> I honestly DO believe a calmly and sensibly trained Icelandic horse > shouldn't be putting a rider in danger by any of the things you > mentioned - > certainly not in any "life or death" sense...not if they trust their > rider. > I'm not saying that one will never SPOOK, but that if/when they do, they > should come back to reality pretty quickly. (
Okay - I confess. None of the horses I mentioned that reacted to scarey animals or careless hunters out on trail were Icelandics. In fact, most were seasoned Arab endurance horses and (please forgive the generalization) many of the large group of Arabs I know are spookier than the three Icelandics I know. There's been a lot of noisy construction at Creekside. Tosca did flinch at the sound of the nail gun, but otherwise had pretty much no reaction to all the noise and change The workers loved her. Hunter could barely deal with the cement mixer, the compressor, the nail guns and the masons, who semed to pop up from behind pillars of new brick. You know I am a newbie to Icelandics and new to this list. I think the majority of you ride only Icelandics. For the handful of us who own other breeds too it may some time be necessary to "control" a frightened horse no matter how wonderful a partnership we have forged. My riding friend often comments on how well Hunter listens to me. Maybe he does. It doesn't seem unique , but I think this very anxious and frightened horse has come to like and trust me. For me, that brings more joy than having the open and trusting (by nature or nurture) Yrsa like and trust me. Yes, I'd still rather spend time with Yrsa, but I own Hunter and am committed to having him live out his life with me. Nancy
