Rollkur

Rollkur (The Effects of Rollkur in Dressage Horses)

In the dressage world today, more and more of dressage’s best professional riders are getting caught each year for abusing their horses in hopes of fine-tuning their appearance.

Dressage is defined as the highest expression of equine training where the horse and rider are expected to work together to train and ride in a manner that develops obedience, flexibility and balance. Is is most known to non-equestrians for it’s so-called“dancing horse.” Often referred to as “horse ballet,” dressage is very popular in both equestrians and non-equestrians throughout the world.

Dressage horses are most known for the dramatic bend in their neck. This bend often leaves the muzzle, or nose, directly underneath the ears, leaving the horse’s head at a vertical angle. Many riders often extend this bend even more by pulling the mouth even farther back, therefore leaving the horse’s head at an angle most commonly referred to as being behind the vertical.

The secret behind this popular look is a technique most commonly known as rollkur. Although also found in show jumping and other disciplines of riding, it is most commonly seen in dressage. Rollkur is a practice in equestrianism that uses aggressive force to achieve a level of  hyperflexion in a horse’s neck. This position is often held for long periods of time, and as a result, damages the horse both mentally and physically.

“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,” says writingofriding.com. “Because of the way in which Rollkur changes the horse’s 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, eyesight, and puts the horse off balance – essentially rendering the horse helpless to the rider’s whims.”

Although this look is at a very high demand in the dressage world, it can have a very negative effect on the horses. When the horse is forced to keep his neck bent at such an unnatural angle, the he is only able to see his feet clearly due to the placement of his eyes and the bend of his neck. Therefore, when he cannot see forward, he cannot think forward, thus restricting his freedom of movement.

In horses, the spinal column of the neck doesn't actually follow the way it is seen from outside. Instead of being rounded, the spinal column is S-shaped. This is the most common in horses. However, the use of rollkur can overflex the vertebrae, trapping the vertebral column inside the nuchal ligament, and the ligament is stretched. In some of the most extreme cases, the circulation in the tongue can even be cut off, turning it blue.

However, there are some claimed advantages to using rollkur in training. Many claim that this method of training is mainly used to help lift the horse’s abdominal muscles and to encourage him to work correctly over his back. Riders also claim that because of the large size of the warmbloods used in dressage and that so many of the riders are female, weight and strength becomes an issue.

“...the use of rollkur can help female riders activate the backs of [the horses] and of course,” says dressage.wordpress.com, “and underlying aim of dressage is to encourage the horse to round over it’s back correctly (a rounded back being the safest way for a horse to carry a rider without causing physical injury to itself, so for the long term physiology of the animal, a rounded back is a necessity).”

Through my experience as a female equestrian myself, I have not found this statement to be true. Although many riders claim that rollkur can be used to aid female riders with taller, stronger horses, I, in nearly 10 years of riding, have never had this issue.

I have ridden horses that range in size from 13 hands (the withers (just above the shoulders) being around three and a half feet tall) to 18 hands (around 6 feet tall). When riding, it is a rule of basic horsemanship that applies to all disciplines of riding that the rider and horse should work together on a give/take basis. This relies on the rider, who gives specific cues to the horse using leg or hand aids, and, regardless of size, the horse should respond by performing whatever is requested.

The size of the horse should not affect it’s training because no matter how tall the rider is, the horse, if broken properly, should respond to the leg. If it does not respond (which is a possibility), it is a matter of the horse’s behavior and focus. Therefore, the hyperflexed neck seen in rollkur would provide no further assistance to the rider than riding normally would.

Overall, the use of rollkur in dressage training is, in regards to it’s efficiency, highly controversial, but it is also severely detrimental to the horse. Although there are many rules against rollkur, its use remains widespread throughout the equestrian community.