> Me too. I was just speaking to a friend on the phone who watched a > rider warming his horse up in the woods at the WC, using elastics on > the legs. > > Another rider warmed up using an Icelandic bit and DROP (not flash) > noseband, then put on a snaffle for the class.
Yes, using different tack or mechanical appliances prior to a class is not a new thing. One of the Icelanders that I correspond with mentioned this a few years ago and I believe we talked about it on the list at the time. It is also mentioned by Louis Taylor in his book on Bits: "... to get an Arabian to lower its head to win a cutting horse class in a horse show -- the chain being used only outside the show ring, of course; but the head was sufficiently sore for the weight of an ordinary bridle to keep it down for the short duration of a horse show class." Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
