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> The truth is that PEOPLE own horses, and people come
> in a variety of styles.
Amen! This is so true. My Peruvian has a wonderful,
kind trainer. Before putting her in training, I went
to the shows and watched him with the horses. Watched
him train at his barn. Looked at the horses legs-all
were clean. But there are bad in this breed as well.
think it depends a lot on where you look. If you
> look only for "breed
> trainers", yes, I think unfortunately that is very
> true, no matter what the
> breed
I am a little gun shy. I had my Andalusian with a
"natural horse trainer." She ended up with a bone
chip from being tied to a metal pole so she could
"work-put" her fear of being tied. And it took me a
whole year searching to find this instructor. There is
another non-bread specific trainer who yells at her
students. Most others I have found require you to
have your own horse. I have a semi-trained Peruvian
in 4 reins. Meaning she is in a bosal ( hackamore like
device but made of pure rawhide) and a bit. But she
has never been ridden in a bit alone. So I really
would like a recommendation to make sure I am not just
getting someone who says they are a natural horse
trainer.
And the other side of the coin is that, while smooth
> gaits are certainly
> tempting to those of us who love to trail ride,
> especially us
> middle-aged-and-up
Yes that is me. I am 53. I also have an 8 year-old
daughter. That is another reason I wanted an
Icelandic. Peruvians are smooth but not versatile at
all. What they do they do better than any horse but no
jumping and dressage only for gaited horses. They
don't allow them to trot although they do trot at
liberty. So I wanted a small horse, that would be
comfortable for me to ride and that my daughter could
enjoy in other disciplines.
> Have you started collecting some good books and
> videos?
No, and that is excellent advice which I will start
now. I am so green I don't even have a feel for how
hard (or not) to hold the bit. I usually have too
loose a rein because I don't want to hurt the horse.
What do you think of the "bitless bridle?" Is there
enough control?
Thanks for all the information and advice.
Maria
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