Ludger Beerbaum: Can “well understand” the ban on touching
Photo:
Henning Bagger / dpa
The German Equestrian Federation (FN) wants to ban the controversial training method of touching show jumpers.
This was decided by the presidency of the FN and thus follows the recommendation of the commission for training methods.
The rule change should be implemented at the beginning of May and then take effect, said FN Secretary General Soenke Lauterbach.
The currently still permitted practice of touching is controversial.
The FN guidelines have so far stated that it is "professional sensitization of the horse by specifically touching the horse's legs during the jumping process".
The poles used for this must be smooth round wood, no more than three meters long and no heavier than two kilos.
Touching may only be used by experienced horse professionals.
Trainers expect the method to make the horses more attentive on the course, make fewer mistakes and thus be more successful.
Parallel bars, where you hit your legs with a bar, are already banned.
It was "difficult to convey where the limits are," said the FN Secretary General.
In dressage, forms of touching will continue to be allowed in the future, said FN training manager Thies Kasparit.
TV report about Ludger Beerbaum caused a stir
A few weeks ago, a contribution to the program "RTL Extra" caused a stir.
In it, four-time Olympic champion Ludger Beerbaum was accused of using parallel bars on his show jumpers.
Beerbaum had vehemently defended himself against the allegations and emphasized that touching was allowed.
FN Secretary General Lauterbach emphasized that the Commission for Training Methods had already dealt with the topic before the RTL contribution.
The public prosecutor's office in Münster is now investigating the case, but the investigations are likely to take months.
Now Beerbaum said in a statement that he could "understand" the ban on touching.
“Although, in my opinion, a more differentiated approach would have been possible.” Like the Riding Association, Beerbaum believes that professional touching is “not relevant to animal welfare”.
"Due to the complexity of touching," it is very difficult to convey where the limit of what has been permitted so far lies, said Beerbaum.
There had recently been heated debates within the FN as to whether touching should continue to be allowed.
The association stated in its statement that the recommendation of the Commission for Training Methods to the head of the association was unanimous.
Internally, however, many riders, breeders and association officials had pushed for the method to continue to be allowed.
They feared that German riders and German horses could lose touch with the world's best without touching.
The deciding factor for the vote is that the International Equestrian Federation, the FEI, banned touching years ago.
Against the background of the Beerbaum case, the FN would have been in a bad position towards the animal welfare officers in the federal states if they had continued to allow the method in the training of horses.
Beerbaum is a four-time Olympic champion and winner of numerous World Championships and European Championships in show jumping.
see/ulu/dpa