>>>> I have been told to sit well back and keep a contact. Her owner said >>>> that if her head goes down her body will follow. I think the contact >>>> jabs her in the mouth.
Good questions, Sue. I've been thinking about this more since yesterday. Does it strike anyone else as really bizarre that someone would assume that we (100-200 pound humans, caught off guard ourselves) can actually hold up a stumbling 700-1000 pound beast via reins and a bit? I don't think I'd want anyone to try to prevent ME from falling by grabbing ME by the tongue, or by poking me in the roof of the mouth! And, if we (a human) were in the midst of a stumble, do you really think a creature weighing a mere 10-25% of what we weigh could be of much help in helping us regain our balance? It just doesn't make sense to me. My 235-pound husband can be of some valuable help when guiding my sometimes feeble 120-pound mom, but since I'm close to her size, I can only do so much to help her if she really starts to go down. I can only offer her something to balance against - whereas he can actually hold her up in an emergency. I can't imagine someone significantly smaller than me being of much help at all to her. If the mare has diminished sight, my gut would tell me that she, more than most, would certainly need some freedom to use her head to use her good eye to see where she's going, so she can plan her steps. I don't have any experience with partially blind horses though, but that is my gut feeling. Karen Thomas, NC
