Gramantygelns påverkan på hästens välfärd ur ett fysiskt och psykiskt perspektiv

Sammanfattning: The horse was for a long time only seen as a mean of transportation for the human, not least in war and the methods that originally was created in terms of schooling the horse was adapted to cover the needs within the cavalry. These methods are the fundamental for what today is known as dressage in sport context. Dressage as a discipline is a part of the Olympics game. The purpose of dressage riding is that the horse should be educated in a harmoniously, positive and athletic way for the horse to be relaxed. The use of draw reins is stretching back to the 1950s. Today, the draw reins are often discussed in correlation with horses being ridden in an incorrect outline. During the past years, the horse’s welfare has been debated, especially in correlation with riding with a hyperflexion in the horse's head- and neck position, also known as rollkür. This could mean that the horses are ridden in an unethical way. “Rollkür” means that a hyperflexion in the horse’s neck arises which leads to a decreased angle between the horse head and neck and an almost extreme flexion in the spinal column middle section. Riding in rollkür can put the horse in very painful and uncomfortable situations. The aim of this study was to examine the scientific ground to the claims that often appears in the debate of the draw reins. This study is divided in two studies. The first study contains different claims with pro- and con arguments that people in the horse business have been expressing in periodical press. The second study contains the claims based on scientific fundamental and also a comparison of the pros and cons based on science. The results show varying advantages and disadvantages of the using of draw reins. The conclusion of this study is that there is a scientific fundamental that both promotes and is telling against for most the claims which is circuiting in the debate of the using of draw reins.