> Because it makes the horse hollow his back because it hurts. And a > hollow-backed horse is easy to crank up into a tolt/rack. That's not any > way that I want to get gait, but it works...for a while. It's not a kind > thing to do the horse though, it will definitely cause long-term problems. > The euphemistic way of explaining it away is that the rider "needs to free > the horse's shoulders to get him to gait." Of course a horse needs his > shoulders free to do any gait - walk, trot, canter too. But, "freeing his > shoulders" sounds so much better than "making him hurt in loins" or > "making > him hollow his back." A horse doesn't need a saddle six inches behind the > shoulders to be "free."
Should this type of "seat" be allowed in evaluations? Should horses that require this type of seat to gait be awarded a score? What does this seat say about the trainer who rides and trains like this? Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
