Carl Hester Training Session Part 2 - Your Horse Live 2007

[xxibitsuxx]

This is so much better than Rollkur. It keeps the horse nicely rounded through the back and neck, and the horse picks up the slack in the reins instead of being hauled in chin to chest. I think he's completely right, this is a good stretching exercise to keep the horse supple and light on the bit, even if he does look rather behind the vertical.

[GGskitchen]

This is not rollkur or hypertension, this is simple stretching and flexing. There is no tension in the reins, Carls hands are giving and rewarding He's meant to be a little on his forehand in some of these exercises, that is the point of a warm up. It would be cruel to expect a horse to go in and work engaged and in a competition frame straight away. The stretching is warm up. Rollkur is different, that is evasion through pressure on the bit...not what you see here.

[Bonnerific]

At least this horse isn't closed in the throatlatch, but still, while he maintains the horse is "bending all the way down" he is *not*. The neck should come out of the withers like a water fall: not breaking in half. When he claims the horse is 'up' he is *not* Again, the horse is broken at the third and still on the forehand.

[t6eatowel]

I really cannot agree with Mr Hester, in the warming up phases this horse looks ,to me, to be behind the bit and rolled up. Ok, he's not being pulled in as bad as a lot of rolkur that one sees, but still his nose looks as if it needs to go more forwards. Are there any dressage riders that do not use rolkur?