This message is from: Alison Barr <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I am not that big a kisser. I tend to whisper. I hold The horses ear and whisper subliminal messages like "You will jump clear". I Find that this works really well, and the horses love it. Although I admit I usually kiss the end of their ears before letting go. I also scratch them. Fj loves a good cheek scratch, and if you stand in front of Pandora, she will lower her head and loves to then have her neckline scratched. As for muscle kissing, I got hit in the mouth once too often for that. Luckily I didn't have braces then... :-) On the subject of saddles without dee rings, if you take an old pair of jeans and sew or tie the ends off, you can use them as saddle bags, and require little tying down, as the weight is on either side of the horse. I got this and many other really helpful tips from one of David Godson's books. Really good Ideas like socks with the toes cut out put on the horses legs to keep their legs clean as you warm up for a show... it would be a good book to put on your christmas wish list. Anyway, sorry for the endorsement, but it really is a good book.
