--- In [email protected], Anneliese Virro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Horses have to get their heads down to eat, getting their heads down has a calming effect. Seems pretty obvious to me! How could you be in the minority, thinking that way? > Anneliese
--------------That's kinda my thoughts on things too. I've almost always let Osp and horses I'm training eat when they are nervous about something. I also let them eat when ground tied. They are happier, they happily stay put, and they seem to appreciate it. Though I know this goes against every trainer's instructions (lots of "natural horsemen"!), I also let them eat while I'm mounting. I know it's not traditional, but I can tell you from my personal experiences that every horse I've let eat while I mount has remained calm, comfortable and happily raised their head up from grazing when I asked them to. I'm not saying that they shouldn't be trained to stand quietly without eating while being mounted, they ABSOLUTELY should. I'm just mentioning this because I've found it works well for me. Dawn Bruin-Slot
