Monthly Archives: February 2009

Horse or Statue? Enjoying the Levade

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Commentary, dressage, equine, equine art, Equine photography, equine sculpture and tagged with , , , , ,
rom Across the Diagnal Farm -- It looks like it was carved from marble!

A Lippizan from Across the Diagonal Farm -- It looks like it was carved from marble!

After looking at all the photos of the Blue Mustang, it struck me that for many people, the most common image of a rearing horse (other than a wild stallion) is that of the Levade, a movement where a horse rears up at a 45% angle and then holds the pose for several seconds. It is a very difficult movement that requires both balance and strength.

The Levade was originally a military maneuver; it provided the rider with a higher vantage point that allowed him to aim and shoot his weapon at the enemy with greater success.

Today, it is a standard in the Lippizan shows where these beautiful baroque horses show their ability in the airs above the ground.

The video below shows a horse in training. It was taken during a photo shoot for the February 2009 issue of Dressage Today and features Dr. Thomas Ritter with the Lipizzan stallion, Maestoso II Catrina, in the Piaffe and Levade in Hand.

For more extraoridinary photographs of Lippizans, visit Across the Diagonal Farm.

It’s Nesting Season for the Great Horned Owl

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Commentary and tagged with

Kim, blogger at Enlightened Horsemanship, wrote recently about her impending move: Cold Feet Masquerade. In that post, she talked about what she’ll miss in Virginia and asked what her readers like about where they live.

Last night when I was at the barn, I had one of those experiences that makes me grateful for living outside Boston: the call of the Great Horned Owl. There is something incredibly magical about being outside at dusk and hearing the call of an owl. January and February are nesting season for them and the time when I most often hear their call.

I love being at the barn at night. It’s quiet except for the sounds of the horses and the stars always seem closer to the earth.

Denver Mustang Art or Awful?

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Commentary, equine, equine art, equine sculpture, horses and tagged with , , , ,

Public art is often a mixed bag. Some people love it and some love to hate it. The Blue Mustang, a 32-foot tall cast fiberglass sculpture by New Mexico artist Luis Jiménez, exemplifies this dichotomy. Situated at the Denver airport, it makes quite the first impression. While some call the Mustang a masterpiece, others have names not so complementary, including “Bluecifer,” “Satan’s Steed” and “Blue Devil Horse.”

Some people object to the Mustangs glowing red eyes.

Some people object to the Mustang's glowing red eyes.

Jiménez was known for sculptures that embodied Southwestern and Hispanic themes. The Blue Mustang was proposed for the airport because of the role it played it symbolized the West and because horses were the original form of long-distant transport.

The 9,000-pound sculpture was by far the largest sculpture of his career and sadly, it was also his last. The artist was killed while working on the Mustang: a section of it fell on him and severed a femoral artery. His sons finished and installed the sculpture.

Unwrapping the Mustang.

Unwrapping the Mustang on site, Feb. 11 2008.

Born in in 1940, Luis Alfonso Jiménez Jr. was the son of Mexican immigrants. His father owned a neon sign shop in El Paso, where he worked as a youth. His experiences at the sign shop and his fascination with car culture in the border areas greatly influenced his art career: his sculptures are bright, colorful and large in scale, using fiberglass as his medium.

The artist at work on the Blue Mustang.

Installing an emergency brake: How to perform a one-rein stop

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Commentary, horse training, horses, Rider Safety, riding lessons and tagged with , , ,
one rein stop

Start teaching the one rein stop at the halt.

Most of the time your horse (hopefully) stops on cue. You increase the contact on your reins and simultaneously ask your horse to slow by stopping his forward motion with resistance from your seat.

On rare occasions, you may need more stopping power. It could be that your horse has bolted or started bucking, or you could be out galloping with a group of friends and find you need just a bit more than normal to get your horse under control. The one rein stop is a tool that you should (and your horse) should know for those “just in case” times as it helps break the horse’s longitudinal resistance (by moving over his hindquarters he cannot keep running straight). But it’s not something to try for the first time when you need it; it’s something you need to teach your horse in advance. This is important: if you try it for the very first time on a horse that’s running in a blind panic, you may well flip it over onto it’s side. If it’s a technique that’s been trained, simply bending the horse will encourage it to slow down.

While this is a technique that is commonly used by Western riders, it is more frequently being taught to English riders as well. Learn how to train the one-rein stop.

Step 1: Before you try this exercise mounted, it’s best to teach your horse how to move its hindquarters over and bend its neck from the ground. Stand beside your horse while he’s tacked up. Bend his head in toward you. When the horse has accepted the bend and is standing still, then place your hand just behind the girth and ask your horse to move its hind end away from you, keeping his front legs more or less in the same place. Rinse and repeat on the other side.

Step 2: Once your horse understands the concept, then try it mounted. At a halt, ask your horse to bend to the left while releasing your contact on the right rein. Don’t use your leg and don’t bring your hand behind your body. A simple approach is to place your hand on your thigh. Wait until your horse stops moving and releases into the bend. Next, gently apply your left leg and ask your horse to move it’s haunches away from the pressure. Make sure you repeat on the other side. In addition to teaching your horse the one-rein stop, bending each direction helps keep his neck supple.

Step 3: Try the one rein stop a the walk. Apply the same principles. Then move to a trot and finally at a canter. Remember when you try this at a canter to take note of the lead that you’re on — you want to turn in the direction of the lead. Remember, the idea isn’t to spin your horse off his feet, rather it’s to use the exercise to get your horse to stop because you’ve bumped his hindquarters over and caused him to slow to regain his balance. Don’t haul your horse’s head around, especially at higher speeds; rather you should give and take on the rein you are using to ask for the bend.

Step 4: Practice this periodically. This should be part of your regular training so that if you ever need it, your horse knows how to respond.

Here are two videos that give examples of how to train the one-rein stop:

Big, bigger, biggest: Which horse is the tallest?

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Commentary, equine, Equine photography, Horse breeds and tagged with , , , , , ,

Radar is just 1/4 shy of 20 hands.

I received a comment earlier this week about Radar, suggesting that he is no longer the world’s tallest horse. Radar, a Belgian draft horse, stands at 19.3 1/2 hands and is currently listed as the tallest living horse in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Previous Posts about Radar:

Equine Sublime or Ridiculous?

Move Over Radar

I’ve done a bit more research and discovered that there are indeed other contenders.

At 20 hands, Tina was the tallest horse on the planet. When she died in 2008 she was still growing.

At 20 hands, Tina was the tallest horse on the planet. When she died in 2008 she was still growing.

Until last year, when she died at age 4, there was Tina a shire horse that stood 20 hands (80 inches at the withers). In 2007, she was measured by representatives from the Guinness Book of World Records and awarded the top spot.

Sadly, she died in April 2008. She had been brought to Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine in Alabama a veterinary clinic for  a musculoskeletal problem, lay down and was unable to get up. She was still growing. Who knows how tall she would have ended up!

Noddy sticks at 20.1 hands and is only 5 years old.

The newest challenger is Luscombe Nodram, or Noddy. At 5 years old, he already stands 20.1 hands tall. He is certainly the tallest horse in Australia and quite possibly the tallest horse in the world.

Noddy also holds the distinction of being one of only two gray shire horses in Australia.

Noddy weighes in at about 1.3 tons, so his owner has to hope he never steps on her foot.

The tallest horse in Britain is Cracker, a 16 year old Shire gelding who stands 19.2 hands. I’d love to know how his rider mounts him! Step ladder, perhaps?

Cracker is 19.2 hands. He sure makes his rider look short!

Cracker is 19.2 hands. He sure makes his rider look short!

Morocco was measured as 21.2 hands in 1904.

One of the tallest horse recorded in history was Morocco, a Percheron/Arab cross who whose height was recorded as 21.2 hands in 1904. Morocco was exhibited at the St. Louis World’s Fair.

How many riders does it take to change a lightbulb?

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Commentary, equestrian, horses, humor and tagged with ,

In “light” of the idea of lolhorses, I was surfing the ‘net for horse humor.

This one made me chuckle. Here’s an excerpt, but you can read the rest on Equisearch.com.

NATURAL HORSEMAN:
You must instill respect in the light bulb, so that it sees you as the Alpha light bulb, using “light bulb dynamics” (video set available for $179.00 on my Web site). Once you have done this, you will find that there is really no need to change the light bulb at all, but that the light bulb will, with very little coaxing from you (using patented “light bulb coaxer” designed by me–$99.00 each, for extra $49.99 you get an introductory video thrown in), behave as all good light bulbs should.

EVENTER:
Wuss! As soon as my arm is out of this sling broken after falling off at that stone wall while riding Hell Bent for Leather cross-country, I’ll change it. Until then, deal with the dark. It’ll put hair on your chest. Only dressage riders require lights, anyway.

HUNTER RIDER:
Well, I’m waiting for my trainer to tell me exactly how but he’s changing light bulbs somewhere else right now.

Then, there’s an equally funny take on the subject at the blog Bridlepath: how many horses does it take to change a light bulb? Make sure you visit the site to read the whole list!

Thoroughbred: Who ME?? Do WHAT? I’m scared of light bulbs! I’m outta here!

Arabian: I changed it an hour ago… C’mon you guys – catch up!

Quarter Horse: Put all the bulbs in a pen and tell me which one you want.

Standardbred: Oh for Pete’s Sake, give me the damn bulb and let’s be done with it.

Shetland: Give it to me. I’ll kill it and we won’t have to worry about it anymore.

Friesian: I would, but I can’t see where I’m going from behind all this mane.

I Need My Beauty Sleep

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Commentary, Equine photography, horse health, horses and tagged with ,
dsc00159_21

Curly takes her mid-day nap.

On sunny days — even in the snow — I frequently find the horses sleeping mid-day. But Curly was different. I’ve never seen a horse lie with its head stretched out in the snow! Her owner tells me that Curly naps every day; even when she’s at a horse show she’ll lie down and take a snooze.

As prey animals, horses evolved with the ability to sleep standing up. They have the ability to lock their legs which allows them stay upright. However, that doesn’t mean that they only sleep on their feet. When horses are comfortable and relaxed in their environments, they will lie down to sleep. Some lie flat out on their sides; others lie with their legs tucked underneath them. Some horses will sleep prone for several hours, barely even twitching. In fact, when that happens people frequently stop at the barn and tell us that we have a dead horse in the field!

Curly must feel very comfortable because she never even flinched when I took her picture. In fact, she was very irritated with me for waking her up!