TheEleonore18 A long time ago there were Andalusians that were spotted, but the Knabstrupper itself is a Danish breed.

Runninghorse Gallop I would suggest frequent short sessions, it's always better. 30 minutes is a very long time especially if you are not perfect on your timing and rewards.

ANY bit can be harsh, the harshness of a bit depends on the harshness of the hands using it. Just because those are leverage bits with shanks does not mean that they are causing the horses extreme discomfort. A well trained horse even with what seems like a "harsh bit", works off very little pressure. Some all you need is barely touch a rein to get a response. Many of the bits that look harsh to an uneducated bystander are actually very mild when used properly by an educated rider with soft hands. A snaffle in the hands of someone who does not know how it works in a horse's mouth can cause serious injury to the animal. Which is why it's important to know exactly what the action of any bit you use is. Brent is barely in those horses mouths, their mouths are not gaping open to avoid bit pressure and many times you can see the reins go slack. There is no yanking or cranking going on in this video.

***** Its long shanked but he's not yanking on it. Personally I like that he's not using a double bridle. Not saying they are bad, but a lot of riders seem to forget how to ride without one.

+kitty meowmeow number one, there's no "yanking" going on. Simply because he trains his horses to high level on a cavesson before ever introducing a bit, so the horse is already light and balanced before he gets anything in his mouth: no need for yanking. Second, when riding long reined or with a contact that is no more than the "rein';s weight on your hands" (Anja Beran), long shank is kinder than short shank. Simple phisics dictates that a long shank has to rotate much further before there is any action on the curb chain than a short shank; as a result, the horse gets plenty of time to react before the bit exerts any pressure. Short shanks will simply punish the horse at every small rein action. They don't allow for cue aids. that said, if you do ride with constant contact then yes, that would be a very harsh bit. I actually would like to see curbs forbidden from being used at all for constant contact. Even the mini shanked ones hurt like hell on heavy hands. People just don't notice cos the horse soon grows numb and can ignore it.

The horse is 25 years old. I think he did well for his age, after having had three broken legs in an accident.

aj gensel He's also blind, is he not?

Yes, he's blind too. Amazing animal.

Fisher Queen I spent my summers in college working as an assistant trainer and farm manager at a dressage farm, our third level lesson horse was completely blind, had no affect on her gaits, neither did her age, as she was 22. As to "broken legs"...if the breaks were something so easily shrugged off as splints, slab fractures or even broken sesamoids, they shouldn't affect the horses gait, I work with thoroughbred broodmares now, more than a few of them have suffered such injuries. I have an 18 year old currently with legs that bow horribly, a combination of being born windswept and a pasture accident that fractured her cannon bone, sesamoid and hock. She is worse to turn out than our two year olds, spinning and leaping when let loose and her canter is still a completely recognizable three beat gait.

aj gensel no, ignorant people like YOU give dressage a bad name. Bent is one of the masters that all dressage riders should be studying. Like Sarah said "the first horse is doing pirouettes at the canter. Because it is so collected, and also incorporates a turn, the three-beat gait gets changed so as to allow the movement. His canter out of the collected motions looks very even and balanced.". Please do not go around bashing a way of riding that is centuries old and that you obviously know nothing about

Lisa Smit look at the other comments regarding the bit and then look at and understand the steps it took to get the horse to this level. A bit like this with hands like feathers is much better than someone uneducated using a snaffle bit. I’ve seen countless examples of horses tongues being ruined and even cut in half with the use of the snaffle. This horse is in shape and given obvious attention to his health.