I’d have a hard time deciding too, which is why I can’t accept the claim that LDR is different from Rollkur. When you do some digging into the past the truth starts to reveal itself. Sustainable Dressage, a blog which covered Rollkur and the damaging effects of it (to the extent that Sjef and Anky tried to sue her) documents the evolution of Rollkur, LDR and what those two terms really mean.
Since Sjef and Anky, Rollkur has woven its way down the levels of Dressage and crept past the discipline to find common ground with reining. And in all the time we’ve watched the Rollkur/hyperflexion/LDR debate unfold I’ve been writing about how detrimental it is. With that being said, I’M NOW READY TO ADMIT THAT I WAS WRONG. All my criticisms were actually evidence of my jealousy and it’s time I come clean.
Once upon a time ago, the difference between Classical and Competitive Dressage seemed synonymous with the distance between the walls of the Grand Canyon (which happens to be up to 18 miles wide!). Whether it is merely my perception, or the reality, which has changed I have yet to determine. Nonetheless there is still a measure of awe inspired in people when they hear that “so and so” does Classical Dressage. It has a note of magic attached to it, even if it is a tradition based on a bunch of dead guys; or maybe it is because of those dead guys.
“In training one always wants to go too fast. To arrive quickly, do not hurry, but be firmly assured of each step. The lesson should be for the horse, as for the horseman, a rewarding exercise, an instructive game which never brings fatigue. When sweat begins to show, it is because the man has gone too far.”
Despite the FEI’s ruling that Rollkur is a banned practice, and instead has favored the use of LDR (Low, Deep, Round), there is plenty of evidence to the contrary that hyperflexion is a norm for competitors. The World Equestrian Games, hosted in Kentucky this year is already proving the perfect grounds to spot the practice in person.
It’s easy to talk about Rollkur from a distant point of view – perhaps not with a clear-cut opinion, but certainly a disjointed and ‘objective’ one. What isn’t easy is to address Rollkur when you’ve seen the effect it has; not on the horses who are succeeding and making money for their international-celebrity riders but, rather, on the horses who didn’t make the cut.
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.