>>>> The way you described them lunging into the canter due to their lateral-ness made a lot of sense because that's the impression you get. In other words, they can do the canter as one of their "five gaits" but it's not what I would call a nice gait to ride - it makes it no surprise that many folks would rather they just go into pace than canter.
But it doesn't HAVE to be that way. Sina is what most people would call five-gaited, but she still has a to-die-for soft and easy canter, the most comfortable I've ever ridden. She has lateral gaits within her range, but not so much as to make canter hard for her. I simply don't think many show people bother to encourage a gait like that. If you listen to evaluation judges, the most common comment, is 'needs more speed' regardless of the gait. In fact, until just a few years ago, canter wasn't really even counted - but gallop was. That's a waste to me. That's their priority, and not a priority that I think most Americans in the market for ponies share. Maybe it's time to get some canter videos to put up on You Tube. I think it's only a few, very pacey Icelandic's who have trouble with canter. I think most can canter quite nicely, if allowed to, and not rushed. Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
