I clicked through a DH link to watch a video of the person who took the blue tongue video. It was really distressing. I don’t follow dressage closely and I didn’t realise all this was going on.
It’s awful. But I do see small hints of change.
The fluff trick has been around for awhile.
I have a horse who dislikes his mouth being wet/foam dripping down. He’s fine during a test, but left to do his own thing he will try to lick his lips, rub, or fling the foam off. Fluff would be a nightmare for him 
Dressage is just odd though. We have participants of the sport who are still objecting (by submitting through the proper channels/FEI) to safety equipment (helmets). So yeah, a sport where people want to make their horses extravagantly dance around with fluff on their faces all while the rider is dressed like a butler. Interesting sport 
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I was reacting to the horrific way the horses noses were pulled right to their chests. And the blue tongue guy never gave the horse a second to stretch out or relieve the tension for the entire video. Even when standing he kept the horses head cranked in. I had no idea that was a thing. I’d heard of rollkur (sp?) here, but didn’t really know what it was. It looks awful. Very painful to watch.
Speaking of safety, the man in the blue tongue video had no headgear of any kind on, nor did a woman warming up at the same time. It was all so weird, yet I understand that this was a top level competition.
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The sad thing is, I still know riders that ride like this. Some a bit less extreme, as in the tongue doesn’t appear to be blue, but I don’t get it. It also irks me when a rider stops to gab and keeps their horses head cranked in and/or seesaws on the mouth the whole time. If I have to stop to talk to someone for some reason, I let my horse have a proper break too 
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Also, after all that work, why don’t they hop off right out of the ring? Why do they sit up there and ride back. What those horses are doing looks really, REALLY difficult and strenuous!
I think think this when watching jumping, too. The only thing that makes sense to me is when the rider hops right off after cross country. I wish all the riders would do that, but esp after such difficult dressage or jumping efforts.
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IMO, fortunately things have improved for horse welfare in dressage since the infamous “blue tongue” video. (That is also why no helmets - didnt used to be required)
There was a time when I was appalled watching the warmup at shows near me - especially those of accomplished riders on upper level horses (they cant claim ignorance) I would see lots of harsh riding and holding horses overflexed for much of the warmup.
I am happy to say that the warmup at these shows is a much more pleasant place now. I really have not seen prolonged hyperflexion or harsh riding (aside from sometimes that one combo causing chaos in the warmup!) YMMV
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They have to stay mounted until they reach the bit check steward.
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I figured that, but thanks for confirming. I just wish they’d hop off after.
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Most hop down during the bit check. We’ve all seen the “bit check” that became the “bridle-less horse 50 yard dash” and most of us would rather be on the ground should “born free” start playing…
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Agreed. Nothing upsets me more. At the local hunter shows the horses are all thin and terrible condition and riders sitting slouching on their backs in the intense heat…ughhhhh
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This makes me giggle because the most common complaint about hunter shows/horses is that the horses are too fat.
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Be careful of this, as the judge may think it is blood.
Just this weekend, at an unrecognized HT, the dressage judge asked me (I was the TD) to check a horse with “pink foam” for blood in the mouth. It turned out it was due to red peppermints.
oh do I ever WISH that was an issue here. Way underweight and rough coats…no necks…its awful.
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Yes, common comment on threads here where people want to bash the hunter world is that the horses are all obese and not physically fit at all.
Sounds like you have some really bad barns in your part of the world because you certainly do not see that at rated hunter shows, or any programs wishing to do anything close to rated hunter shows.
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I asked my coach, a bona fide international competitor, Pan Am medalist, and 100% advocate for the horse, about Fluff. She said she has used it in the past with a horse that liked to keep his lips parted. Some judges mistook it for his mouth being open and scored accordingly. The Fluff disguised the parted lips.
I’m not sure how I feel about that, but I think the FEI has ruled correctly.
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@SillyHorse can you ask your trainer how they managed to put the fluff on and make it into the ring without the horse getting the fluff off (and onto everything else)?
I am totally curious about this part of the whole fluff thing because as I said above I can not picture how this would ever happen and the joy of cleaning sticky marshmallow off everything does not seem fun.
Edit to add - Just so I do not get pounced on, I have never and will never use fluff on my horse.
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Good question. I will ask.
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Also, how does the rider keep the horse’s mind on the job? Seems to me most horses would get distracted by the sugary deliciousness smeared on their mouths and would be trying to lick it off.
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Can’t lick it all off if their cranks are tight enough. 
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