>>I don't think that the icelandic riding style is anywhere near how we ride >>the horses here.
> Oh, I agree - but that's also changing. You only have to look at > various websites from Iceland which now advertise horses which stand > still on a loose rein to be mounted, tolerate the rider flapping their > arms and legs etc. You would never have seen that 10 years ago. Hey, we'll take credit for that! Remember back then? We made a list of basic training skills, presented to the Icelanders on the list, and standing to be mounted was #1. >>The icelandic riding and training style may use the words but the >>underlying >>knowledge of the how and why of horsemanship is just not there yet, in my >>opinion. > Things really, really > have changed. You may not see it on the videos, or on the internet, or > in the magazines, but look around the horse people and it's obvious. I can see it right here in the horses that are trained by icelanders. I just watched a show and the horses were stopped by pulling on their mouths. Why wouldn't we see it in the videos or on the internet and magazines? If it has really changed, it should be obvious and not have to be looked for with a magnifying glass to be found. I think, Mic, that it may not be a big jump from icelandic style riding to the riding style used in GB, but that it's a huge jump to the US riding style from the ISRT. >>> I really wish you could come and ride some of the horses trained here by >>> a typical Icelandic trainer - or many of them (not all, of course) in >>> Iceland. Maybe I will come and visit you someday! But really, Mic, I'm not in Timbuctu or in the boonies somewhere. I can see the results of the ISRT every day here, in person, or on the internet. I do believe that they are changing, and that they are trying, but I think they are more caught up in using the buzz words and shortcuts, than actually doing good homework to get to real horsemanship. At least not as much change for me to stop complaining about how their riding style hurts the horse, and not appreciably enough for me to notice a big change. That said, I appreciate your input and will watch more closely to see what's going on. Actually I was going back to Iceland this month with Elisabeth, but my leg wouldn't allow it. Elisabeth said she'd push me around if necessary, but I doubt that she could do that with the terrain. She would have tried tho :-). Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
