>>>> I have also had Icelandics that changed their temperament depending on the rider - they were very quiet with kids and much more energetic with adults. This can be true of many breeds, not just Icelandics.
I think it's pretty universal with all breeds. There's a segment on the Parelli "My Horse Won't Go" video where he mentions that some horses just immediately perk up and listen to some riders, but seem dead to other riders, and I don't think the Parelli's have a lot of Icelandic experience. When Virginia mentioned Gat moving out more for Alex than for Taly, I even thought about my old QH, Sundance. We bought him because we thought he was "dead-broke" so that we could safely put Emily's little friends on him...and we could. But after I rode him a few times, I felt him listening to me with more interest, and suddenly, I had a pretty responsive - but safe horse - on my hands. After he got to know me, I didn't have to push him any more. Our relationship just happened. So, I guess I kind of identify Sundance's and my partnership even with Alex's and Gat's, because I remember him "blossoming" for mediocre-rider-me. I think he was pretty tuned out from having been the pass-around extra trail horse with his previous owners. He wasn't literally a schooling horse, but the results were similar. That's just one of many times I've noticed horses who get ridden by a lot of riders becoming - to varying degrees - shutdown. I wasn't all that good, but by golly, I was "his" rider. >>> I would not want to be a school horse, of any breed, and my horses are only used as lesson horses during clinics. But how does anyone learn to ride if there are no school horses - I know people who have schooling horses who are very careful in rationing their time with beginners. It's never going to be the easiest life, but if the horse is chosen for his temperament, and his physical suitability to do the expected job - not buying a dressage-prospect to teach western pleasure equitation, nor a bulldog QH to teach gaited lessons on - and by rationing the time he/she has to spend in the confusing and boring work, it is possible for it to be an acceptable job, if never an ideal one. Some people have commented on my willingness to let people try out my horses, noting that they are more "selfish" than I am (probably implying that I'm a little too generous) about not letting anyone else ride their horse. Even so, I know there are horses in my pasture who probably haven't had 15-20 riders on their backs in their entire lifetimes, much less in a single week or month. Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED] "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/
