Does anyone know what the point of dressage is???
And also how the hell they train a horse to prance like that?
Horses as prey, flight animals are essentially all about movement and the origins of dressage go back centuries on the battle field, where there was a need to have a powerful horse with an ability to step back, to one side, to turn in a tight circle etc, but even as an ordinary rider I use basic dressage movements to open a gate out on a hack without dismounting for example.
And on the ground, in the stable, its useful to have your horse make a lateral movement, to get him to move to one side to allow you to come in and groom or attend to him in some way, and not get crushed in the process, and every day I ask my horse to turn politely in a tight circle when he goes through the gate and out in to grazing, so that his head is turned towards me when I release him which is a basic safety move to avoid being kicked as horses sprint off and perhaps buck with excitement , kicking with their back legs as they go racing up the field.
Also, it is said that many dressage steps harness the power of the stallion of a herd in the wild, who are enormously powerful and fast but as they approach their mares at speed, they shorten their steps and prance. And if you watch a herd of mares and foals at liberty, they move in harmony turning in circles, weaving and turning in harmony like a shoal of fish, shortening and extending their paces as they go.
It takes seven or eight years or so to train a dressage horse to international level. Its about having short consistent training sessions over a very long period of time with competitions in between as you work up the levels. Short, focused bursts of training in the arena maybe three or four days out of seven interspersed with hacking, maybe jumping, and turnout in the field. A dressage horse has to be hugely powerful and athletic and of course that power and necessary temperament has to be contained and controlled but you have to work in harmony with your horse as they are not robots and each one has individual strengths and weaknesses. Also, some horses can be great and relaxed at home in the arena and go to pieces at competitions, or some rise to the occasion and enjoy the work and attention, again it depends on individual temperament.