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There is said to be a code in the number and placement of the horse’s hooves: If one of the horse’s hooves is in the air, the rider was wounded in battle; two legs in the air means that the rider was killed in battle; three legs in the air indicates that the rider got lost on the way to the battle; and four legs in the air means that the sculptor was very, very clever. Five legs in the air means that there’s probably at least one other horse standing behind the horse you’re looking at; and the rider lying on the ground with his horse lying on top of him with all four legs in the air means that the rider was either a very incompetent horseman or owned a very bad-tempered horse.” ~ Terry Pratchett, I Shall Wear Midnight

In our lesson on Saturday, we wrapped our horses’ legs in polo wraps of different colors, so that we could more easily see how horses move their feet in each gait.

Then we each got two carrot sticks and practiced moving around the arena as if the sticks were our front legs, finding our rhythm in walk-trot-canter-halt-backup. I even went over some cavaletti.

I’ve been really paying attention which foot is “up” or “next” when I want to send the horse or ask for a change of direction. In the saddle, I most easily feel the footfalls during the back up, or when walking forward down a hill, or when posting the trot. I’m trying to improve my timing so that I’m not asking the horse to turn when all of his weight is already planted on the foot he needs in the air to make the turn.