>> That's pretty good. I know horses will rush in their gaits if their >> rider >> is unbalanced. > > I'm not totally blaming myself when it comes to Gat's pace/fast canter.
Virginia, what's the link to the video that you mentioned before? Also, do you have a video of her movement at liberty (maybe going in the round pen)? I don't think that *you* probably have much to do with Gat's movement. She is what she is, conformation-wise, and what has been put on her training-wise. You can always practice suppling exercises, but as to how much it will change her movement at this time, is probably not much. Her movement under a rider is very much ingrained and based on her boney structure and musculature. However, a rider can and does have an effect on the horse. An english rider might feel a horse as one way, a western rider might feel a horse another way; a horseman might feel a horse differently, a light rider could get one feel from a horse, and a heavier rider might get another feel! adult or child, passive rider or aggressive rider, sack-of-potatoes rider or ADHD rider.... Why do they feel the horse differently? Not only because of their weight impact on the horse, but how they communicate with the horse (with or without aids), whether they use heavy contact, light contact, or casual rein, whether they are framing the horse with that contact, whether they travel *with* the horse (connecting their energies or chi's), or whether they get *behind* the horse (creating drag).... There are so many ways that a rider can affect the horse physically, and then there's mentally also! And throw in the horse's personality, and there's a multitude of combinations! Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
