"Are you riding yet, or are you still rolling?"

I found this at Wu Wei Verlag's website, a German publisher specializing in, among other things, publications critical of our culture's increasing violence and abusiveness in the field of equitation, which especially the "Rollkur" *) - which means forcing the horse to bend his neck to a point where his nose almost touches his chest, an unnatural position and extremely damaging especially to the horse's upper vertebrae (though in a broader sense damaging to his entire body and soul) - is an expression of.



The text says: "Are you riding yet, or are you still rolling?" It reminded me of what one of my trainers used to say, that the motto of dressage competitions should be "Look what I'm NOT able of!"

Any parallels to the mh system? Well, if you ask me, the whole mh system is an expression of what its professionals are NOT able of, and one could ask them: "Are you helping people yet, or are you still oppressing them?"

Via Camera-Obscura
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*)The English term is hyperflexion.

spring - and something about the Frederiksborg horse

Extensive areas of forest in Northern Sealand are surrounded by dry-stone walls, like the one in the picture below. They were established for about a thousand years ago, when the Danish kings started to breed horses on the basis of imported Spanish horses. The walls were built to keep the farmers' less noble, free-range horses out of the fenced areas, and thus from covering the royal mares, not to keep the royal horses inside the fenced areas. The breed of the Danish kings later became famous as the Frederiksborg horse, the world's oldest, documented horse breed.



Bent Branderup on Frederiksborg stallion Zarif Lykkesager (picture stolen here - and actually taken in our indoor riding arena)

"Monika and Filur"...

...is the title of a really beautiful video on YouTube, showing a student of Bent Branderup, Monika, riding his Knabstrup-stallion Filur in an outstanding way. A horse and a rider found each other. Enjoy!



I took the above picture in December 2003, while I was a trainee of Bent. It shows Filur doing the compliment in front of a dogcart. My co-trainee, Kristina, wasn't quite happy about having to join Bent for the ride this particular day, so I could take pictures. Was she afraid, that Filur might try to do the capriole as well??? ;)