Reflections on Lipizzan Mares

I've spent a lot of time lately working with three younger mares, one somewhat green under saddle, one getting ready to be backed, and the youngest just starting her training. They're all strong, athletic, talented ladies, as they would be: they're Lipizzans. They're also reminding me every day of the peculiar challenges that go with this breed and this gender.

I'm a mare person. By the luck of the draw, every horse I've ever gone out and bought has been a mare. My boys were born here--bred, or bought in utero along with Mom. Most of my homebreds have been fillies, and that's exactly how I like it. When I place my order, in general I ask for the indoor plumbing.

And yet, there's this persistent rumble under the surface of the breed. The mares have a rep. The boys are the easy ones, relatively speaking: gentler, kinder, less difficult to train. It's not just that the ladies are too valuable as broodmares to take the time to turn them into dressage horses. It's that they're too opinionated to be worth the trouble.

I'll be fair. There's a grain of truth in that. I've seen difficult stallions and geldings, too--oh, have I. But for the most part, when the Bad Lipizzan stories go the rounds, they'll feature a mare. The kindest of them opines that, well, they're just motherly, you know? They resent any time taken away from the vital job of raising babies. If you absolutely insist, they may give in, but you'll be constantly pushing against the mare's conviction that Mother Knows Best.

Here's the truth: She usually does.

SWLA Recommended Reading List

From the facebook fan group, a not-too-oldie and very-goodie:

 

 

SWLA Recommended Reading List

Originally published in the Southwest Lipizzan Newsletter Summer 2009

I hope that I am not the only who believes that today’s high tech entertainment doesn’t compare to the enjoyment one gets from a good “old fashioned” book . So, the next time that you find yourself desiring to some horse-related reading then you may want to consult the list that SWLA members compiled for this newsletter. It was a treat for me to compile this book list because I found many new ideas for reading material, not to mention that I was reminded of some that I had forgotten. Guess what? I discovered that of the members who contributed their personal reading lists, every single one had a Podhajsky book listed! So, I decided to note on this if a particular book was recommended by more than one person with a star * next to it.
For the future, if you discover another horse book that you’d like to recommend to other SWLA members, we can certainly continue to add to this reading list on an ongoing basis. Please feel free to send me your new favorites as well and we can let people know about your recommending reading suggestion in an upcoming newsletter. (Email Katherine at sambabamba@hotmail.com )

I have arranged the reading by subject, so that if you want a novel then you won’t pick up a book about the technicalities of dressage training. If you happen to want to read about training, horse care, or a book about the Lipizzan horse breed I have compiled those particular lists as well. I do kindly ask that you forgive me if you feel that I have categorized a book incorrectly....For example, I find it tough to decide if certain Podhajsky books would be more “Lipizzan” or more related to “Riding”. Regarles of whether you discover or even rediscover on this list, I hope that you will enjoy your time with a good book. These are even more special because they come directly from SWLA members who appreciate good reading themselves.

Lipizzan-related:
Lipica by Milan Dolenc (a coffee table book)
The Imperial Horse by Isenbart and Buhrer (a coffee table book)
Lipizzaner-The Story of the Horses of Lipica, Commemerating the 400th Anniversary of the Lipizzan (a coffee table book)
The Spanish Riding School by Hans Handler
My Horses, My Teachers by Alois Podhajsky *
The White Stallions of Vienna by Alois Podhajsky*
The Spanish Riding School by Mathilde Windisch-Graetz

Lipizzan stories:
Pluto the Brave Lipizzan Stallion by Anne Colver
The White Stallion of Lipizza by Marguerite Henry*
Florian by Felix Salten (This was made into a movie!)
Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart

Riding and Training:
Classical Schooling with the Horse in Mind by Anja Beran
Academic Equitation by General Decarpentry
The Ethics and Passion of Dressage by Charles DeKunffy
The Dressage Formula by Eric Herbermann*
Tug of War by Gerd Heuschmann
Dressage with Kyra by Kyra Kyrkland
Enlightened Equitation by Heather Moffet
Riding Logic by Wilhem Müseler
Biomechanical Riding by Nancy Nicholson
The Complete Training of Horse and Rider by Alois Podhajsky *
The Riding Teacher by Alois Podhajsky
Centered Riding by Sally Swift
Centered Riding 2 by Sally Swift
Balance in Movement by Suzanne Von Dietze
For the Good of the Horse by Mary Wanless
For the Good of the Rider by Mary Wanless
The Natural Rider by Mary Wanless
Ride with Your Mind Essentials by Mary Wanless
Dressage by Henry Wynmalen

Horsemanship and Husbandry:
Riding Towards the Light by Paul Belasik
The Soul of a Horse by Joe Camp
Think Harmony with Horses by Ray Hunt
Horse Owner’s Guide to Natural Hoof Care by Jaime Jackson
Natural Horsemanship by Pat Parelli*
Straightening the Crooked Horse by Gabriele Rachen-Schoneich and Klaus Schoneich
Horsemanship by Waldemar Seunig*
A Lifetime of Soundness by Hiltrud Strasser

Congratulations to Favory II Gabriella II-I (aka "Bon") and his new, loving owner, Jill Muchmore, whose paths have become one.

Bon is now residing in Oklahoma, enjoying his new life as Jill's teacher and the fourth member of her herd of horses. Here is a picture of them, a couple days after Bon's arrival, after several fabulous rolls in red, Oklahoma mud. Bliss!

Jill is a newcomer to Classical Dressage, but is not new to riding. She found the perfect horse for her goals and is very excited about the journey that lies ahead of them. Congrats Jill and Bon... may you have many fabulous rides together!

Lipizzan Q&A: Lipizzans Can't Do Dressage?

Q: My trainer says Lipizzans can't do dressage. He's disgusted that I insist on buying one of those dinky little things (his words). Is he right? Should I just forget about it?

A: Certainly not. But you might want to consider changing trainers.

So why is this belief so prevalent? My response at first was a stunned silence. The horse for whom and by whom the art of dressage was invented, "can't do dressage"? Is "just a circus horse"? Just isn't suitable for "real dressage"? What can these people possibly mean by that?

Usually I've found that they mean competition dressage. Let's walk delicately around the brawl over Classical versus Competition, and look at the average horse pictured in, say, Dressage Today. He's big. He's brown. He's a Warmblood of some variety or other. He's nearly always depicted in the show ring, one foreleg at its fullest extent, performing an "extended" trot.

You interject, "My trainer said Lipizzans can't extend!"

But of course they can. A true extension comes from collection. Lipizzans are born and bred to collect. They also have a free shoulder and a strong, supple back. What they don't have is height. And long legs, which can be thrown a good foot farther out front even while the hindlegs are paddlewheeling along in the next county. They're smallish, short-legged, solidly built horses, and as such, won't impress judges with the sheer size of their stride.

Does this mean they can't compete, let alone win? Not a bit. If they're ridden and trained correctly, they'll show very well, especially now that the "average" dressage horse is getting smaller, lighter, and less exaggerated in size and movement. And, because they're built and designed for collection, and have the mind to go with it, the higher they go, the more suitable they are. They're not the best horses to spend a life at training and first level with, but once collection enters the equation, they have an increasing advantage. Nor need they be short little choppy movers, either. Many Lipizzans being bred these days can compete favorably with Warmbloods in that department—they win scores of 8 and 9 for their movement, as well as delighting judges with their brilliance and stage presence.

Go ahead and buy that lovely-moving Lipizzan with the great mind and the willing attitude. Who knows, your trainer might become a convert.

Lipizzan Q&A: My Lipizzan Is Weird!

Q: Everybody tells me Lipizzans are no different from any other smart, sensitive horse.  They kept telling me their Arabian, Quarter Horse, Thoroughbred, Warmblood, whatever acts just like this, and I'm just getting carried away by the mystique.  How do I explain to them that there are times when this horse just does not act normally, and whatever I try to do with him that worked with my Arabian/Quarter Horse/Thoroughbred/Warmblood/whatever is (literally) biting me on the butt?

A: You can't explain.  Nobody who hasn't been there will understand.  What you can do is accept that these are not horses, they are Space Aliens in horse suits, and just smile and be polite to the "MY Horse Does That TOO" crowd.

The following things are completely normal for a Lipizzan: 

• They're smart.  I believe that in general they're about as bright as a three-year-old human child.  They're not so good on abstracts, but concrete concepts get through just fine.
• They're sensitive.  You can't bully a Lipizzan.  Either he shuts down and turns to stone, or you discover that he really is genetically predisposed toward the Airs Above the Ground.  He is also a warhorse, which means that where another horse might run, he may stand and fight.  This can backfire severely with trainers who view horses as purely flight animals, and don't allow for a horse who fights back.
• They understand English (or French or German or Spanish or whatever language you like to speak to your horse).  You can talk to them, and in fact explaining a new exercise before you execute it can be very helpful.  If you treat your Lipizzan like a fellow sentient being, he'll respond in kind.
• They are powerful one-man horses, sometimes to the point of trouble.  They are not good at generalizing from the Chosen Human to anyone else, and have to be taught to acknowledge any other human's right to tell them what to do.  This is a great deal of fun in a boarding situation, as too many of us know.
• They have really low idiot tolerance.  Inept handling on the ground and poor or imprecise riding will result in a horse who is difficult or impossible to handle.  This is particularly evident in connection with vets and farriers. My first Lipizzan ran through three or four farriers in her first year before we found one who understood about a horse who can feel the nails go in for the shoes.

Yes, any individual horse may do all of these things, too. But with Lipizzans, it's a breed trait.

Once you survive the learning curve and find horse pros who don't argue when you tell them how your horse needs to be handled, you find that every horse you meet (once he gets over the shock) responds favorably to being handled that way. You may, in some cases, find the horse practically weeping on your neck, he's so glad to be approached softly, with respect, and listened to when he says something.

Lipizzans are teachers before they're anything else. Even before they're Space Aliens.

Ephiny's Training Diary: Session 3, Illustrated!

New installment of Ephiny's Training Diary on my livejournal, with illustrations. Progress! Happy ears!

http://dancinghorse.livejournal.com/270088.html

I love the Lipizzan mind. It can be so challenging, but once the horse figures out what we're doing, she's with me 100%.

Ephiny's Training Diary

I posted the first installment of Ephiny's Training Diary on livejournal today. Life with Lipizzans, courbettes included. http://dancinghorse.livejournal.com/269347.html

Enjoy!

More on Lipizzan Sizing

I am 5'9" with a 33" inseam as well, and here I am riding my 15.1 stallion. They're strong and compact, with deep girths... lots of power!

Lipizzans and the people who love them...

Every owner of a Lipizzan has a story. We all have a "moment" when we first became entranced by this majestic creature. This will be the first post in a series that we will be doing. We are going to start with our older stories of some of the first Lipizzans in the United States.

CONNIE by Carol Wilde

I was a born a horse lover. When Christmas came if there wasn't a toy horse for me, it just wasn't Christmas. There is a doll baby bed up in the attic of my mother's house that I swore was my sister's. I only found out in my 30's that that baby bed was mine and I just "blocked it out" of my memory. That was the year my parents bought me a wooden spring horse named Buckshot.

My favorite horses were always "white" horses. I had received a horse book every year and my father always showed me the horse pictures in magazines. When I was 10, my father showed me an article in the Sept 1958 National Geographic, titled THE WHITE HORSES OF VIENNA.. The very first photo in that magazine article was of a magnificent white horse with a golden bridle and breastplate. As I read the article I was reading about the almost magic of the horses where the riders seemed to disappear into the background as they seemed to dance to the crowds. The next photo showed 8 white horses with an almost invisible rider on each. It told of a General Patton who saved the breed from extinction. The next photo was of a horse in an almost perpendicular rear with his feet off the ground and a rider without stirrups. This was what they called a courbette. New words for me to learn at the age of 10!
There was some history about the Royalty that would put on shows called Carousels. Then there was a head study of the stallion Conversano Montebella and a photo of broodmares in the alpine pastures. Pictures of foals: a sharp contrast to the white mares. There was a photo of a brown horse in the Levade, and then I saw the picture of the horse that seemed to fly in the air performing a capriole. That was
my introduction to the Lipizzaner horses. I still have that magazine because that was where my love for the noble Lipizzaners began.

When THE MIRACLE OF THE WHITE STALLIONS came out, I saw for the first time the Lipizzaner come to life from that magazine. I must have seen that movie every day it showed locally.

In 1964, I found out that the Lipizzaners were coming to Chicago from Austria. It was a chance to see them LIVE for the first time.

I had begged my parents to go and we finally got tickets in the box seat area for $5.00. Needless to say, I was dreaming Lipizzan over and over in my head.

After I graduated high school, a friend asked if I wanted to work at a horse stables in IL. Of course I did. That is where I met Conversano III Ancona, AKA "Connie". I had to be the groom in charge of him and the manager at that time let me. Of all the horses I groomed, he was the last to be groomed so I could spend more time with him after work.

Connie was co-owned by a Frenchman named Jean Loup Petit and a German man named Manfred Leichner. When I saw Jean ride for the first time, it was just wonderful. He told me that Connie was bred in Wimsbach and had been in the circus trained by Arthur Konyot.

It was several weeks before Manfred came to the stables. After Manfred came, things changed quite a bit. The horse was beaten and came back to the aisle with sweat pouring off of his formerly white coat, which only showed the dark skin underneath.
When Jean came the next time, I told him about what happened and he said he had spoken with Manfred before, but it never did any good. When Jean rode, he had to work to calm Connie down again. I was glad Manfred didn't come out that often, only two Sundays a month. Jean came out weekly on Wed, Thurs, Sat & Sundays.

After about two months, I was thrilled when Jean offered me a chance to ride Connie on the longe. The lessons continued as long as Manfred was not there. It would be three days after Manfred came, that Connie would be calm enough me to get a lesson again.

About 6 months after Connie arrived, Manfred came to ride and he again beat Connie. He shouted, "He's gotta walk, doesn't he?" (there were very confusing signals if all he wanted to do was walk the horse). He said he was bringing out a trainer to see what was wrong with the horse.

It was on a Tuesday evening when Jean came and Manfred came with trainer Alf, from Tempel Farms. Jean told Manfred to ride first since he didn't ride much and he was the one who brought Alf out. I was glad of that since Alf could see the confusing signals Connie was getting. Then Alf asked to ride Connie. The difference was like night and day. There was a very obedient Connie doing half passes, passage and piaffe with the beauty of the Austrian Lipizzaners I saw in 1964. When Alf came back, he told Manfred, "It's not the horse, it's you." Manfred then left to drive Alf back to Tempel Farms and Jean said to me that was what Manfred needed to hear. Later that evening, after Jean had left, Manfred came back and beat Connie again so bad, that I thought Connie would drop. He shouted "He's FOR SALE!" I said "I'll buy him!"

I bought out Manfred's share of Connie for $1,000. At least Manfred was now out of the picture and Jean and I could concentrate on getting him calm again. I had continued with Jean and Connie for 3 years after that.

Then new barn management came and got rid of all girl grooms saying the job was for men only.
I paid off Jean's share of Connie with time payments and took Connie to WI with me. Jean came up a few times to see how we were doing, but then Jean got sick and could no longer come up.

Connie had special habits that were well remembered. At nights he would sometimes stand like a flamingo with one hind hoof in the air. He would drink coke out of a bottle and loved treats especially oranges and tootsie rolls. After he had a treat, he would wiggle his tongue in and out of his mouth, making slobbery, slurpy noises for hours.

Connie was some days a joy to ride, some days trying to calm him down again.
In 1970, the Herrmann Lipizzan troupe came to Milwaukee and they said that Brigetta was the only woman to do a capriole mounted. I told them yes, in shows, however I had done it on Connie a few times when I asked him to (and a few times when he decided that water puddle or stick in the pastures was just something to capriole over). Those unexpected caprioles put me on his neck a few times, but never off him.

I told them about Connie and how he was circus-trained by Arthur Konyot. They asked if he was for sale and I thought that was best since he was probably not getting the best training anymore since Jean got ill and I had no other trainer to help me.

Dressage was basically unheard of back then. I thought they could best use him for what he was trained for. They came out to look at him and they bought him. I had free admissions to their shows after that and two years after they bought him, he was performing on the long rein in the shows. He remembered me and gave me one of his slurpee kisses. He looked handsome with his golden tassels in his mane, Connie had an unusually soft coat and fine mane. He was a fleabitten grey. Connie's registered name was Conversano III Ancona. He was a 16.2-hand gelding reg # 31 with THE IMPERIAL LIPIZZANER horse registry (long passed). He was bred by Wimsbach stud, sired by the stallion pictured in my National Geographic magazine, 159 Conversano III Montebella x 24 Ancona 233 (Favory Santa I x Valdamora) He was foaled in 1954 and imported as part of the war booty from WWII.

In addition to the dressage movements, Connie could bow with both front legs folded or one folded with the other streched. This helped me mount him. I could put my foot in the stirrup and he would get up when I swung my leg over his back. He did a Spanish walk, passage, piaffe, capriole, pesade and three-legged canter.

Connie was the first privately-owned non - show Lipizzaner in Wisconsin. In 1961 the Smaha family moved to Baraboo, WI from the King Brothers Circus to the "Old Time Circus" at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo with their Circus Lipizzaner.

At the time of this blog post we have learned that Carole Wilde is very ill. We wish her good health and are indebted to her for sharing this wonderful story for us!
If anyone out there has anything more to share about Connie we would love to hear it!

Lipizzan sizing

I am 5'8" tall and I have a 33" inseam. How tall do you think my Lipizzan is?

So You Want to Buy a Lipizzan

First of an ongoing series of Lipizzan Q&A. Please feel free to ask questions in the comments. I'll be happy to answer them here. :)

And now, our first question, which I hear very frequently indeed:

Q: I'm 5'7" and long-legged.  I need a horse at least 16 hands tall, or I look ridiculous.  Is there any such thing as a 17-hand Lipizzan?

A: Yes, occasionally, but you probably don't want him.  He's either got the turning radius of the Queen Mary, or nine-tenths of his height is legs.

So do you have to give up your dream of owning a dancing white horse?

Not at all.  Yes, the breed standard calls for a horse between 14.2 and 15.2 hands, and strongly discourages horses over 15.3 from being bred—the reason being, according to the experts from Austria, that over that height, the horses begin to lose piaffe and the Airs.  But the reason for that is also the reason why you don't have to worry.  A Lipizzan over 15.3 is a big, massive horse.  I have a personal formula that seems to work for any but the most refined Lipizzan: to calculate the relative body mass of a Lipizzan versus a horse of most other riding-horse breeds, add 4-6 inches to the measured height of the horse. 

Here I am on my 16.1-hand mare. I'm 5'4" and not short-legged.

Lipizzans are deep-bodied and short-legged, with well-sprung ribcages.  Many of them are also quite scopey movers, with a long stride for their height.  I have known 14.2-hand Lipizzans who took up more of the rider's leg than a well-built, 16-hand Thoroughbred, and wore a bigger blanket, too.  My 14.2-hand mare, for example, is a solid 80, and takes a Large Horse halter.  My 14.3-hand, somewhat long-backed mare needs an extra six inches or so in spacing for ground poles, because the average spacing is too short for her.  She can use the same saddle—including the same girth—as my former trainer's 16.2-hand Hannoverian longe horse.  And she's fairly lightly built, for a Lipizzan. 

Lipizzans are big little horses.  They've been carrying full-grown Austrian men without looking either stunted or absurd for over four centuries now, and one can hope they'll be doing so for another four hundred years.  Personally I find it delightful to have a horse who moves with the suspension and scope of a Warmblood, but who is short enough that I can see over his back when I groom him.  The ride is as big as you could want—and with your height and inseam, if he's a good, deep-bodied 15 hands or so, you won't look silly on him, either.  He'll take up that long leg, balance it with a good length of neck and body, and even give you that tiny-rider-on-huge-horse look that is so much in fashion for dressage these days.

Hey, look at me working on some Serious Forward Never MIND The Head For Now with my stallion who at 14.2 is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the Beeg Girl:

He may be short, but there's plenty of horse there. Rides like a warp-assisted dream. That's a Lipizzan.