pesade

A less difficult but related movement is the pesade, where the horse stands at a 45 degree angle.

The pesade and levade are the first airs taught to the High School horse, and it is from these that all other airs are taught.

Unlike the pesade, which is more of a test of balance, the decreased angle makes the levade an extremely strenuous position to hold, and requires a greater effort from the horse.

In the pesade, the horse raises its forehand off the ground and tucks the forelegs evenly, carrying all weight on the hindquarters, to form a 45 degree angle with the ground.

There are also two movements in classical dressage, the Levade and the Pesade, in which the rider asks the horse to set well back on its hindquarters and raise its front legs off of the ground to varying degrees.

The horse is asked to enter the pesade or levade from the piaffe, which asks the horse to increasingly engage its hindquarters, lowering them toward the ground and bringing the hind legs more toward its center of gravity.

In fact, trained, controlled movements such as the levade and the pesade are deliberately requested by a sophisticated form of collection where a careful, highly balanced rider asks the horse to raise its forequarters by a combination of riding aids that simultaneously gather the horse onto its hindquarters and lighten it in front.