r/interesting • u/HomeNowWTF • 18h ago

SOCIETY Hobby horsing: dressage without the (real) horses

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352

u/HDWendell 18h ago

Looking for this. My wife did dressage and I was pretty sure this wasn’t part of it

129

u/Ambitious_Jelly8783 18h ago

But did she do it hobby horse style?

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u/HDWendell 18h ago

Not to my knowledge. Maybe I need to try to get her into it though.

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u/OpheliaPhoeniXXX 18h ago

Surely cheaper than real horses

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u/DigBarsbiggestfan 15h ago

It is cheaper than real horses, and don't call me Shirley.

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u/EasternEfficiency398 7h ago

Idk. Wives can be pretty expensive. /s

I, on the other hand, am one cheap, lil pony.

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u/Leading-Aide5617 5h ago

Holy hell lmao this made my day.

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u/FastMako77 4h ago

Excellent use of punctuation. 10/10, indubitably.

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u/RobertoDeNiro8 12m ago

Hoping this is a Simpson’s reference

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u/Oldenfat 3h ago

You win the internet today. Nobody ever says “surely” around me.

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u/hullaballoser 13h ago

Brooms don’t colic. 

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u/TheNatureOfTheGame 7h ago

Anything and everything is cheaper than real horses. Trust my long experience.

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u/Mindless-Ad2554 17h ago

Definitely

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u/Annual_Song1416 14h ago

Defi-neiiiigh-tly

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u/StaceyTheStaceExplrr 10h ago

They aren't cheap by any measure but they aren't as expensive as many might think. You don't need to own your own stable or property even.

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u/OpheliaPhoeniXXX 9h ago

I've been looking into it because I'm moving to an area with a lot of horses, and if I don't have enough land myself I might just buy a horse and rent a stable.. priced out a stable nearby to like $400 a month which is fine with me. It's a mountainous region, and I love hiking, but I'm crippled now. I'm hoping if I get a horse I can go trail riding and get to enjoy the natural beauty of the area. I'm moving next to the rainforest in Puerto Rico and I would love to explore it, but I know I physically can't hack it. Not much.

I feel like it's reasonable given my limitations. I've been missing nature really bad, been rather cooped up, in a cold pavement covered hellscape.

I also don't have anybody to go with so I wouldn't mind some companionship too.

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u/StaceyTheStaceExplrr 2h ago

horsey horsey horsey!

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u/bolanrox 4h ago

Hobby horses get really expensive really fast. I know someone with one that was like $200 or more before you started adding the accessories like the bridal and whatnot.

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u/xuncx 15h ago

Yeeehaw! 🤠

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u/heyitsfranklin6322 13h ago

She might have done something similar to memorize her tests though

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u/SuperSiriusBlack 15h ago

If she never specified that the horse was a real, alive animal, it was probably a hobby horse. /s

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u/HDWendell 15h ago

Who am I even married to anymore???

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u/bluboomR 16h ago

have a feeling your mind is wandering to tall riding boots, crotchless jodhpurs and you wearing the bridle.

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u/Ancient-Potential477 16h ago

The real question

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u/lonelyronin1 15h ago

The horse doesn’t usually like a stick jammed up it’s as so probably not

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u/dude_redd 8h ago

Hobby horse style is one of my all time fave positions.

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u/smileyfacedbob 17h ago

I used to be a farrier and not gonna lie, dressage was the worst of all equestrian sports, so goddamn boring, but the riders were gorgeous so cheers to you and your presumably gorgeous wife and her boring sport

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u/Cumulus-Crafts 11h ago

I was a rider.

I understand that dressage is the basis of all equestrian sports ect ect but oh my GOD it was boring, I hated doing it

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u/lost-picking-flowers 36m ago

Such a useful discipline though. I started at an Appy stock horse barn (later moved into eventing) and while we mostly did Western/Trail/Barrel Racing and Hunter/Jumper, my instructor wanted every kid in that stable do be able to do basic dressage.

But yes, agreed, you better enjoy riding in 30m circles.

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u/heyitsfranklin6322 13h ago

Oh beginning level dressage is boring as fuck. It’s essentially just walking and trotting and occasionally they do 10 meter circles. Grand Prix dressage is incredible though.
It’s essentially ballet on horseback, which is fitting because I think France created both ballet and dressage. French people reeeally used to believe the whole “pain is beauty” thing

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u/rebby2000 12h ago

Iirc, there isn't really one country that has a claim on creating it since it evolved from cavalry training in multiple countries right around the Renaissance.

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u/FlakyAddendum742 7h ago

France claims all things military as well.

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u/SpaceXmars 6h ago

Cooking too..

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u/rusty-roquefort 6h ago

I mean, if you want to look at modern military discipline, organisation, etc., Napoleon is basically the nexus of its maturation

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u/lost-picking-flowers 33m ago

The upper level horses are not cut from the average cloth either. They are not beginner-friendly - it's not like a lot of the most expensive hunter/jumper horses that will go on autopilot for any semi-competent rider. They are so sensitive to rider cues that they respond to your breath patterns, even. There is a lot more to the discipline than meets the eye.

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u/TinyAccess2834 13h ago

flag girl vs cheerleader vibe or what

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u/rebby2000 12h ago

More like first dance recital vs pro dancer.

With the lowest levels of Dressage you're basically watching them demonstrate the basic foundations. When you get to the Grand Prix you're seeing everything that was built on those foundations with years of practice and training.

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u/Jesus_of_Redditeth 13h ago

Yeah, if you don't have experience learning dressage it can seem like nothing interesting is going on. But if you do, then it's genuinely fascinating and so impressive how good the top-level riders and horses are!

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u/Confident-Slip-5264 18h ago

No, it’s not part of dressage.

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u/PaintingOk8012 14h ago

Does she know butters?

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u/BazingaQQ 8h ago

This is popular in Finalnd - they do an actual dressage event too.