Hyperflexion

I found the following video of recent interest:



Essentially, it is a defense for hyperflexion and represents a valid point. My qualms however are this:

The horse in the video only sustains a hyperflexed position a couple of times for a moment or two each time, and during turns as opposed to during actual forward movement for more than a step or two. The position is never held for a sustained period of time and it is relaxed and natural - his entire body is loose, supple, and relaxed. The remainder of the time, the horse is in a poll-highest frame with his head in front of the vertical. If, for example, a rider were to place their horse in a hyperflexed frame for a moment or two (ie. moment = one second) to stretch said horse out, and said horse was loose and relaxed, I see no wrong in doing so. The problem only arises as these riders are asking their horses to hold such a pose for prolonged periods of time (1min +) - and the force and aggressive intentions behind such a request of the horse.

In the Steffan Peters LDR video I featured last week, it is evident the horse is mostly on a loose rein throughout the initial warm-up. The horse is loose, supple, relaxed, and evidently happy. No pinned ears or tail-swishing and no tension. At the very start of the video, as Steffan rides his horse down the long side of the arena and towards the camera, he even has it in a relatively hyperflexed frame and is asking the horse to stretch down and side to side. It is an exercise I also use on my Thoroughbred - to an extent - to supple him up during a work. While I do not specifically ask him to hyperflex, I do ask for the side to side down a center line - maybe a couple times at most within a session, and depending upon the session (it may not be asked for at all). It is not a position that is held or is forced, and the horse is choosing to entertain the position for a split second, based on how you are asking. The horse is naturally loose and relaxed - to be honest I don't think my boy is even behind the vertical much when I ask this of him. It certainly makes a difference to our work on days where he is a little extra tense - it is done purely for physical purposes, on a loose rein, and not to create a submissive horse.

The other point is the thinking behind asking a horse for such a position. When it occurs naturally for a moment or two and the horse is loose and relaxed and simply moving according to how it naturally feels and is encouraged through the exercises and patterns it is being put through and what feels right to it, both horse and rider are in sync and in partnership. The feeling is natural and the hands are light and remain guiding rather than forceful (the rein is even loose). When there is excessive tension in the reins and the horse is being told to hold a particular position such as hyperflexion, particularly for a sustained period, it is no longer natural nor beneficial to a horse, especially if it is done for dominance/submissive reasons. It is done with aggression rather than compassion.

Keep in mind a hyperflexed frame, when held for longer than a second, is inhibiting a horse's movement (hyperflexed, tense, and stressed longissimus, which prevents the horse from truly tracking up and working from behind) as well as its breathing. The only range of vision they have is their chest - it is a very submissive position and a position that is uncomfortable at best and painful at worst, to hold.

Anky retracts lawsuit

This entire debacle has been continuing for the past two weeks however we had a recent development in the past two days (that and my inspiration to write seems to have made a comeback haha), so I still felt it worth reporting:

Anky van Grunsven sues Eurodressage

(I'm sorry, but I just can't help it - when I read the part Sjef allegedly writes "you are a tiny miserable figure", I pictured a little snobby napolean-looking character sneering it out in nasally tones - ha!)

Most recently:
Anky retracts lawsuit

Should you desire to research the controversial technique of Rolkur further, I highly recommend Sustainable Dressage as informative reading.

Personally I disagree with the Rolkur/hyperflexion method. At best, it stretches the horse for a moment - however it does so incorrectly and by over-stretching the longissimus and thus possibly causing harm to the horse. At worst, when used forcefully (as it is much of the time), it strips the horse of its dignity and forces fear-based respect, causing irreversible and detrimental damage. I strongly feel that there are better and more effective means of stretching a horse and gaining its respect and obedience. Keep in mind also that a horse in a hyperflexed frame cannot possibly physically track up and get beneath themselves as well as they can when they are in a 'normal' frame.


(this obviously is not a method simply trickled down to inexperienced and uneducated hands using it incorrectly...this is how the professionals do it and I only see an uncomfortable and undignified horse)


(for the record, I am using Epona clips however am not an 'Epona supporter' - I actually honestly have very little idea of what they are about...but the clips remain appropriate)

Anky speaks of Rolkur:


On the other hand, I am not privy to the belief that LDR (low deep round) is necessarily the same as Rolkur - yet the two are often clumped together as one. Here is why I believe them to be different:

Steffan Peters and Ravel warm-up LDR at Aachen


Keep in mind I have seen Steffan Peters ride very little and a very thorough research and in-depth look at his performances would be required for me to accurately pass judgement on his personal training methods; I am simply remarking on his use of LDR in the above warm-up alone. In the above video I see a very loose, supple, relaxed horse who is, above all, on a loose rein. The horse appears comfortable and content throughout the LDR warm-up and note how its head and neck position differs from a forced nose-to-chest Rolkur position.

Just sayin'!!