Hi Karen, >>>Yeah, that's horrible riding. But, you know how it goes with show trends.
Yes, sadly. The rider is posting, and hanging on the reins to do so. I really like Saddlebreds and think that what they put up with, in terms of the stabling, scaring them with fire extinguishers, flashes, noises says a lot that they are generally as sane as the ones I have met are. The long lining is being done with the horse in a bitting rig - sidereins, and often an overcheck are used to 'enhance' the horses natural upright posture. I agree with you that I think the horse has a lot of natural action looking at him free in the ring and considering that he probably just came of our a dark stall and is a stallion. I know that Walter Schmidt from Germany hired a Saddlebred trainer years ago to train his Icelandics and in the WC in Holland in 1983??? Or maybe later - Mic will know, a horse that won the German Championships was owned by him and trained in a saddlebred way - even kept in a dark trailer at the WC and they used a tape measurer snapping to get him to look 'sharp' when ridden. It was wanting the extreme of action which led him to this road but people actually didn't like the looks of the horse nor the gaits the training produces. It seems like one of the most important trait show riders - of many disciplines - Arabs, Morgans, Saddlebreds, and many gaited horses is extreme action. It is very sad for the horses.... Robyn Icelandic Horse Farm Robyn Hood & Phil Pretty Vernon BC Canada www.icefarm.com
