>>>> I think of these horses as the Einstein's of the horse world. It takes a brilliant horse to figure out that if he does not allow you to ride/drive/dominate him he can go back to the pasture with his mates and do what all horse prefer to do - graze and socialize with the herd. I know that my horses respect me and view me as alpha, but I do not delude myself into thinking they prefer to work for/with me rather than being with the herd in pasture, even though they come running to greet me, do their jobs for me willingly.
I don't think bucking - or lack of - is any indication of intelligence. I think you are short-changing the intelligence of these animals. I find that alpha-dominance thinking pretty simplistic when people try to explain all there is to horsemanship in that light. Sorry, but I prefer to "partner" with my horses - Mark Rashid uses the "passive leader" term that I find more accurate. I don't want my horses to merely do their jobs willingly. I think this is a case where to a large extent you'll get what you expect, and if that's all you expect, then that's the best you'll get - submission. Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
