On Fri, 7 Dec 2007 13:33:57 -0600, you wrote:
>I've often thought it was the european influence of riding that may
>have changed things. Morphed that type of riding into something else
>entirely.
I agree. I think it's the German "dressage" influence that started the
change.
Mind you, in those old pictures, the riders are mostly sitting on the
cantle with their legs stuck forward ("water skiing") and although the
horses rarely have nosebands, they are nearly all in Icelandic bits.
Back in my youth (Ah! So Long Ago! ; )) drop nosebands were very
common especially on ponies, and if you look at pictures from a
century ago everyone here rode in that same waterskiing seat. I
suspect Iceland is going through the same changes we all went through,
just in a much faster time period.
Mic
Mic (Michelle) Rushen
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Solva Icelandic Horses and DeMeulenkamp Sweet Itch Rugs:
www.solva-icelandics.co.uk
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