This message is from: "Teressa Kandianis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Thanks for all the feedback. What you're telling me is what I remembered from the discussion last winter. The training was necessary - Mark and I were reading books and getting advice and assistance once in awhile but you don't know how impossible it is to get beyond simple steps without alot of fumbling around. We thought it wasn't good for him or for us so started seriously checking out trainers in our immediate vicinity so that we could be as involved as possible. I supplied him with the information I had on fjords, maturity, bone development, conformation etc that I had - mostly postings from the list. He brought up the manner in which he's adapting what he does with quarter horses or thoroughbreds vs how he is bringing Merit along. He seems quite charmed by Merit's look and manner and is helping Mark and I with our hands and legs. He'll just be there for another couple of weeks and then will come home. The work with Merit at the trainer's is also helping us work more effectively with Nina - who is just 17 months now. And Merit isn't being worked in a round pen but in a big covered arena with a nice surface. The steering was our biggest worry as do it yourselfers. I tried a bitting harness, we tried a lot of stuff from books but it just frustrated us and Merit. Now when we get him home we can get to work with driving again. A reining board must help people who know something about rein pressure and so on, but it didn't do much for us. The trainer, Roger, is very gentle and quiet, and has a relationship with our horse. We discussed the flight response and how that impells young horses of different breeds in different ways and how different the weegies are in that respect. I have confidence in him that he's not pushing Merit. Merit is still tripping a little - at the walk or trot - but much less than at first. We think its just youth and getting used to his own big body as well as one on top of him - it would probably be difficult to know at this stage if and when he'll not trip again at all. And also, correct me if I've misunderstood, his reluctance to lope now is normal and patience and not pushing will result in a fjord who lopes as well as trots. Anyway, longwinded as usual, thanks to all the posts on this subject both last year and now, from sunny, beautiful Ferndale, WA, Teressa
