Congratulations to Our Blue Spur Pioneers!

The last day of Carosella is always special, as the competition is the culmination of the weekend's – and the year's – work in the Mounted Combat Program.  This Sunday was even more special as we had our first cohort of apprentices challenge the scholar level of our program, the Blue Spur. For the Blue…

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On Horsemanship

The final item on your Blue Spur checklist is: Read and demonstrate an understanding of Xenophon’s On Horsemanship. Written around 300 BCE by Xenophon the Greek, On Horsemanship is the oldest known complete work on the care and training of riding horses.  (There is an older Hittite treatise on conditioning chariot horses, and an incomplete…

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Throwing Your Weapon Away ... from Horseback

Blue Spur: Throwing a Spear from the Saddle The final Mounted Games item in the Blue Spear checklist is: Safely throw a javelin from the halt and walk without emphasis on accuracy. Since we don't even ask you to hit a target, this is, (in a sense) even easier than the earlier requirement of hitting…

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Learning to Let Go: couching and releasing the lance

Blue Spur Mounted Games: couching and releasing the lance At the Blue Spur you are not expected to do actual combat with the spear, or even joust against the quintain.  However, we do want you to be able to: Demonstrate couching and releasing of the lance. Couching 'Couching' refers to holding the spear in one…

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Cutting at the Canter

Blue Spur Mounted Games: Block Cutting The second mounted games skill we ask you to demonstrate for the Blue Spur is cutting to the blocks: Cut and thrust four out of five block targets using a synthetic or wooden sword in good form, three times in a row, while at a trot or canter. The…

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Throwing your Weapon Away

Blue Spur: The Thrown Spear The spear is not only a useful weapon for mounted and ground encounters, it is also beautifully aerodynamic and easily balanced for throwing.  Even stone-age spears were designed to be thrown, and this function of the shorter spear lasted all the way through most of history, to the modern sport…

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Manoeuvres of the Spear

Blue Spur: Disengages and Slips of the Spear Once you have learned to find, gain, and strike with the spear, we increase the complexity of drills by asking you to: Demonstrate manoeuvres of the spear: disengages, counter-disengages, and slips. Disengage A disengage, or cavazione, is often performed in response to having been found.  In its…

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Defences of the Spear

Blue Spur Spear Fundamentals: Basic Defences from the Ground Last week we looked at attacks with the spear as demonstrated in the Blue Spur curriculum; this week we'll focus on defences.  There are six defences to practise: three from the high ward and three from the low ward. Defences from the High Ward Forehand (against…

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Attacks of the Spear

Blue Spur Spear Fundamentals: Basic Attacks from the Ground The second checklist item in Spear section of your Blue Spur guide is Demonstrate the basic attacks and defences of the spear in the extended position. This week we'll look at attacks, and cover defences next week.  There are five types of attacks of the spear…

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The Knight's Nemesis: Spear

Blue Spur Spear Fundamentals: High and Low Wards A bevy of English longbowmen aside, nothing could make a mounted knight as nervous as a line of  infantry with long spears.  A spear from the ground can equal a sword from horseback in reach, and presents much more of a challenge to a knight than does…

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Healthy as a Horse part II

Horsemanship Level 3: Maintaining Good Health This is a continuation of last week's post on 9. Signs of good health, TPR, maintenance of health, signs of colic. Last week we looked at signs of health, including vital signs (temperature, respiration and pulse).  This week's post focusses on keeping your horse healthy, which falls into two…

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Healthy as a Horse

Horsemanship Level 3: Signs of Good Health Item 9 on the Horsemanship Level 3 checklist is: 9. Signs of good health, TPR, maintenance of health, signs of colic. This is a fairly large topic, so I'm breaking it into two posts.  Today, we'll look at signs of health.  There are many, but you'll only have…

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Cool Down

Horsemanship Level 3: Coolout Procedures Just like you, your horse needs to cool down gradually after strenuous exercise to avoid stiffness.  Unlike you, your horse, with his larger mass to surface area ratio, is especially prone to overheating.  A very hot horse that isn't allowed to cool down properly could go into shock, colic, or…

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Bits and (Mouth)pieces

Horsemanship Level 3: Bits As well as knowing your own horse's tack, at level 3 you will need to: 5.   Identify common bits and their uses You only need to know common English bits including snaffles, curbs and pelhams.  However, it's good to recognize some Western bits as well, simply for familiarity. Snaffles Our school…

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