> but i thought starnji just recently took off for the barn when a > student dropped reins to adjust a glove or something didnt he??
yup. she wasn't having a lesson though. she's only done bridleless in the ring, and i rather suspect that she just dropped her reins and spent several minutes fiddling (though i wasn't there, she does tend to get distracted sometimes while mounted). i've done no more than a few moments without reins on the trail myself, and i'm generally fairly attentive to stjarni when i do it; i wouldn't say we've really worked on no-reins riding outside the ring. (though he has never taken off towards the barn with me either.) --vicka
