Joakim Løvgren - Historical Riding

26/01/2026

🇸🇪Tidningen Norra Halland har skrivit en artikel om lite av det jag håller på med ⚔️

🇬🇧 An article (in Swedish) about exploring knightly arts and culture.

Det bor en riddare i Frillesås – Joakim rider i full rustning.
https://norrahalland.se/nyheter/joakim-ar-frillesaas-egen-riddare-i-full-rustning/51297

19/01/2026

18/01/2026

So pleased to be a part of this course at the University of Gothenburg! I will also be a guest speaker, as part of the course, and give a lecture on Early Medieval Warfare in April - more of this to come!

Västsvensk medeltid med fokus på nutida narrativ och gestaltning av historia, krig och kultur.

08/01/2026

Datum för årets TEMAKURS - SKOLOR:
☀️ 3-5 juli ☀️

Mer info och evenemang kommer inom kort, men skriv in datumet i kalendern redan nu!

Zahlo Photo

20/12/2025

🚨Nerd alert part 3🚨

I have overheard HEMA practitioners and reenactors in Scandinavia referring to their weapons in English - but in medieval Scandinavia weapons had names equivalent to their English counterparts. For instance a “longsword” was called “slagsværd” in medieval Danish. A shorter sword (presumably used in one hand) was called a “svidser” in Danish and “svizare” in Old Swedish.
A “pollaxe” was called a “poløxe”.

warhorse destrier historicequitation beridenstridskonst mountedcombat reenactment medieval 14thcentury joust jousting

30/11/2025

🚨Nerd alert part 2🚨
🇩🇰🇸🇪🇳🇴
Continuing the words and concepts belonging to the knightly culture of Scandinavia - next word “Rosstjern” and what it is called in English “Chamfron” (the protective head gear for the horse that you see Absalon is wearing in this picture). These could be made of metal or cuir bouilli. The word is borrowed from German where “Ross” means horse/warhorse and “tjern” is a Scandinavification (don’t know if that is a word 😅) of “stirn” meaning “forehead”. So it basically translates into “horse’s/warhorse’s forehead”. Very logical when you think of it!

24/11/2025

Some horses are praised for their work ethic – the ones who never seem to stand still, who always offer more, who “just love to work”.

But sometimes I wonder if what we’re seeing isn’t enthusiasm at all, but a nervous system that can’t settle. A body and mind that struggle to arrive in the same moment. A horse who moves not because they’re keen, but because stillness feels louder than motion.

When the sympathetic system stays slightly alert, movement becomes a way to regulate. And when every small cue creates a shift, they learn to shape us just as much as we shape them; nudging us to change pace, change focus, do something… anything that eases the internal pressure.

No judgement, no assumptions. Only an invitation to look again. To ask “Is this true willingness… or a horse trying to find comfort in the only way they know?”
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20/11/2025

🚨Nerd alert 🚨
(mostly towards a Scandinavian audience)

In Scandinavian countries the study of courtly or knightly culture is rather under-appreciated and the subject hasn’t been researched as thoroughly as other subjects. This under-appreciation has led to a loss of concepts and words of objects and tools belonging to the courtly/knightly culture, and since the linguistic turn teach us that “the world doesn’t exist beyond words” the gradual disappearance of concepts and words belonging to the courtly/knightly culture means that the knowledge of said culture is also disappearing - at least in Scandinavia.
So to prevent this unfortunate development I want to introduce a Scandinavian name of a piece of equipment belonging to the knightly culture, which is - the “Røsthage” or just “Røst” (pronounced “Roest” in English). That is the “arret de cuirass” as it is called in French or “Lance rest” in English. It is the hook you see sticking out from my breastplate.
The 𝘳ø𝘴𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘨𝘦 prevented the lance from slipping through the armpit of the mounted man-at-arms and a “lansering” (English “grapper”) was put on the end of the lance to lock it onto the “røsthage”.
Would you like to learn more about Scandinavian words and concepts belonging to the courtly/knightly culture?

Source: “Kalkars Ordbog” and “Glossarium Amorum - Dansk Udgave”

07/10/2025

It’s a beautiful thing to notice what makes a horse light up. For some, it’s the power and freedom in more physical, rough-and-tumble play. For others, it’s the quiet rhythm of meditative work where every step feels deliberate and calm. Joy takes different shapes, just as horses do.

What unites them, though, is that their body language never lies. The ears, the eyes, the tension or softness in the muscles – these are the truest storytellers. A horse may gallop, jump, or perform with great energy, but if the face is tight, the jaw clenched, the expression uneasy, then it is not joy we are seeing.

I often hear people say: “My horse loves to jump” or “She’s a real workaholic.” And sometimes that may be true. But sometimes the picture shows something else: fear hidden behind speed, frustration behind eagerness. Horses can appear enthusiastic while still carrying stress.

This isn’t about pointing fingers. It’s about slowing down, looking closer, and asking ourselves honestly: What is my horse really showing me?

Because in the end, the deepest gift we can give them is to listen with our eyes, and to honour not just what we want to see, but what is truly there.
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