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Horse driving in Portugal
It is difficult to detail the origin of horse driving, although it is certain that is much ancient than Portugal existence. Since the antiquity here are many examples how horse driving was done in the past in civilizations such as the Egyptian, Persian, Greek and Roman. In Portugal horse driving has carried out a long way from being an essential way of transport to the modern equestrian discipline and the leisure horse driving carried out nowadays. Horse driving represents also in Portugal an important part from the Portuguese equestrian heritage.
As a modern equestrian discipline horse driving consists in hitching horses or ponies generally to a carriage with two or four wheels. There are three main aspects to consider on horse driving: the horses, the carriages and the horse driving in itself. Many horse breeds from many countries can be used for horse driving. In Portugal the Lusitano horses breed has deserves a special reference. In 19996 and in 2006 the teams that won the World Four-in-Hand Driving Championship included 4 Lusitano horses. There are many points that should be noticed regarding the horses used in horse driving. Probably the most important are its physical capacity and its temperament. The way the horse is look after and the care in the feeding are also important issues to the performance of the horse.
There are a lot of different types of carriages that can be used for horse driving. Currently there are carriages that are built based on a modern design at the same time that many carriages are built as replicas from the ancient carriage models. The modern design carriages are in general used for competition. The carriages can be grouped in two wheels carriages w and four wheels carriages. In addition the carriages can be grouped in open carriages and in closed carriages. There is a vast number of carriage models, each of these models has its own characteristics in the way it was built and its parts namely the wheels, suspensions, etc.
Therefore horse driving as to do with horses and carriages and can be done in several ways depending in the number of horses and the way they stand in front of the carriage. Horse driving requires specific horse training. The way this training is carried out is essential for the horse fulfill its potential. Finally horse driving in itself requires theoretical and practical knowledge to be successful.
Tags: Equitation, Horses