>>but not in a trot, asking for some restraint from her butt. > > How do you ask for restraint with your butt?
You tighten your butt muscles just right, just enough, to put the horse where you want him. This takes time and experience and practice. The horses can feel everything. If they know their rider, and the rider communicates with them thru their body, the horse listens. This gal hadn't ridden the horse many times, but he *knew* that *she* knew. Makes a world of difference in communicating. If they know their rider, and the rider "makes noise" (unintelligible movements = jibberish), the horse learns to tune out the rider. The only recourse at that point is to ride the horse's face (hanging on to the reins, etc.). On the website is a page about the gag / wonder bit and why you wouldn't want to use one on a horse. Someone wrote to me a few days ago declaring that she thought the wonder bit was wonderful and that surely by her experience we would realize that it's a valuable bit. She went on to describe how much control she has over her horse from bolting and racing other horses, and she wouldn't have this control with a snaffle (or sidepull, I imagine). I know she wanted to get into a discussion and try to sway me to see her side, but the problem is that we are operating from two different paradigms. I don't see that a horse needs to be *controlled* by a bit, and I don't think that she would ever consider training or working with her horse as a partner and learning to *communicate* with him. So, stalemate. Getting back to the natural gait, for those who are willing to see how Icelandic Horses are force-framed by heavy hands, dig and pinch saddles, shoes, weights, whips, tight nosebands, to *tolt*..... you don't *have* to take that path. There are nicer alternatives; be nice to your horse, be nice to yourself. Learn to communicate thru your body and *ask* the horse; don't demand and force. Not all Icelandic Horses are gaited. Not all Icelandic Horses tolt. Some do other easy gaits and that's OK! As an Icelandic Horse owner, we just have to learn how to communicate with our horse through our body, what gait(s) he does naturally, and come to a meeting of the minds about it and establish our method of communication about how to obtain that natural gait. Forcing the gait will always require forcing the gait in the future. The horse learns nothing from it; the rider learns nothing from it. Sorry for the length of the reply, but at this point, for the sake of the horse, I would ask that, if you (you in general) love the breed, that you stand up for the horse. Do not allow the abuse of the Icelandic Horse to continue. Do not support the trainers, clinicians, breeders, sellers, saddle makers, no matter that they are labelled "professional" or "certified", or any other professionals, or organizations that support force-frame riding and training of the Icelandic Horse. It may be embarrassing for a little bit as your peers may be offended; it may cost you a sale or two, but.... won't your soul feel good about defending the horse? What matters in the long run, anyway? (So there ya have it, Virginia.... are you sorry you asked? :-)) Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com "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/
