|
Impulsion
Impulsion is the movement of a horse when it is going forward with controlled power. Related to the concept of collection, impulsion helps a horse effectively use the power in its hindquarters. To achieve impulsion, a horse is not using speed, but muscular control; the horse exhibits a relaxed spinal column, which allows its hindquarters to come well under its body and "engage" so that they can be used in the most effective manner to move the horse forward at any speed. The concept and term was first written about by practitioners of dressage, but an ability to move with impulsion is a desired goal in most other equestrian disciplines. Impulsion occurs when a horse is under human control and is one of the desired goals in horse training, but it may sometimes be exhibited by a horse in a free and natural state. Impulsion allows any horse gait to be more elastic and light, and also provides the animal with the power needed to perform complex movements, including the piaffe and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dressage
Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined by the International Equestrian Federation, dressage is described as "the highest expression of horse training" where "horse and rider are expected to perform from memory a series of predetermined movements." Competitions are held at all levels from amateur to the Olympic Games and World Equestrian Games. Its fundamental purpose is to develop, through standardized progressive training methods, a horse's natural athletic ability and willingness to perform, thereby maximizing its potential as a riding horse. At the peak of a dressage horse's gymnastic development, the horse responds smoothly to a skilled rider's minimal aids. The rider is relaxed and appears effort-free while the horse willingly performs the requested movement. The discipli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canter
The canter and gallop are variations on the fastest gait that can be performed by a horse or other equine. The canter is a controlled three-beat gait, while the gallop is a faster, four-beat variation of the same gait. It is a natural gait possessed by all horses, faster than most horses' trot, or ambling gaits. The gallop is the fastest gait of the horse, averaging about . The speed of the canter varies between depending on the length of the horse's stride. A variation of the canter, seen in western riding, is called a lope, and is generally quite slow, no more than . Etymology Since the earliest dictionaries there has been a commonly agreed suggestion that the origin of the word "canter" comes from the English city of Canterbury, a place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages, as referred to in ''The Canterbury Tales'', where the comfortable speed for a pilgrim travelling some distance on horseback was above that of a trot but below that of a gallop. However a lack of compelli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riding Aids
Riding aids are the cues a rider gives to a horse to communicate what they want the animal to do. Riding aids are broken into the ''natural aids'' and the ''artificial aids''. Natural aids These are the aids which the rider possesses on their body, and should be used for the majority of the cues to the horse. Overuse of any aid can be detrimental to the training of the horse, but in general harsh or rough hands are considered the worst crime a rider can commit using the natural aids. The natural aids include: *Leg *Hand *Seat *Voice It is important to remember that the aids are used in a spectrum, from very light to very powerful, depending on the response desired. A very sensitive horse may readily jump forward from light touch of the leg, while a horse that is habituated to leg pressure may require a kick to get the same response. Additionally, an aid from canter to walk, for example, will use slightly more restraining aid on a particular horse than that horse would need going ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
On The Bit
The phrases "on the bit", "behind the bit" and "above the bit" are equestrian terms used to describe a horse's posture relative to the reins and the bridle bit. "The Art of Classical Riding--On the Bit", ArtOfRiding.com, 2010, web: AoR-Bit. A position ''on the bit'' is submissive to the rider's rein aids, given through the bit. When a horse is ''behind the bit'', the head is tucked too far down and rearward. If ''above the bit'', then the head is too high. Technique Being on the bit requires the horse to engage the hips and raise the back, which it cannot do when its head is pulled rearward. The neck is connected to the shoulders, and impeding the shoulders prevents extension of the forehand. This will cause the horse to hollow its back. A horse is properly placed, on the bit, by creating impulsion (pushing power) from the rider's driving aids, and then containing this forward energy in the hands, via the reins and bit. Impulsion causes the horse to engage its hind end ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trot (horse Gait)
The trot is a ten-beat diagonal horse gait where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time with a moment of suspension between each beat. It has a wide variation in possible speeds, but averages about . A very slow trot is sometimes referred to as a jog. An extremely fast trot has no special name, but in harness racing, the trot of a Standardbred is faster than the gallop of the average non- racehorse, and has been clocked at over . On June 29, 2014, at Pocono Downs in Pennsylvania the Swedish standardbred Sebastian K trotted a mile in 1 minute, 49 seconds (quarters were passed at 26:2, 55:3 and 1,21:4). This is equivalent to a 1000-pace in 1.07,7 or 53.14 kilometers per hour or 33 miles per hour. From the standpoint of the balance of the horse, the trot is a very stable gait and does not require the horse to make major balancing motions with its head and neck.Harris, Susan E. ''Horse Gaits, Balance and Movement'' New York: Howell Book House 1993 pp. 35–37 Du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equestrianism
Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, Driving (horse), driving, and Equestrian vaulting, vaulting. This broad description includes the use of horses for practical working animal, working purposes, transportation, recreational activities, artistic or cultural exercises, and animals in sport, competitive sport. Overview of equestrian activities Horses are horse training, trained and ridden for practical working purposes, such as in Mounted police, police work or for controlling herd animals on a ranch. They are also used in Horse#Sport, competitive sports including dressage, endurance riding, eventing, reining, show jumping, tent pegging, equestrian vaulting, vaulting, polo, horse racing, driving (horse), driving, and rodeo (see additional equestrian sports listed later in this article for more examples). Some popular forms of competi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Throughness
In equestrianism, throughness is an absence of resistance in the horse to the rider's commands. A 'through' horse is perfectly submissive, allowing the rider's aids to go freely through the animal, with the reins influencing the forehand, and the riders' seat and legs influencing the hindquarters. When completely through, the horse is soft and elastic, with a connection from back to front, balanced and relaxed. It is supple and attentive to the rider's aids, and will willingly respond at the slightest touch, not only to the driving aids, but also to the restraining aids. Throughness is often compared to a circuit of energy between horse and rider: the rider's leg aids encourage energetic movement in the hindquarters, which push the back upward, which in turn allows for connection with the front end and the bit, and the connection felt in the bit transmits a feeling of energetic movement back to the rider's hands. Of course, this is a question of "feel", meaning a very soft reactio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piaffe
The piaffe () is a dressage movement where the horse is in a highly collected and cadenced trot, in place or nearly in place. The center of gravity of the horse should be more towards the hind end, with the hindquarters slightly lowered and great bending of the joints in the hind legs. The front end of the horse is highly mobile, free, and light, with great flexion in the joints of the front legs, and the horse remains light in the hand. The horse should retain a clear and even rhythm, show great impulsion, and ideally should have a moment of suspension between the foot falls. As in all dressage, the horse should perform in a calm manner and remain on the bit with a round back.Carlos Henriques Pereira, « Le piaffer », dans Dressage et Ethologie, Editions Amphora, 2011, 285 pp. 202-211. The piaffe was originally used in battle to keep the horse focused, warm, and moving, ready to move forward into battle. In modern times, the piaffe is mostly taught as an upper level movement i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Passage (dressage)
The passage is a movement seen in upper-level dressage, in which the horse performs a highly elevated and extremely powerful trot. The horse is very collected and moves with great impulsion. The passage differs from the working, medium, collected, and extended trot The trot is a ten-beat diagonal horse gait where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time with a moment of suspension between each beat. It has a wide variation in possible speeds, but averages about . A very slow trot is someti ... in that the horse raises a diagonal pair high off the ground and suspends the leg for a longer period than seen in the other trot types. The hindquarters are very engaged, and the knees and hocks are flexed more than the other trot types. The horse appears to trot in slow motion, making it look as if it is dancing. The passage is first introduced in the dressage intermediaire test II. A horse must be well-confirmed in its training to perform the passage, and must be pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Riding
Western riding is considered a style of horse riding which has evolved from the ranching and welfare traditions which were brought to the Americas by the Spanish Conquistadors, as well as both equipment and riding style which evolved to meet the working needs of the cowboy in the American West. At the time, American cowboys had to work long hours in the saddle and often over rough terrain, sometimes having to rope a cattle using a lariat, also known as a lasso. Because of the necessity to control the horse with one hand and use a lariat with the other, western horses were trained to neck rein, that is, to change direction with light pressure of a rein against the horse's neck. Horses were also trained to exercise a certain degree of independence in using their natural instincts to follow the movements of a cow, thus a riding style developed that emphasized a deep, secure seat, and training methods encouraged a horse to be responsive on very light rein contact. There are significan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaited Horse
Gaited horses are horse breeds that have selective breeding for natural gaited tendencies, that is, the ability to perform one of the smooth-to-ride, intermediate speed, four-beat horse gaits, collectively referred to as ''ambling gaits''. In most "gaited" breeds, an ambling gait is a hereditary trait. This mutation may be a dominant gene, in that even one copy of the mutated allele will produce gaitedness. However, some representatives of these breeds may not always gait. Conversely, some naturally trotting breeds not listed above may have ambling or "gaited" ability, particularly with specialized training. Many horses can both trot and amble, and some horses pace in addition to the amble, instead of trotting. However, pacing in gaited horses is often, though not always, discouraged, though the gene that produces gaitedness appears to also produce pacing ability. Some horses do not naturally trot or pace easily, they prefer their ambling gait for their standard intermediate s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
