> I think if an Icelandic is given his head from the start and allowed > to find his own balance during training, then all sorts of nice things > can happen.
*grin* if i ever get a camera again, or a video that works with my machine, i will try to get some pictures of stjarni's "big trot". i ride it mostly in half-seat with the reins loose and my hands half up his neck. it's his preferred gait for small jumps. it's quite fast, and my stiff self cannot sit it worth a darn. i suspect sometime earlier in his training he was discouraged from trotting at all, by somebody who preferred tolt :/ but he has always trotted in the field, and so i'm always pleased when he does it under saddle. it's usually "big" though, as opposed to the "jog" sort of feeling i had during that one pic....i wonder if it's my posture (down in the butt and slightly swaybacked) that made the difference for him. stjarni is thirteen now and i'm pushing forty, but i think it's never too late to train :) --vicka
