Equestrianism on the screen
There are so many films on horses and equestrianism! Here we explore them.
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War and Civilization, Episode 3: Horse Warriors
As you might know, except for an equestrian, I study to become a warfare expert, so when I found out about the 1997 documentary series “War and Civilization”, I got excited and the episodes are already in my playlist. The documentary is based on the lifetime study of military historian John Keegan and is narrated by Walter Cronkite. It is based on a 5,000-year history of war and explains how warfare has shaped our way of living today. It’s a big project filmed in Mongolia, Japan, Europe and the Americas, in order to reproduce the battle scenes and the environment in which civilizations grew through the centuries. You know, we always…
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Braiding and decorating the mane of a shire horse
Hi! I admire some people’s patience when it comes to heavy braiding! In some cultures there are events where heavy decoration is the norm. I watched this video of a lady braiding the mane of a shire horse for an event and, indeed, I can say that this requires high skill and yeap, big patience!
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On Channel 4 News with UoN Equestrian
I have been saving this post for the time that the footage was out. So, last May, we were asked to participate in a short film on mental health on campus. The film was broadcasted on Channel 4 News on 11 October for the No Go Britain part of the programme. Those who decided to participate, would get a lesson at Scropton Riding & Driving Centre and then sit down to have a nice conversation about the issues they face on campus because of their mental disorders and how equine therapy helps them. Not a good lesson for me, by the way, since I had forgotten that 20 Celsius degrees in Nottingham…
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A moving movie: A Horse for Danny
This week I realised that I hadn’t seen any equestrian films for quite long now. So, last night I made time to watch the film “A Horse for Danny”, released in 1995. The story is about an 11-year-old girl who lives in a caravan in an American racecourse with her uncle, Eddie, who makes a living from training race horses. Everything runs smoothly, as Danny wakes up early in the morning, hangs around with adult friends in the racecourse and places bets before heading to school. Until she saw a troubled but gorgeous thoroughbred, Tom Thumb, being brought in violently in the competing stables. She falls in love with him and,…
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Thoroughbred vs. Greek journalist
OK, we all know that the thoroughbred is one of the smartest equine breeds worldwide. OK, and the Greeks are smart enough to invent some sciences too. Also, they are both fun. But what if we put them next to each other? Kind of, literally and on TV? This poor reporter had the chance to find out. What did this human want from his life? A chance to speak about dressage. But the cute four-legged guy behind him had different, more hilarious plans… Still not sure if the horse loved this man too much and wanted him to move to his stall, or if he hated him too…
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Stable vices and how to cope with them
Inspired by a video on Epona TV, I thought I should write a post about stable vices and ways to counter them. We often see horses doing movements which seem a bit weird; moving around the stable in circular motion, moving the neck from one side to another, snorting, wood chewing etc. We notice also that these movements are done in a repetitive pattern and this is why they are also called “stereotypes”. Some equestrians believe that this behaviour is normal for a horse, that it should be this way. This is not true because the problem is not about the movements themselves, but about the issues that cause…