Competitive dressage raises welfare questions about training methods, equipment use, and the degree to which horses express genuine willingness versus trained compliance.
Dressage at the highest levels involves horses trained to remarkable precision — but the line between willing partnership and coerced compliance is contested. Rollkur forces extreme neck flexion that restricts breathing and vision. Hyperflexion training causes measurable stress responses. Pain indicators visible in competition footage suggest that current FEI standards are insufficient to prevent welfare compromise at elite levels. Horse welfare in sport requires honest application of the science of equine facial pain assessment.