A horse’s main method of communication is through body language. They also communicate with neighs and whinnies.
Also very central to a horse;’s communication are their ears. Ear can helps horses point out areas of interest. Similarly, the direction a horse is looking is used to communicate the location of things like food.
Although things like tail movements are useful for humans when interpreting the behaviour and emotions of horses, this these kinds of signals are less important for horses when communicating with each other.
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Everything You Need To Know About Dressage
Dressage is a french word which is interpreted as ‘training’. It is considered widely as the most artistic and elegant of equestrian sports. This sport requires a rider and horse to be in perfect harmony together whilst performing. Dressage riders and horses perform ‘tests’ that consist of a course of movements and are judged on a scale of one to ten on these.
Dressage is seen to be the foundation for mostly all equestrian disciplines. Due to the precision required in the movements, the rider and horse need to be balanced and aware down to the most subtle aids.
Dressage Levels
There are ten different levels of dressage. These range from very basic skills up the highest levels which require literal perfection and years of training to master. Each level until the sixth has three tests of which the rider can choose.
Scoring
For the first four levels of dressage there is only one judge for tests. Judges score movements on a scale of one up to ten. Competitors and their horses are scored on collective marks and the score for each movement is added together to come up with a final number of points. After this the number of points is divided by the highest number of points achievable and multiplied by ten to create a final percentage score.
Dress Code
Dressage riders are required to wear formal clothing in tests. The dress code for all tests up to the fourth level is a short riding coat of conservative colour with a tie, choker, stock tie or integrated stand-up collar, light coloured breeches, boots, and protective headgear. There are more specific rules relating to certain levels.
Horse Type
Generally expensive breeds of warmbloods are used for dressage. Warmbloods are extremely talented horses with nearly all breeds having foundations in European countries. Whist these horses are beautiful and athletic you do not have to have a warmblood horse if you wish to compete in dressage.
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How To Go From Good To Great
The two words good and great you might feel are similar in their positive nature, in fact you should see them as complete rivals. To be good is mediocre, this is the reason why many companies never become great as they abide by the lower standard of being good. To be great is a difficult task and hardly ever happens. Here we give you some pointers to get you started on your journey of going from good to great.
Being a Five Level Leader
To be a 5 Level Leader you must possess all the abilities represented in each level of the pyramid. One of the first steps to becoming a 5 Level Leader is to channel your ego away from yourself and towards the wider goals of the company. Therefore personal humility and will power are an important combination of personality in becoming a 5 Level Leader.
To build your company to greatness you need to extend focus towards your people. The right people do not have to be consistently managed by others, by building a culture of leaders your people can also work to achieve being a 5 Level Leader, to push your company even further. This also assists in building depth in your company, which is the true secret to long term success. To get to great you need people who can move passed politics and loyalties and unite together behind the team.
You may think that as it is difficult to build greatness, it is necessary to be ruthless to achieve results. This is incorrect as it will damage the culture of your business, and thus affect its work-ability. Try rather to build a rigorous culture of motivation and determination to achieve success as a team. You will find that if a culture like this is obtained consistently in your company the employees will enjoy work rather than if they did not fit in with the immediate atmosphere and culture. By doing this your employees will build loyalty towards your company and be more passionate about their job as they enjoy the workplace environment.
The Hedgehog Concept
This concept defines your business as either a hedgehog or a fox. a hedgehog has a single organizing concept that unifies and guides all thinking. Foxes are cunning complex strategists who use small insight plans to make sneaky attacks on hedgehogs.
3 Questions To Uncover Your Hedgehog Concept
What can you be the best at?
Work out your company’s competencies and discover which of them can exceed over all competition. The answers may surprise you.
What drives your economic nature?
You need to understand the most effective and efficient ways that your company generates sustained cash flow and profitability. Know what measure has the single greatest affect on your net profit.
What are you and your people passionate about?
To drive your company’s results harder and faster, focus on activities that ignite your teams passions. The idea is to reveal what makes you and your company unite and work together passionately.
once you have answered all three questions, you can identify your hedgehog concept in the area where the three intersect. The concept where you can be the best, which ignites your passion and which makes economic sense.
Following the ideas of the Level 5 Leader and the Hedgehog Concept you will be on the upward path from good to great immediately. The secret is that excellence will not happen overnight, and your hard work may develop slowly so do not get discouraged in down times. To work consistently and steadily forward is the only way to take your company to great success.
