Tag Archives: equestrianism

Cruelty in Equestrian Sports – a historical imperative? Part I

Posted on December 23, 2025 by thegrailquest

The image of a joyfully dancing horse, iconic of dressage, has been questioned in the wake of numerous scandals revealing the cruel treatment that some horses suffer at the hands of professional trainers and riders. Is cruelty integral to dressage, … Continue reading →

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The FEI met to improve equine welfare in sports – any outcomes?

Posted on October 3, 2024 by thegrailquest

The FEI met to decide the future of the dressage sport – allegedly – and to improve horse welfare in equestrian sports: https://horsesport.com/horse-news/fei-meeting-unified-vision-future-of-dressage/amp/I don’t see how the resolutions outlined in the articles are going to produce results.I would not say … Continue reading →

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Horses in Our Heritage – a reminder of the CFP

Posted on February 2, 2024 by thegrailquest
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Two more weeks with the wild pony

Posted on July 5, 2023 by thegrailquest

I did not have the time to write an update due to a pony camp we had the previous week, but the training of the wild pony has proceeded perfectly well, and now I can say that training a feral … Continue reading →

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Basja on May 9 – and horse breads and horse love

Posted on May 10, 2023 by thegrailquest

I was really excited to find Basja making a lot of progress after a “day-off” bonding with me. In my new post, you will find out why I think medieval warhorses were more like treasured brothers in arms than mere … Continue reading →

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Our 3rd week with Basja

Posted on May 8, 2023 by thegrailquest

It was interesting. Unusual. Totally unexpected. I am the kind of person who works on the model of :aim –> objectives –> implementation. My aim was to train Basja as a warhorse following Jordanus Rufus’s advice. My objective for this … Continue reading →

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CFP: Historical Practices in Horsemanship and Equestrian Sports

Posted on May 15, 2020 by thegrailquest

Online conference. 28-29 August 2020 This conference is devoted to discussing historical practices of horsemanship and equestrian sports, their emergence and evolution over centuries and into the present day. The conference is open to papers from all historical periods, and … Continue reading →

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Some thoughts on medieval urban equines

Posted on February 7, 2020 by thegrailquest

in the late Middle Ages, the horse became more widely popular as a means of transportation than ever before in history… (Fabienne Meiers, “Equestrian Cities: The Use of Riding Horses and Characteristics of Horse Husbandry in Late Medieval Urban Agglomerations,” … Continue reading →

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The Less Glamorous Equines

Posted on February 2, 2020 by thegrailquest

“Horses have the speed and spirit, but for strength, endurance, and steadiness, they are often the inferior of other species and varieties. That so much depended upon four-legged freight makes it something of a surprise how neglected it is in … Continue reading →

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The Hardest Part of Producing the Horse History Volume was the Introduction…

Posted on January 29, 2020 by thegrailquest

“…It is necessary for any scholar working on the pre-modern period, irrespectively of his or her discipline, to have some understanding of the horse in the [pre-modern] society…” (“Introduction,” The Horse in Premodern European Culture, ed. A. Ropa and T. Dawson) Writing … Continue reading →

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