Enough is enough, this disgraceful practise of rollkur must be outlawed by the FEI. It is time to shame the FEI and national dressage federations into action.
http://www.youtube.com/user/eponatv#p/u
Petition link, please sign, everyone!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/antiHF/
LETTER FROM THE BHS!!
HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein
PresidentFederation Equestre Internationale
Avenue Mon-Repos
24PO Box
1571005 Lausanne Switzerland 29th October 2009 Your Royal Highness, You cannot be unaware of the disquiet – not to say anger – which has arisen following the depiction on Epona TV of Patrik Kittel’s horse in apparent distress as it competed in Odense on 18th October. As you are doubtless aware, in terms both of membership and breadth of interest, The British Horse Society (BHS) is the largest single equestrian organisation in the UK. Our examinations system, and the training and education which underpin it, have earned for the Society
international recognition. No less important is our work to promote the highest standards of equine welfare, which suffuses every facet of our work. I am pleased to report that our commitment to equine welfare is shared by all our colleagues within the British Equestrian Federation, although on this occasion I am writing solely on behalf of the BHS. Let me acknowledge straight away that no representative of the BHS was present in Denmark to witness the horse’s apparent distress, nor do we have the benefit of a contemporaneous veterinary report. Moreover, we do not for one minute suggest that Patrik Kittel at any time sought to treat his horse other than with proper care and respect.
Nevertheless, in matters of equine welfare, the precautionary principle must always apply: if, despite the absence of conclusive proof, the wellbeing of a horse is called into question, there will exist a strong moral obligation on the FEI to respond immediately. In our view, the concerns so widely expressed are reasonable and therefore deserving of an urgent two-part investigation: first, an inquiry into the treatment of this particular horse on this particular occasion; and, second, a broader inquiry into the ethics and consequences of hyperflexion.
In this second aspect The British Horse Society stands ready to assist the FEI in any way it can. Please note that we pass no comment on the aesthetics of seeing a competition horse contorted in a way it never appears to choose for itself when in its natural state. Our concern is only to speak out when we believe that the welfare of horses demands it.
Yours sincerely, Patrick Print FBHS Chairman,
The British Horse Society
A Recent Series of Scientific Studies Shows: too many horses worked in hyperflexion (“Rollkur”) or actively forced into absolute elevation pay dearly for their riders’ success - since FEI, FN and all the other representative organizations as well as associations and clubs have not exactly moved heaven and earth yet in order to scientifically proof once and for all to what extend horses really suffer from the incorrect schooling and training methods their riders use;- since in all the warm up arenas in the world, horrible scenes of hyperflexion are continuously being tolerated by the highest officials. With YOUR help, Wu Wei Publishers has decided to facilitate scientific research and to document it on film;
Thankfully, Dr. Gerhard Heuschmann was the first to get the ball rolling with regard to making people aware of horse-friendly riding – however, around the world too little is changing in the right direction. The latest winning rides on the highest levels show that the horses have to pay dearly for their riders’ success. The judges responsible for these decisions must either be blind, bribed or clueless. We expect the latter, which is why we have to educate them – those riders and judges, who still have a spark of feeling and understanding for horses as living beings inside of them, we have to equip with tangible and clear guidelines in order to prevent them from awarding incorrect and harmful training with the best grades. We just think it’s been enough!Not seeing – not hearing – not speakingWE WILL NOT TOLERATE IT ANY LONGER!
From today on, let us together take the well-being of our horses in our own hands. By means of the outcome of our scientific findings, we will try to abolish all practices relevant to animal protection laws such as hyperflexion as well as forcing the horse into absolute elevation and a neck position that is too high or too tight in the throatlatch. This will be possible because we are going to get irrevocable proof which we will be publicizing worldwide as a documentary. In order to realize this (sports) horse protection project – which is the biggest so far –, we have set up an account with Stadtsparkasse Munich, where you can make your contribution. Account holder: I. Sonntag, Stimmen der PferdeSwift/BIC: SSKMDEMMIBAN: DE64701500001000840361
The donations will exclusively be used for:- the scientific documentation of the negative effects of hyperflexion (“Rollkur”) and actively achieved absolute elevation (with the horse’s head too high and the nose line behind the vertical) on the horse’s health;- the entire production and completion of a documentary translated into at least four languages. With the help of scientific proof, this movie will serve to educate people around the world about correct and incorrect riding methods;- the production of new 3D sequences in order to better illustrate our point;- the defense against official attacks against this project or its predecessor If horses could speak. This gives us the opportunity to enforce our legal conception in the best interest of the horse – if necessary, with the help of an attorney and to the highest level of jurisdiction.
The expedient application of funds will be supervised by the law firm Wietersheim, Mehring & Ramin, Friedrichstrasse 17, 80801 Munich. Having learned from past experience, we refrain from founding a society or club. Unfortunately, this means that your contributions will not be recognized as donations and thus will not be deductible. However, if you donate more than € 30, you will receive YOUR personal copy of the movie. Our vision is that all over the world, the irrefutable truth will be shown in every language in every riding club’s common room, at every show and competition as well as everywhere else – by you! From now on and with the help of the documentary, you have the possibility to take the best interest of your beloved horse in your own hands. The names of all donors will appear in the credits of the film. Please send us an email including your name and postal address (so we can send you YOUR copy of the documentary if you donated more than € 30) as well as your email address (in order to keep you updated) and the amount of money you donated. We will send you an update on the process of this project at least every six months. Wu Wei PublishersIsabella Sonntag11 November, 2009
(read less)Enough is enough, this disgraceful practise of rollkur must be outlawed by the FEI. It is time to shame the FEI and national dressage federations into action.
http://www.youtube.com/user/eponatv#p/u
Petition link, please sign, everyone!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/antiHF/
LETTER FROM THE BHS!!
HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein
PresidentFederation Equestre Internationale
Avenue Mon-Repos
24PO Box
1571005 Lausanne Switzerland ...
(read more)
