>>>> Beautiful to watch...poetry in motion. What does it mean, though, when the tail is always swishing? Is this just a habit type of thing? Trish
I think, generically, tails swishing means the horse is stressed. However, I'd attribute this to a sort of physical/mental stress, in that the horse is working very hard and concentrating. Those are VERY difficult maneuvers the horse is performing, and she's doing them in fine form. I don't think ALL kinds of stress are ALWAYS bad - not unless the stress is excessive, and for long periods of time. I think stress CAN be bad, and maybe it's even USUALLY is bad, but it depends on the context, and the possible benefit gained I suppose. Horses who do upper level dressage are generally at higher risk of arthritis and joint injury. They also can get to be in pretty good overall fitness, if they are conditioned slowly over time, as they are mentally ready to do the work. I've always thought of it like certain human athletes. Take Cary, for instance. He's now paying for his early running years now with painful knees and hips - but he's undeniably in good overall condition for a man his age. He simply misjudged how well his joints would stand up to the pounding. And of course, some runners manage to run for an entire lifetime without the injuries he has. Maybe he was a little careless, or maybe his joints were just a little weaker...? It's hard to know before the fact how much any individual can take. I think it's the same with horses. The worst-case scenario is when people try to do these very physically demanding maneuvers with their horses without getting the horses slowly conditioned, mentally and physically...AND when they do them in incorrect form. That's just for showing off, and it's crudely inconsiderate of the horse's well-being. That's why I absolutely get livid whenever I see that photo of Jolli riding what I call his "spanglish walk", or his Big-Lick-Redneck-Spanish-Walk. That is all about showing off, and is so inconsiderate of that poor horse. That is nothing - NOTHING - compared to the beautiful work this horse and rider are doing. I only hope that this rider of the gray mare is training her in a considerate way behind the scenes, and not indulging in some of the current shortcut practices. It certainly looks lovely in the video. Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
