Catherine the Great, famous for her "love" of horses. Of course, she's famous for lots of other things as well, but it's mainly the horse thing that people are interested in. It's deliciously scandalous, of course people are interested in it. There's been renewed interest in Catherine, primar[...]
In modern days, it's unthinkable that women wouldn't be allowed to compete at the Olympics. But at one point, they weren't, and it was actually punishable by death for them to just attend. Luckily we are long past those days, but it wasn't without women breaking the ranks and paving the way for oth[...]
Hunter classes have come under scrutiny. Shows have changed format over time, and with it, the style of riding. There has been criticism of today's riders, claiming they are laying on the neck, perching, too far forward, trying to hard to look "pretty," and this is what it takes to earn a ribbon.[...]
There was a time when people didn't know how horses moved. They knew they had four legs, and they moved all of those legs somehow, but those legs moved much too fast at the trot and gallop for people to full understand what they were seeing. People had different theories. Some believed that t[...]
The Romans were not a horse based culture (notice how their armies were primarily infantry), but they use horses for a variety of purposes including transportation, farming, and warfare (yes, even after I just said that other thing). They were great scouts, when ridden by a person. On their own, th[...]
In 400 BC, in Corneto, modern day Italy, a tomb was being filled. The walls were decorated with frescoes of banquet scenes, dancers, and musicians. It contained a number of funerary objects, including vases, jewelry, and bronze objects. For over two millennia, it lay in silence. When it was finally[...]
Everyone knows what a horse shoe is. They have been decorations, good luck charms, the subject of legends and stories, and of course, protection for horse hooves. For the most part, we've just kind of taken for granted that horse shoes exist. But for such a basic looking piece of metal, it actually[...]
The famous Xenophon, horseman of the ancient world. He is widely considered an expert in horses. His book, The Art of Horsemanship or On Horsemanship has been referenced in many modern guides to horses. The United States Dressage Federation lists it as a suggested reading. This man[...]
We're doing something a little bit different here today. I bet no one was expecting this topic to come up. I wouldn't have expected it either until I happened upon a video that peaked my interest. On the Weird History YouTube channel, there's a video "Things You Didn't Know about King Henry VII."[...]