On Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:08:21 -0800, you wrote: >I think that if the horse is trained differently, with partnership and >communication in mind, which keeps the horse's focus on the rider, and >creates in the horse, the desire to be part of the partnership and invest in >the communication, the resultant horse will be one that the one-rein stop >will not be necessary.
I think that's a wonderful ideal, but at the end of the day, horses are horses, not people, and while under most circumstances they will keep their focus on the rider, there will inevitably come a day when, for whatever reason, that focus will be lost.... and that's when horse and rider knowing the one rein stop may mean the difference between life and death (if you're riding on the road, for instance). Reasons for total loss of focus? Here's a couple I've had to deal with in the past: Riding round a corner and meeting up with the entire New Forest Hunt (60 riders, 30 or so hounds) in full gallop and Riding past a gate in a huge hedge and having an extremely large Friesian cow jump to her feet in shock, at the same time clanging said gate with her foot so it breaks the string it's tied with, flies open and whacks my horse in the flank Mic Mic (Michelle) Rushen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solva Icelandic Horses and DeMeulenkamp Sweet Itch Rugs: www.solva-icelandics.co.uk ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes"
