From: jd@rust.zso.dec.com (John D'Addamio)
Subject: Re: Andalusian + Arab <> Lipizzan
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation - DECwest Engineering
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 21:24:50 GMT

In article <1993Jan2.080221.23080@organpipe.uug.arizona.edu> tracy@scoraz.resp-sci.arizona.edu (Tracy Scheinkman) writes:
>
>	For the record, I did not get the Spanish Riding School information
>from my friend I got it from a book, Simon and Schuster's Guide to Horses
>and Ponies by Maurizio Bongianni.  Now granted this book's information on
>some breeds (most notably the Arabian) has not been terribly accurate,
>however it has agree exactly with most of the information that has been
>presented by yourself and Anne Marchant.  However there are always 
>exceptions it disagrees with you here.  This book claims that the breed
>supplied horses "to the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, founded in 1729
>by Charles VI and called 'Spanish' to emphasize the high percentage of
>Andalusian blood in the horses used there.  From 1717 onward the Spanish
>stallions were substituted by Neopolitan, Kladruber, and Frederiksborg
>stallions, which in their turn were superseded by Arab stallions."  
>I don't know if this information is correct, thus I asked questions.
>

My apologies for mistaking the source of the information.
Actually, the significance of the 1729 date is that it is the year in
which construction of the current riding hall was begun. If I remember
correctly, construction was completed in 1735. This is the same hall
that was threatened by the fire in the Hofburg palace in Vienna back in
November. People frequently confuse the construction of the hall with the 
founding of the school and its program. The current hall was originally
called "Der Winterreitschule" (The Winter Riding School) as it was
intended to give the Spanish Riding School a place to train during
Vienna's snowy winters. To this day, the Spanish Riding School maintains
remnants of that tradition. The riding hall is closed from late June
until September. During the summer 'recess', the horses are moved  and 
trained outdoors.

>> until autos replaced horses.) This is especially true of the Lipizzaner 
>> bred at the Austria's Bundesgestt Piber(Piber National Stud) for the 
>> Spanish Riding School. 

Another apology...this time for my sloppy translation! Bundesgett Piber
is more correctly translated as Piber Federal Stud. I used Piber
National Stud because it is analagous to the UK and Irish National
Studs. Thought it would be more familiar...
BTW, if your terminal puts an | character in the stud name, it's
supposed to be a u with an umlaut over it....Apparently some terminals
drop the high order bit and it comes out as | ....

>	My friend and I were discussing our horses personalities and
>some amusing anecdotes the other day and discovered that when they balk
>refusing to go forward for whatever reason and are urged on anyway 
>both of our horses will rear -- not the wild kind of dangerous flailing
>around type of rear, but rather a slow-motion 45 degree angle true LEVADE
>that they then hold for several seconds before realizing that their
>riders are laughing and their demonstration of irritation was not having 
>the desired effect.

This is a technicality but... If your horses are going up to 45 
degrees, they are doing a true PESADE.  This is still remarkable but 
slightly less difficult than a levade. If your horses are offering such
movements voluntarily, they must be VERY talented animals! I envy you!
Ours have offered piaffe as a 'disobedience' but never true airs!
Here's an explanation of the differences between pesade and levade as 
well as the basis for my comments.

There are two closely related "airs above the ground" called the pesade 
and the levade. Both require the horse to lift his forehand off the 
ground with his forelegs folded under his chest while sitting in place 
on well bent hind legs. Both are developed from the piaffe(trot in place). 
In "The Complete Training of Horse and Rider," Col. Alois Podhajsky says 
that the pesade requires a the horse to raise its body to an angle of 
45 degrees with the ground. In the levade, the horse only raises its 
body to 30 degrees. He says that the levade was introduced at the 
beginning of the 20th century. 

In "The Spanish Riding School," Podhajsky's successor Col. Hans Handler 
says that the levade is more difficult to execute as it requires more 
strength of the hindquarters and an even greater flexion in the joints 
of the hindlegs.

On the difference between the rear and the classical movements of
pesade/levade, Podhajsky says "If the horse lifts himself higher from 
the ground at an angle more than 45 degrees and does not bend his hind 
legs, he does not perform any classical movement but simply rears up." 
I would add that in most rears, the horse actually extends the joints 
of the hindlegs and hyper-extends the spine(i.e. hollows its back).  
In a levade or pesade, the horse must not only flex his hindlegs but 
his spine(i.e. "round his/her back"). The rearing horse may also flail 
its forelegs as a stallion might in a fight. The horse doing a levade 
or pesade tucks them up like a careful showjumper.

John