> A long saddle is another way to poke a horse in the loins, which makes the > horse hollow his back...and a hollow backed horse is easier to force into > tolt/rack.
Another thing that we see with icelander-style riding, is strong contact; so much so that the lips are pulled WAY back, so much so that the bridle becomes lax and bends, flopping away from the head. Is that much contact required to get gait from a naturally gaited horse? Should that much contact be allowed at evaluations? Should horses that only gait with the greyhound saddles, and heavy contact be breeding animals? Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
