> And this is why I squawk about ice tolts and tight nosebands, too > small saddles, harsh bits, weighted shoes or shoeing to balance a > gait........ > > Strong arming, cantle sitting, water skiing.... > > Oh and my favorite.....tolt training. > > We ain't very clean either...
i think Wanda, at the very very core essence of why there is some dissension among traditional type icelandic trainers / owners and natural horsemanship type trainers / owners, is because we NH people have watched and observed and just sit in horror at the abuse in the walking horse industry and see and know how it crept on so incidiously subtle. A heavier shoe here, a set of chains there--- all those old pics of horses like Midnight Sun and Merry Go Boy showing them practically barefoot with normal action, they are considered the greatest walking horse studs of all time, of the breed, producing sound natural gait in their offspring, wonderful mild and calm temperament. Then we watch the progression through time. You can pull up pics on the net of each years WGC and just see the shoes stack up, the bit shanks lengthen, the wonderful natural lift morphing into something obscene, a spider crawl with bunched haunches and the head thrown back so far in agony that the actual neck muscles overdevelop and bulge. and the temperament. I own old foundation walking horses and one that is HALF modern bloodlines. He is my only maniac horse, my only hyper horse, my only horse that isnt sensible. So its like we are saying watch out that the same doesnt creep up in our breed with the show people mentality, winning at all costs, then breeding the winners and producing offspring that are less and less like the old foundation types. It happens in every breed. Its almost a catch phrase. You see sale ads of appaloosas, quarter horses, walkers, etc stating "old foundation lines!" what does that mean? It means "not a result of show breeding", to me. I know everyone knows I am anti-showing but I am not really! I have a very competitive nature but I want to show and compete in ways that are good for horses. In ways that doesnt ruin an entire breed. And its like "they" are saying "how dare you accuse us our horses are nothing like that". And we are saying "not YET" and they are saying how ridiculous is that and we are saying i know it seems impossible but look what happened with walking horses and they are saying oh my god walking horses have been turned into monsters all we do is have a tiny little weight in the boots and a dropped noseband and we are saying thats how it all began with walking horses, just a tiny little bit of weight in the front shoes and a little more shank on the bit and they are saying.... so whats the solution? I dont know. Janice-- yipie tie yie yo
