On Sun, Jan 14, 2007 at 06:15:08AM -0800, Kim Morton wrote: > Horses are very > sensitive, sometimes Icelandic Ponies can be sensitive > and not show it so obviously outwardly, but things get > to them, they are very intelligent.
sure. but if you have a pony greeting everyone who comes into the barn with ears forward, standing patiently for grooming, showing every sign of enjoying himself, i think it's okay to listen to that, too. (i don't want to make stjarni out to be a saint; he isn't (quite :) -- there were definitely riders he did not like, and he would show his displeasure by walking off the track with them or tossing his head. nobody to whom he reacted that way (there were maybe four people) got to ride him again; we put them on other horses who didn't mind.) > I think it is very rare that > a horse can handle this without a lot of stress, > sometimes they just shut down, many times they do not > like humans a lot. i think stjarni is a rare one. he also does like humans a lot, and he has the best equine social skills i've seen yet among other equines. i discussed this at length with gudmar, who imported him in 2001, sold him to a beginner adult, got him back when the guy moved on to hunters, resold him to be a beginner child's first horse, and got him back when the people paying for her horse broke up, and then resold him to me. the suitability as a lesson horse was in our terms of sale, and had he been unhappy at it, i had the option of sending him back. (i'm not sure i'd have taken it if i was as enamoured myself as i've become, of course. but i made sure it got signed in.) > Many times they do not feel > like themselves for a year after arriving here. then let's call this a small experiment, and we'll see what he's like next fall. i'll stick out whatever the list has to dish out in the meanwhile, and file a report with y'all then :) --vicka
