>>>>>I also noticed in the videos of the pacers that their heads are pretty > steady and not tipping and torqueing like the Icelandic Horses when they > pace. Why the difference?
> If Judy's thinking about what I think she means, > she's talking about a form of tension - as in fighting the bit. > > And that is what I think the key difference here is. The pacing horses in > this video don't have bits, and the riders have given the horses the > freedom > to use their heads as they wish. In Icelandic pace races, the horses are > often in shanked Icelandic bits, and almost always ridden with heavy > contact. Yes, I do think it has to do with the bit and the contact. Maybe the jointed bit is not good for the Icelandic; maybe the nosebands bother the horse so much that he can't do his run without complaining; maybe the rider is interfering with the horse too much. One more thing to thing about: maybe the horse just wasn't cut out to pace. Maybe if he had a choice, he wouldn't do it. Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
