>>> I'm going to be candid here. I find the whole process confusing on many >>> levels. In 2004, when I was just beginning to develop the idea of a >>> film about the Icelandic horse, I went to my first evaluations in >>> Wisconsin and ended up filming what I found most interesting at the >>> time. I had only recently started riding and breeding was way over my >>> head. I tried to made the video available as a DVD to the USIHC gratis >>> but for various reasons nothing happened. Out of frustration, I looked >>> into putting videos on the internet and that is how Hestakaup.com was >>> born! Odd story.
That's interesting because it was probably 2002-2003 when I was asking so many questions about what the judges were looking for - when I was trying to find specifics hidden within the FEIF rules. I asked many times for such a video, and I think others on the list did to. There were a lot of excuses, and if I remember correctly, cost was cited as a deterrent. Interesting to know that they turned down your generous offer to make one for free. Frankly, at the time, I would have been ok with one of the little digital camera quality videos like I take so many of - one of your quality would have been great. >>> Since then, I have been to a few evaluations, spoken with judges, and I >>> find it even *more* confusing. Yes, I'm cynical, but when people continually try to learn and ask questions, and when they only get more confused, I have to wonder about the teachers. Conformation analysis isn't exactly the easeist thing to understand, but it it's not so difficult that someone making an honest effort shouldn't learn something with each exposure. I'd been to judging classes, and horse conformation classes before I got Icelandic's and I was shocked at how secretive this whole topic seemed within this breed. Good teachers tend to make the subject matter more understandable, not more confusing. >>> Videos of various horses abound and I don't think one can tell much from >>> YouTube quality. And it would be nice to have standards for comparison. >>> We need education and articulate people (in English) to educate us or at >>> least be willing to explain the basis for their decisions. We have at least one really good and articulate expert on the subject of gaits, and how conformation affects gait. (We had two, until Lee Ziegler died a couple of years ago.) We have Liz Graves, and English is her native tongue. She has an easy-to-understand video out about how conformation affects gait, and she also knows how conformation affect soundness. She also understands how rider position, saddle fit/placement, bits, etc., affect gait, both in good and bad ways. Karen Thomas, NC
