everything lee ever told me about my horses sounded like bull and every single thing came true, 100% to my amazement. I sent pics of stonewall as a 15 mo old doing a huge floaty trot in the field. Now who on earth would be able to look at that and say he would saddle rack under saddle! She did! And for two years after that he would only trot in the field and I would think "aint no way" then when I started him under saddle. I would walk him around the roundpen. Got him up to speed a couple of times and he did something rough. I had only ridden jaspar at that time. I thought well, he aint gonna gait either. Then the very FIRST TIME i got on him out side a roundpen and off we went he took about five steps and moved into the slickest saddlerack you ever saw! I was floored!
Then after more riding under our belt, he would start losing gait to a pace, a hard slamming pace like Jaspar. I sent her pics. She didnt answer. Wasnt like her. I finally called her and she snapped at me "I didnt answer cause you probably dont want to hear it! Get that bit off him!" then she tells me he's a naturally high headed horse, with a high excitement level (she's seen like two pictures of him) and that the wonder bit I had on him (for control someone told me) was forcing him into a ventroflexed frame and that was causing the pace AND contributing to the excitement level. She said try a mullen pelham. Would help him want to keep his head lower. Until then his head was so high he would be an inch from smacking me in the face at all times. When I put the pelham on he started traveling with a lower head, broke gait less and less, and now at age 6 you cannot MAKE him NOT gait smooth, barefooted, on a loose rein, and it helps with his excitement level which is my big problem with him. But he is doing good now! anyway. Lee Zeigler was a genius as far as I am concerned. Anybody says different never talked to her is all, because her book does not fully express the true level of her genius. And I dont want to toot my own horn but I am the REASON she came up with the "weight of a plum in the hands" phrase for what is good contact on the mouth. Because when she was drafting the book she kept asking if anyone had trouble understanding things and i kept saying i didnt know what the heck she was talking about when she talked about contact. How could I know what was good if I had never seen it... i could only guess. so she asked different ways if I understood and when she said weight of a plum I caught on :) so you guys can thank me for my contribution to gaited horses all over the globe haha but my gosh what that woman knew... what a loss to all of us! Janice -- yipie tie yie yo
