Hi Mary, Thanks for the explanation. >>>One of the big problems I have with many of my students is that they want to use the outside rein to pull the horse to the outside when they fall in on the inside shoulder.
There are lots of different ways to do things and you can connect to the outside rein without pulling on it. If you have a connection on the outside rein and rotate to the inside and use a light signal with the side leg you give the horse the outside 'bank' and soften the ribcage so the inside hind leg can come forward. If you think of a turn like a river, it is the outside bank that says there will be a turn and the inside how much. >>>This pulls the horse out of alignment in their spine and makes them stiff, and can, over many years, cause spinal damage. Where do you get the information that contact on the outside rein causes spinal damage? What about a one-rein stop? I have talked to several chiropractic vets that see the result being jamming in the poll, withers and pelvis. >>>By using the inside rein, you keep the horse in alignment and teach them to lift the withers and free up the shoulders. How does tipping the nose and coming behind the vertical keep a horse in alignment? I guess it is like you say, you can teach a horse anything, it always depends on point of view and your experience with something in terms of what it is doing. Once again, more than one right answer : )) Robyn Icelandic Horse Farm Robyn Hood & Phil Pretty Vernon BC Canada www.icefarm.com
