A lesson in horse underwear - and Dressage Arena Letter Mystery solved?

-5F this morning didn’t sound that bad (“cold is cold”) -- until I converted it into Celsius: minus 20.55C! Yikes!

No wonder the ‘underwear for horses’ subject is important. Of course, I went straight to the tack store after work to get more undies for the boys. There is an advantage in going to a real store as opposed to a virtual one: You can talk with knowledgeable people (aside from buying extra stuff you didn’t even think you needed). And sure enough, I learned something new: Polarfleece does NOT make good underwear, because it causes static if topped with another blanket. Horses do not care for that at all. There is a reason for ‘Naughty Nighties’ after all! Who knew? Obviously not me.

 

But luckily there is even a more cost effective way to layer: Just throw a turnout sheet over the winter-blanket, and voila, warmth without static! That’s exactly what I did last night, although the boys were more interested in the goodies that I had to offer: Carrots, apples, bananas and granola bars. I felt a bit like Little Red Riding Hood, chased by the Big Bad Wolf (in this case the cold).

And finally – I came across an explanation on dressage arena letters (courtesy of the Morgan Dressage Association):

In the Old Imperial German Court the walls of the Royal Stable yard were initially marked with letters indicating where each member of the court was to be seated:

K = Kaiser (Emperor)

F = Fuerst (Prince)

P = Pferdeknecht (Groom)

V = Vassal

E = Ehrengast (Guest of Honor)

B = Bannentraeger (Standard Bearer)

S = Schatzkanzler (Chancellor of Treasury)

R = Ritter (Knight)

M = Meier (Steward)

H = Hofmarshall (Lord Chancellor)

The center line was added for the 1920 Olympics so the judges had a common map. The logic on A I X G C is not exactly defined.