This message is from: carol j makosky <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > In a message dated 10/16/00 8:20:44 PM Pacific Daylight Time, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > << Once your > horse is moving around you in all gaits, walk, trot, and canter at YOUR > command, put down a large puddle of water, too big to jump or step over. >> > > I have read with interest the posts about water crossing. My Tommes prefers > to go around mud or puddles. He's not afraid, he just knows it's safer to > keep his feet on terra firma while carrying a rider. God knows they wallow > around in mud like pigs in their pasture : ) > > I agree that one's horse should be under control and follow commands, > however, I also want my horse to think for himself. No one but he knows for > sure what that ground feels like: whether it's too slippery, poor visibility > (like is the puddle 2 inches or 2 feet deep?), too rocky, unstable/shifting > sand, etc. My life is in my horse's "hands" or should I say on his hooves. > I'd rather he follow my basic direction and gait, while using his superior > animal skills to guide us over broken ground, rather than blindly obeying me > and losing that sense. > > Brigid in CA Hi, I would never ask Heidi to go where I think it is not safe. I always give her a loose rein and let her pick her own way down a steep hill. I do not make her go any faster than she wants. When going over fallen branches or logs in the trail, I always let her pick her way through. We must remember that our horse does not want to fall or trip anymore than we do. The really funny thing I have experienced is when they put new patches on the black top. It is very dark and she thinks they are big holes. It is so funny to see her advoid them until she figures it out. -- "Built FJORD tough" Carol M. On Golden Pond Northern Wisconsin
