Dancing Horses

Horses are the backbone of a great variety of sports and pastimes. The most artistic of the equestrian sports is dressage, a highly skilled form of riding. When dressage is performed to music it gives the impression that the horse is dancing. At the highest level of classical dressage are a series of movements known as the "Airs". There are Airs on the ground and Airs above the ground. These movements, to be performed properly, require horses of suitable structure and temperament. There are only a few breeds of horses with the appropriate physique and disposition for the Airs. These are mainly the Lipizzaner, Andalusian, Selle Français, Menorquin, and Lucitano.

The piaffe (trot on the spot) is one of the movements that help to build the muscle strength required for the horse to launch his considerable weight into the air. The Airs depicted in this build are the pesade (rearing up high), levade (low rear), courbette (rearing then making a few small jumps on the hind legs), ballotade (leaping straight up and tucking both front and hind legs), capriole (ballotade with a kicking out of the hind legs), croupade (basically a buck), and mezair (rearing and striking out with front legs). For Airs above the ground that involve a horse kicking out with his hind legs the tail is usually braided to avoid entanglement (hence the banana on a few of the builds). Dancing horses with lesser ability than those that perform the Airs are used in formation teams which offer an endless variety of moves. They can also perform tricks such as bowing and kneeling.

LEGO helps me to render my love of horses into a creative and concrete form. I have seen Lipizzaners performing live and they are simply stunning to behold in action. Combining my passion for horses with the challenge of bringing an idea to life with coloured bits of plastic is both fascinating and rewarding. Sharing what I have produced with an audience that is sprinkled with people that will resonate with what I have created brings a great deal of satisfaction to the process. Most of us here on LEGO Ideas will never come close to the magical 10,000 votes but we can all share in the fun of displaying our treasured builds and relishing the odd comment that gives a little lift to our day.

Lovers of horses are many. Cute, affordable, colourful LEGO sets of posable brick built horses are few. This build offers a colourful variety of both horses and riders. Switching out manes and tails, as well as bits of uniforms, would extend the variety even more. Learning about some of the astonishing things that are possible with the right horse and training would add an educational element to the process.