Lipizzaner Stallions!
If you arrived on this post looking for information about the Canadian Stockdog Finals, please go to my post dated August 27 by clicking here. I don't know why Google is sending people to this page but was informed it is happening...
If you want to read about Lipizzaner stallions, carry on!
Tonight we saw the famous Lipizzaner Stallions at the Westerner. I've always loved them, but had no idea what an interesting history they have. You can read about them on their website http://www.lipizzaner.com/home.asp I won't try to repeat it here but it is worth reading. These photos shows the horses and riders demonstrating their famous 'dance' moves.
I was very intrigued to learn that many of the moves originated from the days when horses were ridden into battle, and designed as both offensive and defensive moves to keep the rider alive, horse and rider working as a team. 
The breed was nearly lost during WWII, then saved by US General George Patton with help from many allies including Canada and Russia.
A few of the horses in the show tonight were 'rescues' that were rehabilitated and brought into the show. To see them in the ring, so beautiful and proud, brought a lump to my throat. The audience also applauded for the performance of the rescue horses.
My favourite though was the Andalusian stallion, a Spanish horse breed that is the foundation of the Lipizanner breed of Austria. The Andalusian goes well back in known history, and was ridden by such notables as Julius Caesar and Richard the Lionhearted, as well as legions of Roman soldiers.
I am sure this horse knew he was beautiful. The MC noted several times that the horses loved applause. His mane was braided for the first half of the show. During the intermission, they unbraided it and let it fly wildly as he galloped and cavorted. 
The horses are trained for 45 minutes a day, for NINE years before considered ready to join these shows. They are in their prime in their 20s and live to 35 years old. The behaviour is so inbred in these horses that many foals and fillies start to perform the high steps and leaps when playing, completely on their own. When they are born, they are dark and become white with age. The show is 'all stallions' as the presence of a mare would cause these boys to act up. Amazing to see such powerful animals work so nicely.
To demonstrate their line breeding, they are heavily tattooed to show the sire, dam, place of birth and bloodline (as you can see in one of my photos). On this horse you can see an arrow on his shoulder which indicates his dam's line, and a crown with a P on his haunch, to say where he was born. All of the purebred Lipizanners have an L on their left cheek. 
What a wonderful show!
If you want to read about Lipizzaner stallions, carry on!
Tonight we saw the famous Lipizzaner Stallions at the Westerner. I've always loved them, but had no idea what an interesting history they have. You can read about them on their website http://www.lipizzaner.com/home.asp I won't try to repeat it here but it is worth reading. These photos shows the horses and riders demonstrating their famous 'dance' moves.
The breed was nearly lost during WWII, then saved by US General George Patton with help from many allies including Canada and Russia.A few of the horses in the show tonight were 'rescues' that were rehabilitated and brought into the show. To see them in the ring, so beautiful and proud, brought a lump to my throat. The audience also applauded for the performance of the rescue horses.My favourite though was the Andalusian stallion, a Spanish horse breed that is the foundation of the Lipizanner breed of Austria. The Andalusian goes well back in known history, and was ridden by such notables as Julius Caesar and Richard the Lionhearted, as well as legions of Roman soldiers. I am sure this horse knew he was beautiful. The MC noted several times that the horses loved applause. His mane was braided for the first half of the show. During the intermission, they unbraided it and let it fly wildly as he galloped and cavorted. The horses are trained for 45 minutes a day, for NINE years before considered ready to join these shows. They are in their prime in their 20s and live to 35 years old. The behaviour is so inbred in these horses that many foals and fillies start to perform the high steps and leaps when playing, completely on their own. When they are born, they are dark and become white with age. The show is 'all stallions' as the presence of a mare would cause these boys to act up. Amazing to see such powerful animals work so nicely.To demonstrate their line breeding, they are heavily tattooed to show the sire, dam, place of birth and bloodline (as you can see in one of my photos). On this horse you can see an arrow on his shoulder which indicates his dam's line, and a crown with a P on his haunch, to say where he was born. All of the purebred Lipizanners have an L on their left cheek. What a wonderful show! I found something on You Tube for those of you who have never seen these horses in real life. Worth the watch...and at the end you will see a selection of related movies on YouTube about the Lipizzaners. Some are short, but very good.
This sure motivated me to work on my own dog training as seeing the partnership between horse and rider was very beautiful.
Category Article Commentary, Horses
