>>>> How about the professional riders that use the icelandic bit on the horses >>>> in evaluations or competitions?
Let's get specific. There have been some pictures posted on other lists taken at the evaluations held in the USA a couple of weeks ago. I saw nosebands digging into the soft tissue of the horse's noses - a couple of the pictures were posted by the horse's owner, who apparently saw nothing wrong with that. I saw pictures of horses ridden with contact in long shanked bits (probably broken mouthed) WITH dropped nosebands. The last time I checked the FEIF rules, that's illegal, but judges have been turning a blind eye to it for the past couple of years. I saw riders sitting on the cantles of saddles - saddles that were already placed too far back. These offenses are not some relic of the distant past - this was just a couple of weeks ago. Many of the pictures were posted to public websites, available for anyone to see. If you have the links, I encourage you to look at them...REALLY look at them. Karen Thomas, NC [EMAIL PROTECTED]
