i once rode stonewall 40 miles and I had to haul on the reins the whole time, and would make him do figure 8s and circles the whole way. when people said oh wow, you did 40 miles! i would say well actually i think we did about 120 because of all the circles and figure 8s.
it is not fun to always hold back a horse. they seem to get actually to where they think its normal to be held in, and brace against it. like they say, racehorses are raced with taut reins. icelandics are shown at the flying pace with taut reins. Walking horses are shown at the running walk and rack in taut reins. many times behind the vertical. holding reins tight will make a horse go faster most of the time! Its a lot of hard work to get one to walk/gait/tolt on a loose rein and be in control. actually a wonderful gift. Something we should all aspire to have... being in control of your horse at all times and you and the horse being totally relaxed should be all of our goals. i think. I know jaspar and Tivar are horses who like to be easy going on a ride, but when i start nasi someday if he is a goey horse i aint messin around ten minutes. I wont ride him outside a roundpen til i can have him be orderly and under control on a loose rein and mild bit. at all times. because if he goes faster on a taut rein, that means he has not been trained to give to pressure and until he is trained to give to pressure he will brace against it in more ways than just being ridden. Janice -- yipie tie yie yo
