>>>> Maybe in the very big universal infinite intelligence picture, it was not >>>> an accident. The horses ridden like that probably have ulcers, so it's a >>>> clue to listen to them and get them fixed.
Maybe - all I'd thought of prior to your comment was that it certainly was ironic that Greg has helped me with three rehabs, two of them Icelandics, when those pictures of Icelandic's were in the same issue. By the way, for those of you who don't have the magazine, January 2008 Horse Illustrated, page 58, here is one quote. "Wilder starts by looking at the horse's history and asking if veterinary issues have been ruled out." He does that and I appreciate it. I arranged to meet him at the vet clinic with Tivar that one time, and he did a full body check-out and massage...and told me his back was about as good as any he sees. Because of his history of bucking, and because Tivar's OBVIOUS pissiness about Greg invading his space - especially around his belly - he immediately said Tivar need to see a VET, because Tivar's problems were out of his specialty. He was with us when Dr. Daniel came over to check Tivar, and that's when ulcer treatment came up...Bingo. He could have easily continued to take my money for his services, but he didn't. That was the only time he ever saw Tivar. He saw Loftur multiple times, and still sees him occasionally for follow-up. Another quote: "Frequent neck and back problems in horses that are held artificially into a false 'frame' is another common problem Wilder sees. 'A horse's neck muscles just aren't able to withstand this sort of constant pressure', Wilder says. 'When a horse is pulled into a frame, instead of being ridden from behind into self-carriage, physical problems almost always result." "Wilder views bucking, rearing and bolting as all-inclusive evasions. 'The horse is so pressured that he feels he has no where else to go,' he explains." Greg didn't talk to me much the first time I took Loftur to him - the first time I ever met him. He listened to what I told him, but he was mostly focused on Loftur and his reactions. He told me later when I first called for an appointment that he assumed I was just another Icelandic owner who had ridden their horse with a too-tight, incorrectly placed saddle in a hell-bent-for-leather way. Ouch. That was his impression of the breed. He's a NC native, but lived in one of the western states for several years - can't remember which state, but Loftur wasn't the first Icelandic he worked on... The article about him goes on to say, "But these issues are often caused by a combination of issues. 'Take a sensitive back, for example - this isn't something an owner or rider can fix in a day. Adjusting the saddle ad a shoeing revision may help, but the answer often lies in retraining coordination patterns, by using someone such as myself, or by re-evaluating the training program. The horse might need correct long-and-low warm-up work every day, or he might need to do just long-and-low work for a certain period of time, until the compromised muscles are strengthened and he can go back to regular work." Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED] No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.17.9/1198 - Release Date: 12/26/2007 5:26 PM
