Blessi Intelligent Disobediance

Gotta love Mr. Blessi who thinks for himself so he can keep his rider safe. Karina was schooling him today to refresh his lateral work. As a lovey light, dressage trainer, she carried a crop, not to hit or tap, but to touch or motion towards his hindquarters to remind him that his hind legs can cross over and his butt keep even with his forequarters.  As a special treat at the end of the lesson, Karina got to play with my medieval lance and attempt to spear a pig (a chunk of styrofoam). 

You need to hold the lance in a certain way so you don't break your elbow when the weight of the stuck pig carries the lance backwards. This is usually hard for a newbie to grasp how to handle a 10 foot lance on horseback. Karina whacked Blessi in the butt multiple times learning this skill. He never even flinched or moved since he makes the distinction between crop handled by dressage instructor and lance in newbie's hands--even when it is the same person.

No Wool, No Sails, No Viking

From the article: "Viking life must have been like this—frigid, wild days in an open boat, constantly watching the waves and clouds to avoid disaster. Wool was as much a part of that life as the sea and the ships. The Vikings were great sailors and fearsome warriors, but they couldn’t have left port without wool. It provided the raw material for their clothes, their blankets, even the sails that harnessed the wind for their ships." And women were key to the Viking explorations and raids. The ship could have been built by two skilled boat builders in weeks but two women worked for a year to make the sails.

"Researchers at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Denmark, calculated that by the mid-11th century, the Viking fleet—fishing boats, coastal traders, cargo ships, and longships—carried roughly one million square meters of sail, requiring the equivalent of all the wool produced in one year by about two million sheep."
Fascinating article!

https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/no-wool-no-vikings

Beach Riding with Icelandics near Burra Scotland

Dorothy Sales of Houlls Horses and Hounds posted this amazing video of riding Icelandic horses along the Simmer Dim on the East Isle near Burra Scotland.  I think this is a ride that you can book via the UK Trip Advisor.