Bleeding hearts

Another high level dressage competition, another high scoring elimination “under blood rules’. What sort of euphemism is that? The horse was bleeding.

What really got my goat this time was how the rider and the reporter were both so disappointed because at the time the horse was doing a beautiful test?! How can a horse be a happy, unconstrained athlete, appearing to perform of his own volition, and yet be bleeding?

ARTICLE 401 OBJECT AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF DRESSAGE- The Horse thus gives the impression of doing, of its own accord, what is required.

Without ‘strict’ adherence to these words, all other descriptions contained in the Article and descriptions contained in the subsequent Articles ‘cannot’ be met.

Top contender eliminated from London Horse Show freestyle under blood rules

FEI Blood Rules

Visible blood from the horse should surely mean a bell rings, instant cessation of participation and disqualification from the competition. How could anyone who loves horses disagree with that?

From the dressage rules on blood-

“at all competitions: If the judge at C suspects fresh blood anywhere on the horse during the test, he/she will stop the horse to check for blood. If the horse shows fresh blood, it will be eliminated

Taken from a powerpoint on the FEI website

Horses do not just bite their tongues or cheeks as if by accident. Mouth lesions, found in 20% of dressage horse at high level competition, are a direct result of horses being ridden in incredibly tight nosebands, with heavy hands creating gaping mouths and lolling tongues, as well as internal mouth injuries that stain the foaming saliva pink.

Despite the rules on horse welfare and the presence of stewards and vets who are there to supposedly enforce the rules, still images like these are still a regular occurrence at any high level dressage competition. Even the uneducated eye, or maybe only the uneducated eye can clearly see that many of these so called highly trained horses look uncomfortable or even in downright pain. Even when there is blood showing, equine insiders still find it acceptable to carry on, or OK to describe it a shame that the horse was eliminated.

Where is the shame that should be felt by any horse loving rider for causing your horse bleed by your own hands?

Rough hands and forceful riding have no place in dressage.

Rollkur is still ubiquitous, despite the ban

The clear effects of Rollkur training were still obvious both in the GP dressage. These are specialist professional riders at the top of their game, the best in the world- they should be shining samples of good horsemanship and training we can all aspire to. The bleeding horse is based at at a training facility long mired in controversy over bleeding, forceful riding, blue tongues and horses retired prematurely due to mysterious lameness.

Indeed I find myself wondering if these riders are the best in the world at an entirely different sport to the one which I practise at home.

The Social Contract

Horse sport, and thus to some extent, leisure horse riding, owes its existence to a social contract. The social contract assumes that the owner and the rider love the horse, that the humans ensure the best possible care for the animal, that they provide the animal with the best possible life in return for the honour of using, not abusing, that animal for human gratification and glory. 

“Addressing the Fédération Equestre Internationale  (FEI) General Assembly, Roly Owers of the World Horse Welfare recommends that the equestrian community be cognizant of how the public views the use of horses in equestrian sport. Owers recommended that equestrian sport pursue a social license, which is an unwritten, non-binding contract that means society gives horse sport the right to operate.

Owers said that this would build societal trust that horse sport can operate in a transparent and ethical manner.

Owers points out that there is a small contingent of animal rights groups that believes that using the horse for any profit or entertainment is unacceptable. Animal rights groups are transposing animal welfare issues with animal rights issues; animal welfare is about improving the treatment of animals, not banning their interactions with humans.”

Now regular readers will know already that, in my eyes, and proven by science, many of our modern husbandry practises are actually bad for horses and go against their nature.

Those who are uneducated (or un indoctrinated) to equestrian sports seem to see that pain and unnatural movement more clearly than the so called experts and fans.

And even the casual observer can spot blood on their TV screen. 

The animal lovers around the world will not tolerate watching horses bleeding on camera for human glory.

As riders and horse lovers and participants in horse sports, we must not tolerate this either. 

The FEI needs to enforce their own rules...

Welfare starts with the equipment. Whips are checked- we can’t use whips with stingers only those with more humane soft ended padded flappers (!) but noseband rules are not enforced and sometimes can be seen fastened so tight that the horse can’t breathe or move its tongue.

Competition Dressage should be first and foremost a beautiful demonstration of the results of good training and its ability to enhance the biomechanical performance of the horse through allowing the horse to be balanced and in self-carriage and appear to make the movements of his own accord seeming effortless.

How can a horse give such an impression if the horse is physically constrained by a tight noseband or the rider pulling on the bridle so much that the horse cannot chew or swallow its own saliva, or that such movement of the jaws cause it to bite its own cheeks?

In order for the horse to give such an impression, the horse should be on the bit, collected, in self-carriage & balanced, with poll highest point and ‘head’ in front of the vertical.

WORD ORIGIN FOR DRESSAGE

French: from Old French dresser – to prepare or set straight”

Surely it doesn’t take a genius to realise that to the general public, any blood from any animal is distressing? Money pressure and prizes seems to have triumphed over conscience there? If the welfare of the horse is paramount why are we allowing them to bleed for human glory?

And the scourge of Rollkur, Low Deep and Round, Deep Stretching, Yoga for Horses, needs eliminating once and for all. Because for every horse that gets to the Olympics there are hundreds that didn’t stand up to the rigours of unhealthy short cut training. And the physically and psychologically broken horses didn’t all find classically minded amateurs skilled in rehab with deep pockets and love in their hearts to take them on and fix them. 

So what can we do?

We the general horse loving amateur can first and foremost lead by example. We can do better at home. We can choose to be kind to our horses. We must be advocates for our horses. We must talk back to coaches who tighten the noseband or instruct us to “make him rounder” or whip our horses into submission.

But everything that we amateurs do better at home will come to naught if high level horse sport continues to be the worst visible example of our passion and obsession.

To preserve our beloved sport and our lifestyle we also need to become activists

If we animal lovers who also ride and compete our horses do not actively campaign to make horse welfare the absolute top priority, at home and away at every single competition, the social contract will be continue to be broken at the very top level and we run the risk that all horse sports will be condemned or banned.

We must write to the FEI and the IOC and our national organisations demanding change. We must ensure that the public image and the reality of equestrian sport at all levels is beyond reproach. Otherwise the more radical animal rights organisations like PETA will make it unacceptable to use horses for sport at all.

Otherwise the bleeding hearts who do put animal welfare above success in sport will agitate to stop us even riding our beloved horses. And then, we will all lose.