> I completely agree. Most Icelandics have WAAAYYYY too little training > in the basics that most horse people take for granted - accepting the > bit, basic lateral work, hacking alone, getting away from the herd, > standing still for mounting etc.
I think all the things Nancy, Karen and Mic have said are true and I have been studying this phenomenon hard since I was introduced to Icelandics. Something really clicked with me when I was watching the Larry Whitesell training DVD. He said that on a whole (and I'm parphrasing here so I hope I get it right) there are many women that ride and they are timid riders. They hold their horses back and hold them back until the horses just "blow a gasket" and take off. He said he has gotten a big amount of horses in for this type of problem. He has worked with Icelandics, Pasos, TWH, etc. I think this is true in many of the out of control situations with Icies.(This is me talking now) I think many Icies have an inherent desire to go quickly wherever they go. This is masked by the fact that they are so calm and peaceful when working with them from the ground. What we do is take that natural tendency to want to go fast and we try to control it with bits and hauling back on the reins - we never just let them go like they want, then, because they are stoic, they build and build this frustration until they just have to release it somehow. If we put them in stressful situations (like gait training) the steam just builds higher and faster. What LW says is that you have to start from the very beginning and retrain them to respond and be soft to the bit/face. I have never seen horses that are more relaxed and soft in their responses than the ones he trains. They are so soft and responsive that I can't imagine anyone being afraid to ride these horses in any gait, at any speed because you just know they are getting what they need from their rider. Doppa was one of those horses trained to go and go fast and at my age, I am not a rider that wants to gallop throught the woods. So she and I have come to understanding that those kind of rides just aren't going to happen. I know she misses them but I try to make her life good in other ways. Occassionally she forgets that we aren't going to do that and tends to get worked up, so we just stop what we are doing and stand until her mind is back with me.- Laree in NC Doppa & Mura Simon, Sadie and Sam (the "S" gang) "Yet when all the books have been read and reread, it boils down to the horse, his human companion, and what goes on between them." - William Farley
