Horses During the Renaissance

The Renaissance, which lasted from about 1400 to 1600, brought with it a fresh look at the world of horses. Painters like Leonardo Da Vinci took a new look at the horse, painting it with more detail than ever. The crossing of different horses developed new breeds. Horsemen started a high school for horses out of which the Spanish Riding School developed. In addition, the horse was brought back to what many believe is its original homeland of North America.

Leonardo Da Vinci, one of the most famous painters that lived during the Renaissance, painted, sculpted, and drew the horse with more detail than ever seen before. For twelve years, Da Vinci worked on a twenty-two foot statue of Francesco Sforza riding a horse. The statue, originally to be cast in bronze after being finished in clay, was never finished. After Italy went to war, they could no longer spare the bronze to finish the statue. Unfortunately French soldiers destroyed it. Da Vinci was probably the first artist to show a relationship between humans and animals that was not about food or labor.

During the Renaissance, several new breeds were established. One such breed was the Lipizzaner. The Archduke Charles the II of Inner Austria started the Lipizza stud in 1580 upon orders from his brother, the Viennese Emperor. Due to wars, importing horses from Spain became difficult, leading the Viennese Court to desire its own stud. Crossing Arabians and Barbs with heavier Spanish horses, such as the Andalusian, the Archduke soon had the Lipizzaners. Taking their name from the stud at which they were first bred, which in turn took its name from the town where it was located.

Throughout Europe horsemen and horses attended haute ecole or high school. The Spanish Riding School and several other schools were developed out of these high schools to train riders and their horses. Horsemen and horses learned dressage and the airs above ground at these schools. Dressage is a French word that means "to train." Dressage is a discipline where the goal is for the rider and the horse to work as one. Dressage is a very difficult sport that is very demanding of both the rider and the horse. When Antoine de Pluvinel, the riding instructor to Louis XIII, learned about dressage he refined the techniques used by the rider to train the horse.

The Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria came into being as a place for the rider and the horse to learn the 'airs above ground.' Established in 1572, the first riding hall (arena) was built, though it was temporary. The main riding hall was not finished until the 1700's. The Spanish Riding School was not and never has been located in Spain. The Spanish horses had such an influence on the Lipizzaners used at the school, it was decided that the place would be named after them. The Lipizzaners are the main horses that are used at the Spanish Riding School, although other horses are used. The 'airs above ground' consists of five different movements. These movements are the piaffe, courbette, bullotade, capriole, and the levade.

The piaffe is the move with which the four others are started. The piaffe is where the horse trots in place. While it is described as the horse trotting in place there is still a slight forward movement to it. The courbette is the next movement taught to the horse. In the courbette, the horse rears on its hind legs then hops forward one to three times. The third movement that is taught is the bullotade. The bullotade is performed when the horse leaps into the air with all four legs tucked underneath. The capriole is the fourth movement taught, which involves the horse leaping into the air and at the highest point of the jump kicking out with its hind legs. The fifth and final movement is the levade. In the levade the horse leans back on its hind legs then rears until its back legs, from the hoof to the hock (knee), are at a forty-five degree angle to the ground. The levade is the hardest maneuver for the horse to perform, therefore it is taught last. Even the best trained horses cannot maintain this position for long.

During the 1500's, the horse was brought back to North America where it is believed horses originated from. The theory is that the horse crossed over to the other continents from North America while they were still connected. During Cortez's excursion to Mexico in 1519 he brought along horses. Believing the rider and the horse were one, the Native Americans thought that they were gods. This belief helped Cortez to conquer many of the Native Americans. Also in 1519, Coronado came to America with 150 horses and horsemen. In 1539, DeSoto brought 237 horses to America. By 1547, Antoni de Mendoza, the governor of New Spain (Mexico), had over 1,500 horses on his ranch.