>>> I agree up to a point, but I have to add that I've got horses that were imported from Iceland where they were not handled at all as youngsters then had a "fast and dirty" training, which are, and always have been, quiet, friendly, calm and as bombproof as a horse can be.
The horse in the picture lives in Canada, and the horses I was speaking of that I own are Canadian born, so what I said isn't about Iceland at all, but about "traditional" handling and training. And...one important thing: you say that your horses have always been quiet, friendly, calm and bombproof... so have the horses that I mentioned that we bought that were born on that Canadian farm. None of those horses seem at all scared of "things" - but I've seen some real wariness in them towards HUMANS - not that one has ever kicked, bitten, or done any of the obvious symptoms of fear, but I've seen fear/confusion/doubt in their eyes, with some flinching early on. Skjoni has never been physically reactive at all towards people, not in a negative way, (no obvious flinching, and he's always a model of ground manners) but if you watch him closely, you'll see that he is an unusually stoic sort too. When he's not comfortable, he tends to "take it like a man." I say that Skjoni is what he is despite his early training, not because of it. For every Skjoni, how many others don't turn out so well? I'm thinking about one right now - the new mare I have now, a daughter of a stallion standing at that Canadian Farm. She hasn't shown one iota of nervousness/spookiness towards "stuff", but boy, does she ever expect the worst from people... People can find infinite ways to screw up horses - I'm convinced of that. But throw away all the inept attempts from all methods, and tell me: what possible benefit is there from ignoring a foal and not giving him/her reasons to think humans are pleasant companions, and worthy partners? It's not about extremes - just because horses CAN be spoiled is absolutely no excuse not to expect people to learn to handle their babies appropriately. Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.17.1/1182 - Release Date: 12/12/2007 11:29 AM IceHorses Community for Photos and Videos: http://kickapps.com/icehorses "The greatest enemy of the truth very often is not the lie- deliberate, contrived and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive and unrealistic." "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." ~ Arthur Schopenhauer [] Lee Ziegler http://leeziegler.com [] Liz Graves http://lizgraves.com [] Lee's Book Easy Gaited Horses http://tinyurl.com/7vyjo [] IceHorses Map http://www.frappr.com/IceHorses Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
