This message is from: Marsha Jo Hannah <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Julie Will <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > in Norway horses are driven in open bridles. [...] I would be > interested to know what the ADS rule is about blinders, somebody???
This comes up periodically on the Carriage Driving List. In Combined Driving, the rules do not say anything about blinders, and I've seen horses compete in open bridles. With a picky judge, you might lose a small fraction of a Presentation point for not having them, but that seems to be rare. In the Pleasure Driving classes, things get a little more subjective, and you might get marked down because blinders are traditional (especially with certain vehicles and types of harness). When the debates rage, the point usually comes up that, with a multiple hitch, blinders keep the horses from seeing the whip, i.e. Horse A doesn't anticipate/react when it's going to be used to signal Horse B. Of course, with tandems and 4-ups, blinders become safety equipment, to keep the leaders' reins from scuffing the eyeballs of the wheelers. And, blinders do tend to keep the animal more focused on its job---deemed important for dressage. Personally, I'm into whatever works. My donkey informed me that she didn't care for blinders, so we drove in an open bridle. My Fjords don't seem to care, and the work bridle came with blinders, so I've just used it as is. Marsha Jo Hannah Murphy must have been a horseman-- [EMAIL PROTECTED] anything that can go wrong, will! 30 mi SSE of San Francisco, Calif. -------
