Dressage or "Dressidge"

The word Dressage is an old French word, meaning “to train.” Is that really what modern Dressage – or as an unknowing person may pronounce it, “dressidge” – is? The sport is expected to be representative of correct horsemanship, but it can be more like watching a battle between horse and rider. Inside the world of Dressage, there are riders taking extreme measures and fighting with what’s natural to create dance-like movements. On the surface, though, Dressage is a peaceful discipline where riders create an appearance of harmony or even a dance. For years, the sport has been dominated by famous partnerships such as

Valegro and his rider. Valegro’s recent passing caused many people to reminisce on how the horse “made a nation proud and inspired so many,” as Carl Hester, his owner (@carlhestermbe), put it. But did Valegro’s talent and ability to push the limits of biology change the world of Dressage forever?

Dressage was originally designed to encourage proper, relaxed movements. Its purpose was to give horses a correct foundation for their job in war. The values of Dressage were regulated by a book published in 1658, titled, “A General System of Horsemanship.” The book was a guide to responsible breeding, correct training, anatomy and biomechanics, and the prevention and treatment of diseases. (“Wonderful Works on Horses”) Due to a lack of knowledge at the time, much of the information taught in the book is incorrect but it carries the spirit of equine welfare. Nearly half a century later, French riding schools were established to teach proper horsemanship. The schools were led by some of the first advocates for equine welfare. They taught the prioritization of proper riding over the dramatic riding styles that had been – and continue to be – romanticized.

Centuries later, Dressage made its debut in the 1912 Olympics. The tests focused on Dressage’s roots in warfare, so riders were tested on their ability to regulate their horses with ease across many gaits and over jumps. In the 1950s, Dressage morphed into a more modern form of the discipline while still displaying suppleness through the horse’s

Dressage at the 1912 Olympics

movements. Movements such as the halt and rein back (where a horse must stop and take four steps backwards) were also included to ensure a horse was relaxed enough in its movements to stop and shift its weight to its hind legs. This was the first of many changes in the world of Dressage. Today, changes are st

ill occurring, but the expectations of judges and spectators have pushed the discipline in the opposite direction. High level Dressage tests now describe movements in terms of how much control the rider has over the horse, not how relaxed the horse is. The change from “partnership” to “control” seems minor but it sets the expectation for horses to respond robotically without any hesitation.

The changes in the equestrian world are beginning to damage the quality of Dressage and it’s becoming noticeable to professionals who have worked through the upper levels of the sport. Jayne Lloyd, a qualified British Horse Society Intermediate Instructor (BHSII), says, “the wow factor of the elaborate movement is artificial, and not a correct cadence and rhythm…The business of Dressage…[has begun to] give the audience more entertainment, like circus acts. This all comes down to money…but sacrifices the idea of Dressage and its proper training of the true athlete.”

Valegro being shown in 2016

A notable figure in the upper levels of the sport was Valegro. Valegro marked a major turning point in Dressage. Especially with his freestyles, which he performed at the 2014 Olympics, winning a record-breaking score of 93.4%. He was awarded this score for the difficulty of the test. The previous record – which Valegro had broken twice at this point – was 92.3% earned by Edward Gal. Gal earned his reputation for treating his horse, Totilas, harshly and using inhumane training methods such as “Rollkur.” Rollkur is a method where the horse’s neck is forced into a hyperflexed position, damaging joints and obstructing the horse’s airway. Despite Gal’s poor riding, Totilas won his record-breaking score, setting an ugly standard for what it takes to earn the respect of the equestrian community.

Valegro’s freestyle was highly regarded by the judges as well as aspiring riders. It was highlighted as a “perfect test” with notable canter pirouettes and piaffes. One Judge said “For a judge to be able to award a 10 [out of 10] for such a range of movements…endorses the caliber of the talent that we have in front of us.” (Loushin) One of the movements most applauded in the test was the piaffe. A piaffe is described in the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) rulebook as “a highly collected, elevated, rhythmical diagonal movement…The Horse’s back and top line are supple…The neck should be raised and gracefully arched, with the poll [the point just behind the horse’s ears] as the highest point. The Horse should remain ‘on the bit’...maintaining soft contact…crossing either the fore or hind legs, hoof-stepping, or swinging either the forehand or the hindquarters from one side to the other… are all serious faults” (FEI, “Piaffe Definition”). The guidelines set forth in the rulebook are there to ensure that horses are moving in a relaxed and comfortable manner. Other common signs of tension in horses (outlined by FEI) include tightness in the neck, stiff, unnatural movements, and body language such as tail swishing, pinned ears, and tense eyes.

In Valegro’s piaffe, his poll is clearly not the highest point, falling below the arch of his neck throughout the movement and displaying clear rigidity through his neck. The movement also has noticeable faults such as the hind legs moving laterally as they are raised and his mouth opens and closes in discomfort with the pressure applied on the bit. Valegro’s movements in the test are aligned with many signs of tension and go against clear guidelines in the FEI rulebook, yet his movements were rewarded with high scores. Valegro was one of the first, but nowhere near the last of the Dressage horses to be rewarded despite clear signs of discomfort.

With change comes both good and bad. While the Dressage world has changed for the worse in many ways, there have also been great improvements to the discipline. A prime example of this is the introduction of a standardized device to measure noseband tightness. An ongoing issue in the horse world as a whole, is the tightness of nosebands. Many riders are seen tightening nosebands to the point where noses become swollen and bones are sometimes even damaged. Riders do this for many different reasons. These reasons include the aesthetic of a peaceful mouth, the feeling of a more submissive horse (because it loses the leverage of opening its mouth), and – for a minority – because a mouth held agape is a sign of pain, which, if noticed by a fair judge, will be penalized. An FEI official describes the issue saying, “I think we all agree that it’s one of the most challenging and publicized horse

FEI's new device

welfare challenges that we had.” With the new device though, FEI officials can check each horse’s noseband quickly and effectively. The device is approximately 1.7 centimeters thick and must pass easily through the noseband for a horse to be allowed to compete. Any rider who is learning to tack up a horse, though, will be told that two fingers (approximately 3.7 centimeters) should fit between the noseband and the horse’s nose. So how tight should a noseband really be? Many scientific studies show that horses are uncomfortable with tight nosebands. They can experience pinched nerves, obstructed airways, and ulcers. Considering this, the most logical standard for the tightness of a noseband is 3.5-3.7 centimeters (“Horse Nosebands Explained”), as opposed to the 1.7 centimeters of the tool used in FEI competitions. This 3.5-3.7 centimeters leaves the noseband tight enough to stabilize the bit, creating consistent pressure for the horse to relax into. It also ensures that it is loose enough and will not create sores or cause damage on any part of the nose. Even the developments in Dressage geared toward improving horse welfare lack the proper standards to ensure they truly benefit the horse.

Dressage has evolved from a discipline designed to show off a horse and rider pair’s ability to work together into one that brandishes large, exaggerated movements. The sport originally focused on knowledge, which was shown in “A General System of Horsemanship” as well as early Dressage tests and their requirements of a clear partnership. In modern day Dressage, though, the sport is defined by extremes. Horses are expected to do extreme movements while riders take extreme measures to surpass the impossible standards of the sport. These standards were set by the record-breaking horses that pushed the limits of biology, such as Valegro. With his record-breaking performance, Valegro showed the world that the more impossible the test looks, the more it will be rewarded. So, the discipline changed. Riders pushed their horses past the limits of “impossible,” using tools to maintain the aesthetic of an effortless ride. One tool was the tight noseband, which the FEI tried to counteract but in the end, new rules are not enough to change an entire discipline. Dressage has been pushed off a mountain and it will not stop rolling until it hits the very bottom. But, in the words of Buster Moon, “When you've reached rock bottom, there's only one way to go, and that's up!" (Sing)

Works Cited

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