Sheilas story: I have been to dozens of horse shows during my life and I admire those who can skillfully maneuver their horses around obstacles, yet when I ride, I tend to be the obstacle. Im just happy if I stay on the horse! Although I love horses, riding is not my passion or talent, that is more Amy and Sara. Ive watched them take riding lessons and seen them in dressage shows but dont fully understand it. Whats wrong with just riding around in a circle? How did the art of dressage begin? Got to love having information at my fingertips! Here is some interesting facts I learned about dressage. Modern dressage was initially developed for the calvary. The same dressage skills a horse and rider learn today, were taught avoid swords and flying fire balls. Or to return injured military men safely behind lines. Dressage was first developed in Greece. ( doesnt the best stuff come from Greece? Books, Libraries, toga dresses and dressage) Xeniphon, a student of Socrates, and a calvery officer. Began training horses as a young man. He came up with the idea to teach horses to TRUST humans and to ENJOY the complex maneuvers needed to survive during war. Previously horses were punished and taught to fear their riders. During the middle ages, the heavy armor of the knights made dressage irrelevant. The fine control needed for dressage was hinders by the bulkiness and weight of the armor. It was the bowmen, who depended then on learning dressage, for the speed and agility of the horses and the accuracy of their arrows. Today dressage has gone from military discipline to a sport. The beauty of the maneuvers, the skill of the rider and the grace of the horse make it a beautiful dance between both. Hope you enjoyed todays nugget of information! Have a wonderful weekend and God Bless.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Nov 2013 01:52:20 +0000