On Thu, Jan 11, 2007 at 11:06:07PM -0500, Karen Thomas wrote: > While they can't avoid mud and ice in their natural world, they shouldn't > have to cope with balancing themselves AND the weight of a human on their > backs in extreme circumstances - especially if the rider isn't going to let > the horse use their head freely for balance, and let the horse pick the > appropriate speed and gait. That's just not nice. .
i agree. i've done more trail riding in the past six weeks than i had in my entire life before then, and the main thing i've learned is that one of us is a surefooted, clever icelandic horse, and it isn't me. i ride stjarni on the trails on the buckle, and he pays very close attention to the terrain. he knows more about it than i probably ever could. (mind, this is one of the reasons i consider him "star the wonder pony", is that i can *do* this without concern for my safety. i went out the other evening with four other riders, three of whose horses wouldn't stand still while the fourth horse "tested" his rider by refusing to cross a bridge he'd been over before a thousand times. i just got stjarni out of the way, and he stood there just *looking* at them, as if to say, "american horses are very strange....") --vicka
