The Lovara horses are world renown. Even the worst culls of the Lovara
herds are far superlative to the best of any others, and the culls
are sold at a price that makes a king's ransom seem a mere pittance
in comparison. The elite of the Lovara horses are the war-horses;
they result from lines chosen for both their exceptionally high
degree of intelligence and their robustness; thus, they are both very
beautiful, and enormously dangerous - even lethal - to adversaries.
Trained in a unique form of equine martial art known commonly as
dressage, a simple pressure of the rider's knees, and an attacker
will be found dead. But these horses will never be found for
sale, since they are jealously guarded and kept preciously by the
Lovara. They are only allowed to leave the Lovara for precise
occasions, with the Kal'enedral (SwordSworn), for example. Even then,
only the battle mares are authorized to leave; the highly prized
stallions, being very rare, are preserved for reproduction.
The horses found among the nomadic Lovara Rom possess certain common
physical traits regardless of their particular family strain. Those
who survive to maturity all have the unmistakable look of an enduring
athlete and warrior. The Tale'Sedra strain of horses are considered
historically as being more masculine than other Lovara strains, but
of a slightly longer frame with a very strong back and more prominent
withers coming well out of the back. They are slightly taller having
strong bone of quality and substance with large joints. The head of
the Tale'Sedra is clean and wedge shaped without a lot of detail or
prominence of tear bone and is slightly longer than the other Lovara
strains. The hind quarter is somewhat egg-shaped creating the picture
of power and speed. The Tale'Sedra are considered the best in
endurance and stamina yet with very quiet dispositions. They are most
often midnight black or moon-grey, and they are a favorite strain of
the Lovara.
The history of dressage dates back to a period of more than two
thousand years. The object of dressage is the harmonious development
of physical ability of the horse, resulting in a calm, supple,
flexible animal, both longitudinally and laterally. The horse should
be confident and in perfect understanding of his rider. All work in
dressage should be free, light, aesthetically beautiful to the
observer, and the horse should remain on the bit.
The ancient Greeks were the first to practice dressage in preparation
for war. It was this culture that believed nothing could be obtained
correctly or harmoniously without the strict adherence to the laws of
the universe. The horse should submit herself happily and proudly to
the will of the rider, without any disturbance in his natural way of
going. To understand this, compare that of art and music in the
classical sense. Art, in the classical sense, is conveyed in realism
with beauty, always reflected with respect to balance, light,
symmetry, and logic. The same can be said of classical music, also
governed by rules of tonality, resolution, and symmetry.
When dealing with the horse, we are still bound by the laws of nature
and physics in a more primal sense. The Greek Commander Xenophon,
born about 430 BC, wrote the earliest obtainable work on training
horses, titled Hippike, translated to The Art of Horsemanship. The
Greeks did not use a saddle or stirrups, but Roar is convinced that
they used a jointed snaffle.
Remarkably, most of what Xenophon wrote in his book still holds true
today.
Lovara mares of the Tale'Sedra strain are ridden into battle because
they are thought to be braver, showing more aptitude for pirouetting,
leaping, turning, and moving sideways.
Like the Greeks, the Romans rode with a very classical seat creating
engagement with the horse well back on his hocks. The Romans conquered
Greece in 146 BC and inherited much of their aesthetic love of beauty
and symmetry shown in the pottery, mosaics, equestrian statues,
bridges, and aqueducts. It is interesting to note that the great
riding masters of the Lovara still refer to the Romanic school as a
term to indicate a highly collected, agile form of riding based on
lightness in hand.
Most knights of the Combined Realms typically ride about on heavier,
thick, cold-blooded stallions with heavy armor vying for power and
supremacy. Every kind of bit for control imaginable is used.
Naturally, the maneuverability of the horse is lost, and there is no
time to adequately dress a horse. Ironically, they are easily
defeated by the swift, hot-blooded chargers of the Lovara.
The piaffe lends itself as a spring for sudden advance; the levade, a
highly collected half-halt for reaching down with a slash of the
sword or an evasion tactic. The pirouette can be used to wheel away
from or towards the enemy. The courbette, which towers a horse high
into the air, easily disperses foot soldiers. The capriole, a giant
leap into the air, is an effective means of escape over the heads of
the infantry. Flying changes are an absolute necessity to keep the
horse handy and mobile in the battlefield.
Eventually, the problematic heaviness of the heavy, thick, cold-
blooded warhorse stallion contributes to schooling problems and
inherently leads to the use of more force and powerful training
equipment. When this inevitably fails, the Lovara are consulted, and
warhorses become lighter, sleeker, and more tractable mounts.
Dressage travels full circle and comes home again.
Bear in mind that the Lovara horse is the only available hot-blooded
horse in the Combined Realms. The wars with the Turks prevent the
import of of the hoard's fleet Arabians. The need for a superior
cavalry horse inspires the Combined Realms to use more hot blood in
their breeding programs. The breeders of the Combined Realms have
decided that the requirements of the cavalry horse are as follows:
speed, for attacks at the gallop; obedience, for collection and
agility in face-to-face single combat; and safety over cross-country
terrain. The culmination of this process has resulted in
modern day warmbloods, descendants of Lovara hotblood cull mares and
coldblood stallions.
=
Part 2
Lovara Horse Lore:
"If you desire to handle a good war-horse so as to make his action
the more magnificent and striking, you must refrain from pulling at
his mouth with the bit as well as from spurring and whipping him.
[...] but if you teach your horse to go with a light hand on the bit,
and yet to hold his head well up and to arch his neck, you will be
making him do just what the animal himself glories and delights
in ... For what the horse does under compulsion, as Simon also
observes, is done without understanding; and there is no beauty in it
either, any more than if one should whip and spur a dancer...If,
however, you reward him with kindness after he has done as you wish,
and punish him when he disobeys, he will be most likely to learn
to obey as he ought...It is the best of lessons if the horse gets a
season of repose whenever he has behaved to his rider's
satisfaction...Anything forced or misunderstood, can never be
beautiful..." -- Xenophon - The Art of Horsemanship
"There is a saying that the horse should enjoy himself in his work,
otherwise neither the horse not the rider would be able to give an
elegant performance. We must take care not to spoil the young horse
or cause it to abandon its affable nature.... For it's like the
fragrance of a blossom, which never returns once it has vanished.." --
Pluvinel
"A good hand is the one that can resist and yield when necessary and
receive with precision the action created with the legs." -- Solomon
de la Broue
"Nothing can be achieved without tempo and rhythm" -- Cesare Fiaschi
"The aim of this noble and useful art is solely to make horses supple,
relaxed, compliant and obedient and to lower the quarters without all
of which a horse -- whether he be meant for military service, hunting
or dressage -- will be neither comfortable in his movements nor
pleasurable to ride. Elegance on horseback consists of a straight and
free position as a result of a well balanced body: as a result the
rider maintains, during all the movements the horse makes, without
losing his seat, as much as he is able to, in an appropriate balance,
an air of comfort and freedom, which makes him an elegant rider.
Pignatelli, convinced by his own experience that the function of the
bit is rather top let the horse know what the rider wants than to
constrain the horse, said that if the bits had of their
own the miraculous quality to make the mouth of the horse and to make
the horse obedient, both rider and horse would be set up after a
visit to the tack shop. The knowledge of the nature of the horse is
one of the first foundations of the art of riding it, and every
horseman must make it his principal study. Horsemanship is the one
art for which it seems one needs only practice. However, practice
without true principles is nothing other than routine, the fruit of
which is a strained and unsure execution, a false diamond which
dazzles semi-connoisseurs often more impressed by the
accomplishments of the horse than the merit of the horseman. Grace is
so great an adornment for a rider, and at the same time so important
a means to the knowledge of all that which is necessary for persons
aspiring to become riders, that such persons should willingly sped
the time required to obtain that quality at the outside of their
endeavours. The knowledge of the nature of a horse is one of the
first foundations of the art if riding it, and every horseman must
make it his principal study. In order to have a good hand, it must be
light, gentle, and firm. A light hand is one which never feels the
contact of the bit with the bars. A gentle hand is one which feels
the effect of the bit slightly without giving too much contact.
A firm hand is one which holds the horse in full contact. Above all, a
horse should never be chastised out of foul mood or anger, but always
with complete dispassion. Neither should, for the same reason, the
lessons be for too long a period; they fatigue and bore a horse, and
it should be returned to the stable with the same good spirits it had
upon leaving it. Others make a point of trying to attain the
precision and poise they see in those who have the ability to choose
from a great number of horses those with [...] qualities found in
only a very small number of horses. This leads to a circumstance in
which these imitators of such studied poise mortify the spirit of a
noble horse, and remove from it all of the goodness of temperament
Nature has given it." -- Francois Robichon de la Gueriniere
"Unqualified disobedience is a frequent misconception, when the rider
is not only demanding but also not listening to the horse. If the
horse is a strong personality the result is a notoriously resistant
animal: if the horse is a submissive weak personality, it can be
brainwashed into a mechanical automat, a zombie. Both are contrary to
the correct dressage." -- Tibor Podanyi
"One should avoid resistances, instead of trying to conquer them." --
Aubert
"Those who devote themselves to practice without science are like
sailors who put to sea without a rudder or compass and who can never
be certain where they are going. Practice must always be founded on
sound theory." -- Leonardo da Vinci
"The arms are not just there for their beauty, they are there so that
you can use them." -- Nick Hartog
"Allow your horse to be brilliant. he can not be made to. It must
come from within, because of his confidence and pride in himself and
his respect (not fear) for his rider." -- Bert Hartog
"Ride your horse calm, forward and then make him straight." -- Walter
Zettl
"Sometimes less is more!" -- Edgar Lichtvark
"The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears." --
Arabic Proverb
"Four things greater than all things are Women and horses and power
and War." -- Rudyard Kipling
"My horses are my friends, not my slaves." -- Dr. Reiner Klimke
"If your horse says no, you either asked the wrong question, or asked
the question wrong." -- Pat Parelli
"Horsemanship is not merely a matter of bodily skills, but is based on
scholarship and, therefore, is a matter of the mind and intellect.
Good horsemanship is based on proper character development and,
therefore, is also a matter of mentality and spirit. Without the
correct attitudes and insights, there cannot be the right sport.
Courage, wisdom born of insight and humility, empathy born of
compassion and love, all can be bequeathed by a horse to his rider. A
horse 'held in shape' by his rider is only posturing in a seemingly
correct form, usually for the benefit of inexperienced observers.
Speed is the enemy of impulsion." -- Charles de Kunffy
"When God created the horse he said to the magnificent creature: I
have made thee as no other. All the treasures of the earth lie
between thy eyes. Thou shalt carry my friends upon thy back. Thy
saddle shall be the seat of prayers to me. And thou fly without
wings, and conquer without any sword. Oh, horse." -- The Holy Qu'ran
(Koran)
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