On 7/5/07, Judy Ryder <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Anna, please see this page: > > http://iceryder.net/annagait.html
Judy, You are too much! What a kick. It's like I won a prize! I do have to admit. I'm still doing open book. Actually I took four pages out of Lees's book. The two page chart explaining the gaits and the 10 pictures on two pages showing the different gaits. I made copies of these and cut and copied until I had a three page spread that had the pictures of the 8 gaits lined up with the descriptions of the gaits. I also changed the order so that the even gaits were listed between the lateral and diagonal gaits. I just left out the flat walk and the paso (?) for now. I have the spread sheet at work which is where I can watch the videos due to Internet speed at home being so slow. Unfortunately, I don't have as much time at work to be on the Internet. There are very few gaited horses in this area-mainly QH and TB's. There may be one class in some of the shows I went to for gaited horses so my real life experience is very limited. One thing that drew me to Icelandics vs the other gaited horses is that most of what I read is that trot and canter are discouraged in the non Icelandic gaited breeds. If I want to go to any local shows I need trot and if I wanted to go back to competitive trail and endurance you need different gaits. I looked into the Paso Finos but the ones around here were started too early and were more for showing with the fine bones and hot temperament. Since I had a reliable source (Robyn Hood) for family type trail horses, that tipped the scale for breed choice. I believe that who you get a horse from due to breeding/training philosophy is more important than which horse you choose. I also believe that you end up with the horse that you need. Calvin was/is a horse who needed no training in anything and I swear he could read my mind. He basically trained me and helped me to become a good rider. Gloi is teaching me to be a good trainer. He requires me to be very specific and very methodical. If I do it right we move to the next level. If you let yourself be open you will get what you need from your horse. Sometimes it's not what you think you want or need. I believe that the same horse can be a totally different animal for different people and different environments. Anna
