Now, I've never been big on horse shows. It's not that I don't like competing, it's just that our local circuit is practically nonexistent. So I'm rarely kept up to speed with "The Laws of the Land," and to be quite honest, I only found out about the FEI's new ban on rollkur's yesterday, when I had the time to sit down and read May's issue of Practical Horseman. I've read a little about rollkur in the past months, as the horse world fought against the FEI's policies on what they dubbed "hyperflexion," and I was very glad to find out that in February, the FEI officially banned rollkur as an illicit use of "aggressive force."Apparently, however, the FEI has decided to give abusive riders an out. Rollkur, they agree, must be stopped. But LDR? Despite LDR (Low, Deep and Round) distinctly being a extreme and unnatural flexion of the
horse's neck, the FEI has deemed that LDR and rollkur are two very different creatures. So while rollkur has been outlawed, LDR is quite vehemently sanctioned.So what does LDR really stand for? Lazy, Dangerous, and Rewarding? Rollkur and LDR are, in my opinion, slightly different things, but both are indeed unnatural contortions of the horse. LDR is certainly an unhealthy training technique that is not used for correction so much as for competition. It is lazy on part of dressage judges, trainers, and riders; it is dangerous for the horse; but it is also rewarding in competition. This pro-LDR facebook group cites countless successful international dressage riders who train their horses to ride LDR. Anky Van Grunsven, Sjef Janssen, Nicole Werner, Ellen Schulten-Baumer, and Imke Bartels are only a few of the names you might recognize as memb
ers. What truly sickens me is the amount of young rider supporters who proudly display pictures of themselves riding in LDR. Medalists from the 2009 Young Riders European Championships as well as recognized International Junior Riders quite proudly display their "LDR is OK" banner on their page. Is this what the next generation of Grand Prix riders considers true horsemanship?I can't blame the FEI for being intimidated by the powerful supporters of rollkur--sorry, LDR. Regardless, with such footage out as the infamous "Blue Tongue" video along with the countless other evidence of the horrors of hyperflexion, I think it's high time the FEI took a stand to support the welfare of its horses rather than the success of its influential riders.
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LDR never should have become the same as rolkur. It should be a stretching downward with the horse rounding his back. But somewhere along the way, it has joined in the overflexion routine. I have to blame the Danish for this one only because years and years ago, I had a Danish trainer practically ride my poor PJ into the ground that way. (I should have stopped it--I had a broken wrist, so he rode PJ in the clinic instead) but my ignorance and lack of courage to speak up against an international trainer stopped me. After that day, I vowed to never let something like that happen again.
ReplyDeleteRan into another Danish trainer years later who advocated something similar. Those were the only nationality with whom I ever encountered the technique. Too bad too, because the first time I'd ridden with the second Dane, he never even mentioned that approach. Then, when I went back to ride with him a year or so later--there it was.
Oh, I had no idea about the Danish support! (My knowledge of dressage is very superficial.) But my complete and utter adoration of Andreas Helgstrand might be a bit tainted now... I'll have to do some research and see if he supports this "technique".
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