Hi It is interesting that so many people, of every breed, think it is 'pretty' picture when a horse is behind the vertical (and I mean deep rather than just a bit behind). When you are sitting on the horse the only part of the body you can see that might indicate if you horse is 'collected' is the head and it is difficult to see from the horse's back if the horse is just a little btv. And then there is the problem that the btv frame is rewarded in competition.
When horses are ridden really deep it is often the place the horse will go when you start to ask the hind legs to come along a little more to connect the horse back to front. We have had several horses here that did that when we first got them. In order to help them realize that wasn't where we wanted them, and to help them connect more with the hind legs we did a couple of things. One was to raise the hands slightly, no backwards pull, and at the same time ask for the hind legs to move with a little, alternating, come on, come on with the calf. The other thing we used was the balance rein - any rein or light rope around the base of the neck used as a second rein. This encouraged the horse to open the throatlatch and length the topline and release the bracing at the base of the neck. I hate the feeling of a horse going btv because you also don't feel as though you have any connection to the horse. Robyn Icelandic Horse Farm Robyn Hood & Phil Pretty Vernon BC Canada www.icefarm.com
