On Tue, Apr 03, 2007 at 10:27:59AM -0700, Judy Ryder wrote: > "Never touch the horse with your lower leg. That's just asking for trouble, > an Icelandic riding teacher had scolded me. A lot of Icelandics are trained > with no leg at all, explained an American who owns several. An American > rider gets on them in New York and ends up in Oklahoma."
...whereas stjarni is trained to transition up with lower leg contact; to tolt if my seat is low, to trot if my pelvis is tipped forwards. he has never bolted on me (or, more importantly, my beginner students), unless you count getting out of the way of an out-of-control belgian on a too-narrow trail, which i think was good initiative on his part. the only icelandic/american training difference that has caused me personal feelings of lack-of-control has been from the canter or gallop. i tried pulling on both reins. on one horse i had apparently asked for a flying pace, which he happily gave me and i didn't like at all :) the other horse (my own stjarni) he tucked his head and went faster. on the other hand, after i mentioned this to my american-in-iceland friend, she suggeted alternating reins or squeeze-and-release, squeeze-and-release -- which worked perfectly. i'm told this is also how tb's are trained, so it's not a solely icelandic practice, either. --vicka
