The Training of the Lipizzaner Horse

At the age of three, dark grey Lipizzaner stallions are brought from the stud farm, to Kyalami, to begin their formal training. These youngsters are used to galloping in the fields of Natal, but soon they adapt to their new and exciting environment. The stallion's rider-to-be begins by introducing the young horse to saddle and bridle, and eventually starts his work on the lunge. Here the young horse learns to obey commands and develops trust for his trainer. The muscles in his back develop as he learns the correct way to carry himself.

Once he has spent about three months on the lunge, the rider will gradually introduce her weight onto the stallion's back, and begin his training under saddle. At all times, much praise and little admonishment keeps the stallion's trust and a relationship develops between him and his trainer.

In the early days of his training the young stallion is taught to move freely forward, accepting the contact from the bit and moving away from the rider's leg. As his training progresses, he learns the more collected paces, and the lateral work, until eventually, after about seven years, he becomes a fully-fledged Quadrille horse.

Work-in-hand begins when the young stallion is four years old, and this starts with developing the horse's obedience to the whip and acceptance of the side-reins. Eventually the horse learns the piaffe and from the piaffe it is decided what, if any, of the Airs above the Ground this stallion will eventually perform. All the stallions learn the piaffe, and this helps when training this movement under saddle.

The Lipizzaner horse has for centuries been used for High School riding and is ideally suited to this work. With his strong, compact body, floating paces and eagerness to please he excells at all the movements of the High School.

Training takes many years and is indeed never complete. There is always more for the stallion to learn, and as the Lipizzaner is long-lived, it is not unusual to still see a stallion performing at the age of twenty-five. His work is not only to perform, but to teach the young riders the movements of Classical Dressage. There is nothing more valuable than a fully trained stallion for teaching the young rider.

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