> and the Icelandics showed all of their gaits but their canter was > really, really fast and then going to some of the other demos, the > other breeds always showed a nice soft canter. I thought about it and > don't remember ever seeing an Icelandic doing a nice soft canter and > wondered if they can.
I think that as we move away from the icelandic-style training and riding, that we will (and *should*) see more of the soft canter in demos. That's my favorite gait :-). That gait alone, in my opinion, would show the horse off a little better, and make the horse more mainstreamed and more popular. My MFT, having a wide range of gaits, had the nicest soft canter, so easy to do canter departs. I recall people asking me to canter depart just so they could watch how easily she did it. And, which I've mentioned before, the most memorable day in my life, even over having our children, was the day I was riding home alone after leaving my friends from a trail ride, and decided to see if Lace could do continuous alternating flying lead changes, and for how long, which she did, just by my thinking about it, all the way down the road, so lightly, so easily. It was a wonder, a miracle of communication. Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
