Hi Maria, >>>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.
That is fantastic and good for you for taking responsibility of real stewardship to your horse to see what the trainer did before you sent your horse there. While I live in Canada, my daughter, Mandy Pretty is in Modesto, Ca at Barbara Owens farm. There are 10 Icelandics there right now. If you fancy a trip up there for a visit you will see a different kind of work with Icelandics. I have had Icelandics since 1976 and was involved with non-gaited breeds in eventing, endurance riding, dressage etc for 20 years before that. I have been to Iceland many times and from the beginning didn't like much of what was done with the horses. That being said, I can't say I would put all NH trainers into a good basket either so you really have to pick and choose. I was always considered quite weird about my attitude with the horses but then most of the people I dealt with in Iceland were men, and I would say that often men and women have different perspectives on horses. While many Icelanders still ride in the narrow, long saddles the saddle fit awareness has increased over the past 5-10 years but lots of people still ride in what they have. As far as your experience that the Peruvian saddles being wide enough, that must also have changed (which is great), because the last Peruvian saddles that I saw on horses were IMO quite tight and had points on each corner that were used for turning - shift your weight into the corner of the saddle you wanted the horse to give into and it kind of poked the horse in the shoulder or loins. >>>What do you think of the "bitless bridle?" Is there enough control? My most common answer is first "it depends" - some horses do well with them but I have found that when they are done up really tightly, as is recommended by most of the manufacturers, it puts a lot of pressure on the nerves of the poll and the jaw. However quite a few people on this list use a variety of hackamores often some kind of side-pull. I think how much control you have also depends on the context - and actually rather than thinking control if you think of having influence instead that is probably more accurate. What I mean is that it can depend on the situation you are riding in - a large group of horses or by yourself or with one other horse in controlled situations can make a difference. It also depends on what type of work you have done with your horse as far as their understanding of your requests. There are lots of nice Icelandics out there. We always suggest to people that they take their time and ride as many horses as are suitable for them and in the situations that they will do so at home. Even so it takes time for horses to settle into situations no matter how stable they seem at home. The size of our country makes it difficult selling horses in terms of after sale help. While you may not need someone who knows Icelandics I have certainly sold some horses that people had problems with trainers not knowing the horses (Anna - you were one with Gloi). He was, IME, a very safe reliable horse but he was labeled by a couple of the NH trainers Anna used and luckily they have worked it out. It is so challenging to sell horses especially if you care about the success of both horse and rider. At least with the internet it is a way that people can get support and suggestions and maybe recommendations about trainers that people have had good experiences with. It is snowing here, not too cold, and looks great. I will try and get some photos today and then all of you living in warm climates will really appreciate where you live : )) Robyn Icelandic Horse Farm Robyn Hood & Phil Pretty Vernon BC Canada www.icefarm.com
