EDIT This particular post has become extremely popular across the web, and for the reason has found a home on the front-page of my blog. Please feel free to share with anyone you believe might enjoy or benefit. END EDIT
I was checking my blog statistics today, seeing how much traffic is coming to my blog and where they arrive from, and it came to my attention that many of my visitors arrive from searches relating to rollkur. When I did a search on some of the keyword terms that are bringing traffic to me I found a number of bulletin board posts talking about rollkur, and much of the discussion was targeted at trying to understand what rollkur was, if it was bad, and why it was being done. So… I know I’ve posted on rollkur before and have taken quite a hiatus on it, but I thought it might be beneficial for my readers if I wrote up a simplified explanation of what rollkur is, why it is done, and how it affects the horse.

If you want to read more in-depth into rollkur there are some wonderful resources (unfortunate that they are necessary, but none-the-less available) on the web and I provide links to them at the bottom of this post.

Q : What is Rollkur?

A : The word Rollkur was coined for what is now frequently referred to as hyperflexion of the neck. The term in german refers to a cure for stomach aches in which the patient rolls periodically in order to thoroughly coat the stomach with medicine.

Rollkur itself is a method in which neck flexion is taken to an extreme for a period of time. Often promoted as being a fix-all for suppling and stretching the horse’s neck it has also gained popularity as being able to raise and strengthen the back. Because of the way in which Rollkur changes the horses balance it will help to promote very flashy knee action, and is also used as a method of control because it limits the horse’s oxygen supply, eye sight, and puts the horse off balance – essentially rendering the horse helpless to the rider’s whims.

Q : Isn’t Rollkur necessary in the sport of Dressage?

A : Rollkur’s use and abuse has not been limited only to the sport of Dressage. Many western trainers and riders also utilize Rollkur however its use in other disciplines has not gained as much exposure and publicity to become widely known.

The sport of dressage was originally based off of cavalry riding which had been adapted from Classical Dressage principles. Unfortunately over time and evolution many practices change – some for better, some for worse – and the nature of judging and training has created an environment in which Rollkur is not only be accepted based on the marks given to riders using the method, but is inching towards the standard protocol based on those leading the sport in Grand Prix and Olympic level competition.

Rollkur is not necessary to being successful in Dressage, but is often resorted to because it promises results which many riders feel they cannot accomplish without it.

Q : How long is the horse held in a Rollkur position?

A : I have watched videos in which horses were placed in Rollkur throughout a 10 minute ride, others held in Rollkur for minutes at a time.

Q : Does Rollkur stretch the neck muscles?

A : It is important to understand the principles involved in stretching muscles, becase there is such a thing as over-stretching. Too much of a good thing quickly turns into a bad thing, and too much of a bad thing goes sour even faster.

Rollkur will indeed stretch certain muscles in the neck because of the position it places the horse in for an extended period of time. Just muscle fatigue alone will have set in. I looked for a solid answer on how much the average horse’s head weighs, some sources say 12lbs while others say 6lbs. Either way, the horse’s neck is not designed to contract in the way that Rollkur requires for long periods of time.. but getting back to the stretch of the horse’s neck muscles. Overstretching can cause microscopic muscle tears, and can actually lead to more inflexibility over time as the muscle is constantly trying to repair itself.

Q : What are the physical risks of using Rollkur?

A : Outside of risking muscle damage due to overstretching and muscle fatigue, long term muscle tension can also lead to bone spurs (osteophytes) as well as bone degeneration due to the position of the cervical vertebrae (neck bones) when placed in a position they are not designed for.

Q : Can Rollkur lift my horses back?

A : The neck plays a very miniscule role in the elevation of the back in motion. Think of your own body for example, Rollkur to lift the back is a little like bringing your chin to your chest trying to flatten your low back. What happens when you pull your chin to your chest is you round your shoulders, leading to a posture that tips forwards – in a horse this would place him on the forehand. On the other hand, if you want to flatten your low back effectively you achieve it by rotating your pelvis – which in a horse is what collection is, the horse’s pelvis rotates bringing the hind legs further under the body which creates strength and support in the back and allows the horse to carry his weight more efficiently.

Q : If Rollkur is so bad, then why are the professionals using it?

A : The answer to this question may be more tricky. The individual motivations I cannot say, but I would be willing to guess that the amount of money involved in high level equestrian sports is enough to motivate a large number of individuals to using whatever legal tactics necessary to win. For example :

• Exquis World Dressage Masters Palm Beach 2009 Prize : $135,000
• Rolex FEI World Cup Dressage Final 2009 Prize : $100,000
• Dressage At Hickstead Prize : €100,000 (roughly $145,600 US)
• 79th German Jumping & Dressage Grand Prix Total Prize : €500,000 ($727,802 US) / Grand Prix Dressage Prize : €300,000 ($436,681 US)

In Closing…

I think that it is important to remember that the term “professional” only means that a person is getting paid for what they do. You can be a professional con-artist just the same as being a professional human aid worker. Being a professional does not immediately guarantee that someone is basing their actions on the welfare of their horse, or clients for that matter. How many professional riding instructors have you ever witness berate their students?

Another key is that often our eyes are not trained to see past the beautifully groomed horse that has been perfectly turned out in the most expensive tack, ridden by a rider whose clothing is impeccably expensive. How many Americans were trained to see the collapse of our economy even while many signs were standing right in front of us? Just because we do not recognize it at the moment does not mean it doesn’t exist.

The element of prize money is another factor that I believe has led, not only to the use but, to the continued use of a method in which no one can logically argue it is beneficial to and in the best interest of the horse.

More Resources

• Sustainable Dressage Blog on Rollkur by Theresa Sandin
• Horses For Life Special Edition on Rollkur

Your Opinion Matters

What are your thoughts? Do you believe that Rollkur’s continued use is driven by success, fame, money? Are there elite equestrians you believe are using Rollkur to train but have not gained as much publicity as Anky Van Grunsven and Isabell Werth?  What about Rollkur do you find appealing or repulsive?

If you are unaware of what is termed “Rollkur” or hyperflexion of the neck, it is time you knew what has been plaguing much of Dressage and has been the subject of controversy since its inception.

Horse Talk.co.nz published a new story which talks about a new study that was performed showing that horses not only choose normal poll flexion when given a choice while maneuvering, their physiological reaction to stressful stimulation is comparatively lower when compared to their reaction while in hyperflexion.

Link : Rollkur : Researchers Explore Neck Hyperflection in Horses

Much has been written on the subject of hyperflexion of late. It seems that since the initial public outcry for it’s abusive effects, a multitude of evidence has since been designed to prove just that in every media – web, print, video and audio. There are seminars, there are lectures, books and so on. They are based on several strong points, including for example:

1. Physical Ramifications – proving the structural and muscular damage that occurs from the use of hyperflexion in training and riding the horse, from temporary to permanent, though the emphasis is on permanence.
2. Psychological Effects – the comparison has been made, that the use of hyperflexion (extreme) develops two types of horses, those that becomes mentally unstable and perhaps will not stand up to this kind of training for one reason or several, and those that have popularized the term “learned helplessness” in the horse world.
3. The use of hyperflexion by Classical masters, wholly those unpopular by riders adhering to the Gueriniere model of dressage. In particular Baucher and the Duke of Newcastle.

It often seems to require that such an extreme form of any of our riding habits come to light before we recognize in any way that we too have been participating in the same methods we now despise, but it has not yet become popular to despise all forms of hyperflexion aside from those which are extreme…

Hyperflexion has found it’s way into almost every barn and stable, through the simple lack of awareness to it’s presence. From english to western, and even the ‘classicists’ of dressage. It is a loss of the horse’s posture. Why is that? Because correct posture is what dictates our ability of balance, strength, coordination and health. When we lose our posture, we lose one or many of those elements. The same goes for the horse. His loss of posture may show up as him being on the forehand, or being less coordinated in his movement. High level dressage horses are commonly seen losing their coordination in the basic gaits – broken trot diagonals, four beat canters, lateralized walks. When they move up to perform the collected movements it is often seen them almost falling over their own feet. Of course the splendor of tense energy often blinds us to these components, instead we see the legs lifted almost to the ceiling and the stark comparison of slow (almost dead energy) piaffes transitioning into explosive ‘extended trot’.

We fail to understand even what our own posture looks like when it is correct or incorrect most of the time, unless we’ve been specifically educated in that area. What is viewed as correct has fallen to what is most appealing to our eyes and pleasing to our senses, rather than what functions most efficiently to keep us healthy and capable.

As riders, our posture in the saddle frequently mimics that which we have disposed our horses to taking. We lean, we hunch, we have no balance, no center. We have no strength, though that is the very means we rely upon to direct the horse, and we have little coordination of our limbs without dependence upon the others. We have created in our horses the things we struggle with ourselves.

The use of the horse’s neck as a means of leverage and control has been a long standing tradition in the world of equestrians. When we fail to understand the depths of communication, we then resort to physical means of accomplishing our goal. We can be strong, or we can be precise. We cannot be precise without strength, and we cannot be strong without precision. When we rely on strength solely, we lose our precision, our ability to sense pressure becomes dulled. It is through the release of pressure and the relinquishing of our strength that we once again find precision. They both support each other, and they both deter the other – to find the balance is to perfect them both.

International Rider, Coby Van Baalen’s Power & Paint

The issue of hyperflexion continues to arise and stir the emotions of equestrians, and still it has been allowed. It has been given support to be utilized by ‘professionals’. A privilege also given to the users of draw reins and other gadgets, which have long been purported to only be effectively used by the highly skilled, and by the same token unnecessary tools to the highly skilled. A double edged sword. Some rules, often not followed in competition only serve to support the breaking of more rules and subsequently the misunderstanding and abuse of the horse. For example:

“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 rider.” FEI

“The neck should be raised, the poll high and the head slightly in front of the vertical.” FEI (on the Halt)

“The walk is a marching pace in a regular four time beat.” and “When the fore leg and the hind leg on the same side move almost on the same beat, the walk tends to become an almost lateral movement. This irregularity, which might become an ambling movement, is a serious deterioration of the pace.” FEI (on the Walk)

“Irregular steps with the hind or front legs, swinging the forehand or the hindquarters from one side to the other, as well as jerky movements of the forelegs or the hind legs, dragging the hind legs in the moment of suspension or double beat are serious faults.” FEI (on the Passage)

“The hindquarters are lowered; the haunches with active hocks are well engaged, giving great freedom, lightness and mobility to the shoulders and forehand. Each diagonal pair of legs is raised and returned to the ground alternately, with spring and an even cadence.” and “The neck should be raised and gracefully arched, with the poll as the
highest point.” and, especially… “Moving even slightly backwards, irregular or jerky steps with the hind or front legs, no clear diagonal steps, crossing either the fore or hind legs, or swinging either the forehand or the hindquarters from one side to the other, getting wide behind or in front, moving too much forward or double beat rhythm are serious faults.
A movement with hurried, unlevel or irregular steps, without cadence or spring cannot be called a true piaffe.” FEI (on the Piaffe)

More from the FEI… “Submission (original bold) does not mean subordination, but an obedience revealing its
presence by a constant attention, willingness and confidence in the whole behaviour of the horse as well as by the harmony, lightness and ease it is displaying in the execution of the different movements. The degree of submission is also manifested by the way the horse accepts the bridle, with a light and soft contact and a supple poll, or with resistance to or evasion of the rider’s hand, being either “above the bit” or “behind the bit” respectively.
“Putting out the tongue, keeping it above the bit or drawing it up altogether, as well as grinding the teeth and swishing the tail are mostly signs of nervousness, tension or resistance on the part of the horse and must be taken into account by the judges in their marks for the movement concerned as well as in the collective mark for “submission”.”

“The heels should be the lowest point.” (on the Rider)

“Article 419 OBJECT OF INTERNATIONAL DRESSAGE EVENTS
The FEI instituted an International Dressage Event in 1929 in order to preserve the Equestrian Art from the abuses to which it can be exposed and to preserve it in the purity of its principles, so that it could be handed on intact to
generations of riders to come.”

Complete FEI Rules

How have we traveled so far from these ideals? That the very simply stated rules of the FEI have been pushed to the side, and those being rewarded are guilty of breaking nearly every one of these rules. Poll high, head in front of the vertical, is sacrificed for false submission and the use of force.

One of the most popular of recent rides, that of Andreas Helgestrand with his very young, 9 year old mare, shows many of these broken rules. Though not including rollkur/hyperflexion, it is still a prime example of how the slow breakdown of rules leads to the fast breakdown to abuse. Easily caught on tape, but glaringly present in photos…

Note the raised heel of the rider. The horse’s face is behind the vertical, swishing tail, mis-shapened lip and excessive foaming of the mouth. The horse is far from collection with hind legs trailing behind her. This is the horse who won the competition…

If we have allowed the laxity of even the basic elements involved in Dressage, it becomes no wonder that we would then turn a cheek to the presence and growing popularity of hyperflexion. Any means possible to win, to become a star, to create the movements that require an artist’s touch to perfect. Get involved, speak out, make this unpopular. Why are we afraid to protect our horse from abusive training methods, to save face from those who are popular at the moment. Have we never left high-school and the cliques and peer pressure? The horse must come first!

Links of Interest :

USDF Statement of Animal Welfare

Rollkur Comments from USDF Region 4 News

Sustainable Dressage’s Explanation of Rollkur

News Release – Power & Paint

Sjef Janssen – His Method

Horses For Life – A Rollkur Pictogram

Walter Zettl on Rollkur

“Learned Helplessness” with Ulrike Thiel

**English Translation of “Dressur Pervers”**

The movement of the piaffe, or trotting in place, is one long considered to be a movement achieved only through the mastery and ultimate refinement of aids coupled with the correct training structure to develop the horse. Piaffe is often seen performed in a myriad of venues; dressage competitions, horse fairs and demonstrations, circus, trick performances, etc. It has become more of a common sight, to see a horse trotting in place, and the awe and impress that follows is that in accordance with the rumor that the piaffe is difficult to train. This assumption is often incorrect however and is made by those who have not learned to train the piaffe or have struggled with it’s training.

The piaffe, whether forced or encouraged with lightness, is not a difficult task to teach. The piaffe is a natural occurance when the aids are correct – it simply happens when the horse is physically conditioned and able to perform it. The piaffe can also be beaten into the horse’s understanding. It is afterall a balancing of stop and go, acceleration and braking. It is the ability to inspire energy while containing it from escaping forwards.

There are hundreds of thousands of horses who perform piaffe which is not classically correct for one reason or several. There are few who perform a classically correct piaffe. Of the incorrect piaffe, it is often resulting from an imbalance in the aids – not enough energy or not enough posture to contain that energy from escaping forwards, or both. How this translates in the piaffe is that the horse becomes overbent and the hindlegs trail out too far. The horse loses his collection, he falls onto the forehand. He loses tempo, his feet become sticky to the ground, the hindquarters bounce while the forehand is still. The front legs travel further under the horse’s body to assist in balancing. For example…

Anky Van Grunsven – This is a great video to show the loss of balance, sticky feet, overbending and trailing hind legs. Often piaffe is shown only from the side, which discounts any ability to judge the horse’s lateral balance. In the beginning of this video you can see AVG move into piaffe and her horse bobbling from side to side as he constantly attempts to regain his balance during the piaffe. His feet swing side to side and rather than him lifting them upwards there is more lateral displacement of them – that is of him moving his whole body in an effort to move his limbs more effectively. He falls behind the vertical often, the hind legs do not provide any carrying power and the front legs are the major support as the fall in under the horse’s body. There are frequent breaks in the horse’s tempo as well and faltering between transition of movements.

Escola Portuguesa de Arte Equestre — This is an improved showing of piaffe. The horse is taking more weight onto the hindquarters, the front limbs are more upright. There are moments when the horse is behind the vertical and the front limbs are also trailing under the body a bit for support. The cadence and tempo of the horse’s piaffe is broken as well. His posture is much improved, as is necessary for the rear that follows the first piaffe. There also appears to be less side to side lateral imbalance during the second piaffe which cannot be judged in the first.

P.S. Lusitano Pirueta Piaffe — An interesting display not often seen, the piaffe pirouette. This starts out showing promise as the horse’s posture is not easily judged from the front. As he moved around and we are able to see a lateral view, you find the horse’s posture ducking down and behind the vertical. His hindquarters bounce more at times than others, which is masked a bit by the slow motion. It is difficult to tell if he would have sticky hooves, but it is certain to tell that he lacks some mark of consistency as his posture changes along with the bounce of his hindquarters. His front hooves stay beautifully aligned upright from the start, and he has wonderful lateral balance which is evident to see as we get a good view from the hindquarters. It does appear as the video continues that the horse begins to degrade in the piaffe over time, lending to the conclusion that he is tiring.

Matt McLaughlin – This video showing the first in-hand work of piaffe with an 11yr old Andalusian mare shows a good foundation. It is clear to see the energy MM is able to inspire in the mare and he buffers it by containing through postural control. This allows the mare to ‘sit’, dropping her hindquarters into the steps of piaffe. This is one of the first sessions of piaffe work according to the video’s description. She shows loss of tempo at times, as does MM in the application of the aids, however she displays no loss of balance through hyperflexion, or trailing hind and fore legs. The video moves on to show piaffe steps under saddle and some passage. I won’t comment on the passage right now…

Spanish Stallion Condor – A lovely piaffe shown in the pillars. Truly magnificent to watch, despite the surroundings. This horse displays balance, tempo and posture in one package. He maintains his piaffe for an extraordinary amount of time and begins to show some tiring by the end. His front legs maintain erectness, his hind hooves are placed so near the center of balance that any further forward and he would be standing. The moments that he attempts to drop his posture you’ll notice he loses balance, only to regain it once again by correcting his posture.

Young Horse Training – Another video showing piaffe started in hand. This is lovely – light and correct. The young horse has energy without the constant nagging from the handler. He shows beautiful posture to support the balance of the piaffe. The hind limbs are stepping under, he is light of foot and maintains erect front hooves. Just lovely.

“El Gordo Dancing His Horse” – One last video, which I hesitated to put on, but illustrates an important point. It does not take skill or tact to teach a horse to ‘trot in place’, or to even trot in place with a measurable amount of collection and balance.  Here it is done with nothing more than a curb bit, spurs, dual purpose ‘whipping reins’ and a rider who just wants his horse to dance…