Rollkur, and the "Blue Tongue"

Last night, I did something I "never" do. I signed a petition asking (hopefully demanding) that the FEI condemn the practice of Rollkur, and ban the use of it at FEI sanctioned dressage competitions.

There has been a video listed on YouTube, which has gone viral in record time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hIXGiV4N4k

The most disturbing thing, for me, is not the tongue hanging out, or the fact that it becomes bluish (in response to the circulation being cut off). That is just the proof that Rollkur demonstrates the extreme force exerted on the horse, physically and psychologically...and here is my opinion.

When a horse is being ridden (properly), s/he will sometimes put their tongue over, or in between in the case of a double bridle, the bit. That happens. But now we must ask ourselves, what is a horse's normal reaction when that happens?

In my experience, in every single case, the horse has a violent reaction and comes above the bit, slams on the brakes, and lets the rider know in NO uncertain terms that something is VERY wrong, and s/he is in extreme pain.

In this video, the horse continues for over one minute (that we can see, and it may have been more to produce the discoloration of the tongue) before the rider even notices that the tongue is in between the bits and lolling out the side of the mouth. And here is the key....the horse continued on the whole time, showing the rider no sign that he is extremely uncomfortable/painful.

The pain and discomfort of the Rollkur position is so extreme that the horse is unable to exhibit any reaction AT ALL to the discomfort of his tongue being pinched between the bits to the point that circulation is cut off! Can you imagine what pain the horse was in as a result of the tongue-pinch? So, which is the bigger cruelty? And what can we glean from this very apparent comparisons of pain--one which under normal circumstances of training produces an immediate and violent reaction to pain, and the other which overrides that normal reaction to the point that the horse is completely shut down to the original pain and just keeps going while his tongue turns blue? Again, which is the bigger cruelty?

To my mind, there is no room for doubt and this is the video that finally proves just how cruel Rollkur is. The poor horse's pinched tongue being turned blue due to lack of circulation (for at least one minute) is not even enough to override the pain and force of the rollkur position.

How can the FEI condone and REWARD this cruelty through scores of over 90% now? How can WE as a dressage community condone this practice?? We must send a loud and clear message as a cohesive international community that we will not stand by and do nothing anymore.

There is a title link to the same petition that I signed last night at the top of this post. I welcome all comments here, but even if you do not comment here, please go to the petition, read some of the comments attributed to the signers, and consider signing.

You may even sign anonymously, but remember, if the FEI is anything like the U.S. government, an anonymous signature does not count. Please consider signing your name--I did, and I am a dressage professional.

Thanks for reading this post.