Interestingly, the average riding lesson never delves into the skills necessary for a maneuver that faces nearly every equestrian at some point – the emergency dismount. Sometimes also called the unscheduled dismount, this rapid exit from a horse’s back includes a moment of urgency, a little terror, and a brief heroic belief in one’s superhuman capabilities. In a nutshell, it involves voluntarily flinging yourself off the back of your horse – most often at high speeds – onto the hard ground.

My conversation last month with renowned trainer and veterinarian Gerd Heuschmann did not lead where I thought it would, having started with muscles but ending with books. He said he believed many of the disappointments in modern training are due to students no longer being committed to the scholarship of dressage. In addition to physical practice, he wishes for them to read and study and think deeply. But most riders don’t see the point, he lamented.

The topic of love came up last week, which produced a sobering dose of self-reflection. It probably came up because it’s the one thing that unites us all to the selfless and expensive concept of owning horses, an endeavour that leaves most of us asking, “Why do I do this?” far more often than it answers that question.

What counts as calisthenics? And why do they matter? Luckily, someone interrupted my rhapsody during a clinic last week praising the value of calisthenics for developing equine athletes. What exactly did I mean by calisthenics? the student asked. She was probably not alone in wondering, lost as I was describing the power of these exercises.