Horsemanship Level 4: Feeding The Feeding section of the Level Four checklist is quite large: 4. Feeding rules & how implemented. Common grains, concentrates & processing methods. Own routine & ration. This week in the blog we'll take a look at the rules of feeding, and next week we will examine types of grain. In…
Horsemanship Level 4: Full Practical Grooming For Level 3 you had to identify and show knowledge of all the items in a complete grooming kit. For Level 4 you will need to put them to use: 4. Full practical grooming, complete kit. The good news is we do not watch you groom. Instead you are expected to…
Horsemanship Level 4: Stable & Pasture The Stable & Pasture assessment for Level 4 requires you to: 2. Identify good & bad features of setup, emphasizing safety. Clean a stall, choice of tools. This means you now need to apply judgement to your knowledge. Very few stables are ideal. We often wish our pastures, paddocks,…
Horsemanship Level 4: Turnout Horsemanship 4 is the first level in our program in which you will be examined on your appearance. 1. Candidate’s turnout. Safe, tidy, clean, AD shirt, footwear, hair, gloves. At first glance it may seem superficial or trivial to have a dress code. Indeed, at earlier levels we only require that…
As with its cousin rank, the Red Cord, the Red Spur requires a concerted training and study effort to achieve, and will probably take you about three years to get there from the point at which you win your Blue Spur. However, it is the journey itself that is rewarding whether it takes you two…
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…
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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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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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…
What do fairground rides have to do with mounted combat? A lot, it turns out. The children's game of spearing rings from the back of carousel horses descends directly from knightly games. In fact even the word 'carousel' comes from the Italian 'garosello' or 'little war'. These were the displays of skill at arms that…
Last weekend was the last of our regular Mounted Combat program classes at Red Colt for 2015; the regular series will be starting up again in February. However, don't despair! We are still doing private lessons for those who want to keep their riding legs in shape over the next two months. Stephanie Laversin will be…
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…
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…
Blue Spur: Finding & Gaining the Spear Last week we looked at the three advantages of True Edge, Leverage, and Crossing as they apply to the spear or polearm. This week we are examining the mechanics of finding and gaining. Finding the Spear To find your opponent's spear, cross your spear tip over top of…
In the last two posts on spear fundamentals we looked at attacks and defenses of the spear. For your Blue Spur you will also need to Demonstrate finding and gaining against another spear. Those of you who fight with rapier will be very used to the ideas of finding and gaining. If you spar with…
There are a multitude of reasons people come to the Cavaliere Program: they always wanted to be a knight; they're bored with the show-ring and want a new equine activity; they want to take their swordfighting to a (literally) higher level; they want to learn about horses and riding; they were horse-crazy kids whose parents…
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Riding, Horsemanship, Swordplay and Spear -- it all starts up again this Sunday, October 18th! Beginner Riding & Horsemanship New or relatively new to riding? This class is for you! Learn everything you need to know to get your journey in the saddle started, from handling, grooming and tacking up, to confidently riding at a…
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The days are getting shorter, but that doesn't keep us out of the saddle. There is still programming happening into December, so come on out and enjoy crisp autumn sunshine with a sword in your hand and a horse beneath you. Private Classes & Drop-ins There are one or two drop-in spaces available for selected…