FEI Rollkur Forum Creates More Questions Than Answers

How far would riders and trainers go to win in dressage? Would they subject their horses to something painful, something psychologically debilitating, something that could break all but the best horses, yet put those exceptional athletes on the podium time after time?

These accusations and more are just part of the hubbub that has surrounded the technique of training, called Rollkur by some, round and deep by others, and now hyperflexion by the Federation Equestre Internationale.

And so with rumors flying and tempers rising, members of the FEI Dressage and Welfare committees decided to organize a workshop on this controversial technique. They invited 50 representatives from all aspects of international dressage and equestrian sport to a whirlwind conference on Jan. 31 in Lausanne, Switzerland, to discuss the pros and cons of overbending, or Rollkur.

One of their first goals was to define Rollkur. "A lot of trainers who are opposed to this technique would often train their horses in some kind of a round or lower frame," said Dr. Hillary Clayton, who's done a number of influential studies on how horses function in training and competition. "We're looking at something specific and a little bit different."

Clayton, who was a speaker at the forum, holds the McPhail Dressage Chair in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at Michigan State University.

At the workshop, participants considered the term "hyperflexion" and agreed on a working definition: "Hyperflexion of the neck is a technique of working/training to provide a degree of longitudinal flexion of the mid-region of the neck that cannot be self-maintained by the horse for a prolonged time without welfare implications."

But that definition didn't come close to ending the debate on the exact nature of hyperflexion.

The Netherlands' Sjef Janssen, one of the most well-known proponents of "low, deep and round" (or LDR), explained that this technique was just one of the many tools in his system of training.

His horses' daily routine includes warm-up, transitions, specific movements and short spells of LDR followed by relaxation. Janssen said that many people were confused about LDR training, which only involves short periods of extreme flexion alternated with extension of the neck, versus Rollkur where flexion is maintained over a long period of time.

Regardless of the definition, all the delegates agreed that "horses must not be seen to be put under pressure by this or any other training technique; the welfare of the horse must remain paramount."

Does It Hurt Them?
Thus, one of the first topics was whether or not hyperflexion actually causes horses to endure physical harm.

Professor Jean-Marie Denoix of France explained that the neck is critical in all disciplines. He discussed the different clinical signs of neck pain and pointed out that a rider was often totally unaware of any injury to the horse.

"Hyperflexion or overbending of the neck would cause stresses in the intervertebral discs, in the nuchal area and in the withers. Such extreme movements would not necessarily cause primary lesions but may cause pain in horses with pre-existing conditions."

Dr. Emile Welling, a Dutch veterinarian and member of the FEI Veterinary Committee, also spoke on cervical pain.