Sunday, January 11, 2009

Herrmann's Royal Lipizzan Stallions

Saturday morning was spent in Myakka
City with my parents and other friends to see the Lipizzan horses that are home for the offseason. It's kind of like a practice show that allows them to get the younger horses used to performing and keeps

the horses use to audiences and flash photography etc. They had some horses that were better dancers, and they had horses that were better "war horses". The Lipizzans were originally war horses because the are really good at kicking and rearing up. Some of them can even kick up and kick back at the same time. Pretty interesting. The show was free, but they asked for donations, sold snacks and souviners. It's a nice little family deal. And a great place to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday morning. The horses are beautiful, and after the show you can go into the barn and see the horses or take your young kid on a pony ride.

For those of you not familiar with the Lipizzan Horses, they were almost destroyed during WWII. They were saved by General Patton, and they still are pretty rare. They are compact and muscular, with very powerful hindquarters, allowing them to do the difficult "High School" (Dressage) movements, including the "airs above the ground." They generally have a strong-featured head with a convex profile, set high on a well-muscled, arched neck. They have short cannons, their legs have good bone, and well-sloped shoulders. Their gaits are powerful and elastic, although different in style from the Warmblood breeds seen in many dressage competitions. Lipizzans are naturally balanced, well-known for excellent trainability and intelligence.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipizzan - for more information
http://hlipizzans.com/welcome.htm - if you wish to see the horses for yourself




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