Judy, I was thinking about this when we were out doing a long ride today. I was riding the TWH Hunter, who both trots and racks, like many Icelandics. It is foreign to me that a horse who naturally does those two gaits could go ventroflexed in rack and attain true collection in trot. Hunter does have a long lean neck, but he still carries his neck high while trotting and does so in the round pen too.
Tosca has a short thick neck and she carries it in both gaits in what I think is a very acceptable natural (lower than Hunter's) position. Are there Icelandics that both tolt ventroflexed and trot in true collection? I'm reasonably sure that Tosca's conformation would make it difficult for to use her neck as a dressage horse needs to. Nancy
