, which the riders claim (I have seen Anky rollkur a horse for 10minutes and more on youtube videoes)-. This should NOT happen in horse training and it is NOT okay to treat and train an animal in this manner. Look at the eyes, the tension and stress the horse is showing and the obscene ammount of sweat and foam. Anyone with a little bit of sense within themselves can tell this is not right.

I find it even more obscene because of the fact that rollkur is forbidden and there is officials standing on the sidelines silently watching this and doing NOTHING. Isnt the pictures showing the exact definition of roll-kur? How is it that none is intervening and stopping them?

This is an statement from FEI:

"The FEI Code of Conduct for the Welfare of the Horse clearly states that at all stages during the preparation and training of competition horses, welfare must take precedence over all other demands," said Mr. Asmyr.

"The Code also states that horses must not be subjected to any training methods which are abusive or cause fear and that tack must be designed and fitted to avoid the risk of pain or injury," said Mr. Asmyr, pointing out that the term "abuse" is defined as "acting in a way which may cause pain or discomfort to a horse." 

London 2012 has been billed as "the most sustainable Games ever" with strict benchmarks for animal welfare. For instance, according to the published "London 2012 Food Vision," eggs used in food preparation must be strictly free range. However, the Commission for a Sustainable London, the ethics watchdog se up to ensure high sustainability of the Olympics, does not yet appear to have made any recommendations pertaining to the animals actually performing in the Games.  

Source: http://epona.tv/uk/news/show/artikel/rspca-supports-noseband-gauge/?type=98&tx_ttnews[backPid]=388&cHash=dc1642ffd78a9663b6ea618918ecf41a (about the noseband debate for the olympics in London 2012).

Shame on everyone who accepts this and think this is a proper way to treat a horse! FOR SHAME. 

I post this because doing nothing and staying silent is the same as conscending, and I am completely AGAINST this treatment of animals.

Say No To Rollkur and LDR

Alot of debate about this subject is going on both on internet forums and on seminars etc. At the Hingstekåring herning 2011 rollkur was displayed by one of the riders in the Edward Gal clinic- yet none did anything about it, despite the fact that Roll Kur is an illegal practice method according to FEI. How is that okay?
Anky and Sjef which are the founders of this training method never called it Roll Kur, they have always called it LDR (low, deep and round), and this is where in my book the issues begin with Low Deep and round- Why is Rollkur then forbidden and LDR not, when the founder of Rollkur always has called it LDR? Maybe they should not ban "the name", which I think it seems to be like- but actually ban the method, regardsless of what is is called. Which means that if you practice training methods where you pull the horse in its mouth and apply hard helpers, officials at the competitions should intervene- and this should be regardless of it being a dressage, jumping or whatever competition it is seen at.

I could accept LDR if it was only performed with the horse in the following position (which alot of people claim it is):

and if it was only for short periods of time that the horse was trained in that form, then it would be acceptable- even though I would never personally train my horse like that.
The problem is that this image is very far from reality by alot of the top performers, the reality, unfortunately, often look like this:

Which in my world is absolute cruelty towards horses and this is why I strongly oppose toward these kind of training methods. The following methods has nothing to do with dressage, dressage is about making a horse use itself in the most correct way to avoid injuries (building up the right muscles, so the horse can bear the rider as easy as possible), to make it soft and to make it respond to the riders helpers with as small a signal as possible, og making it able to perform the different dressage exercises as correctly as possible- Pulling a horses head in, while agressively applying whip and legs with spurs does none of those things.

The only way I would use LDR would be the LDR and out variants (also called remonte) which looks like this and is used on young horses, horses with issues and horses which are being re-dressaged:

(borrowed from google)

 Where the horse seeks the briddle, stretches its neck and gets its back up while working in a manageable tempo. 

The idea with remonte training:

 Rollkur aka LDR does the oposite-working the nose from in the wrong position in training till out in the correct position for shows- doesnt make much sense.

So really- Just say no to Rollkur and the LDR variants of it.