>>>> i recall there being a lot of resistance here on this list to the idea that i was going to be putting a lot of kids on my icey; that he would be a bad choice for that b/c of his breed.
NO! I don't remember ANYONE saying that, Vicka, and believe me, I was one of many people grimacing when you started telling us what you were doing with Stjarni. It was NOT about his breed. It WAS because you bought a horse, took him to a totally new environment and immediately put him to work as a lesson horse in a three-gaited riding program, stressful at best, with what I believe you said was 15-20 students taking regular lessons on him ...AND that you put him to work within a week or so of his arrival. That was just unconscionable to me and you were either very naive about the transition time due ANY horse, or downright uncaring about the confusion you were inflicting on this particular horse. It WAS because you were putting so many students on him when you didn't have a clue how to handle his gaits himself. You didn't even get to know him and his cues and idiosyncrasies and learn him before you put beginners on him. It WAS because you sent pictures of a horse showing a preference for lateral gaits to work as a lesson horse in a three-gaited program. Of all the leans-towards-trot Icelandic horses, you bought a horse whose pictures show a lot of lateralness and tried to use him to teach on - when you freely admitted you couldn't discern his gaits yourself. It WAS because you were doing this when he was your first gaited horse and you didn't have a clue what to do with gaits, yet you were trying to TEACH a lot of students on him. It WAS because you said you bought him with a business plan to pay him off by trading his board for letting him be used as a lesson horse, and by using him as a lesson horse yourself. Don't drag the breed into this, Vicka. I know I was appalled at what YOU were doing to the poor horse and I know others who didn't speak up were as well. It had nothing to do with what Stjarni is as an individual horse, and nothing to do with his breed.... You may be a linguist, but you sure seem not able to hear what people tell you for some reason.... Karen Thomas, NC -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.16.10/625 - Release Date: 1/13/2007 5:40 PM "The greatest enemy of the truth very often is not the lie- deliberate, contrived and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive and unrealistic." "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." ~ Arthur Schopenhauer [] The video every Icelandic Horse owner should have: http://IceHorses.net/video.html [] Lee Ziegler http://leeziegler.com [] Liz Graves http://lizgraves.com [] Lee's Book Easy Gaited Horses http://tinyurl.com/7vyjo [] IceHorses Map http://www.frappr.com/IceHorses [] IceHorses ToolBar http://iceryder.ourtoolbar.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
