Seriously — beautiful setting and remarkably well behaved horses given how many of them are in that space. This is a video you have to watch several times to see what all the horses are up to.
The video is filmed at the Hollandsche Manege in Amsterdam. The oldest riding school in the Netherlands, it was founded in 1744. The current building, which was inspired by the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, was built in 1882 and is a national monument.
The school is still used for lessons. Can you imagine riding in that amazing arena with the light streaming through those windows? The video below shows the entrance to the building and a lesson in progress.
The sad part is, I’m going to bet that’s the only turnout they get.
Actually, I read that the horses are also have outside turnout, although that is a relatively recent policy.
I watched that video twice and was amazed at how well behaved the horses were. I counted somewhere between 12 and 13 horses in that area and most of them laid down to roll amoungst the others. We have a horse at our barn that would not allow anyother horse to do that without going after it with teeth barred. I really enjoyed this video as I love watching the interaction between horses. And what a remarkable place it is.