Karen, since I am rather new to the list, would you say again why Loftur is less stiff now? Did you find a way to relieve his pain? His stiffness?
Twist, the off-track Standardbred paced at the track, wearing the traditional track hobbles to enfore the pace. He has a very straight hind leg conformation, probably is genetically wired to pace, but he wants to please and does have a decent trot. He will default to hard pace under several situations (in harness, in the ring with another horse, when sore). Suggestions for helping him relax? Watching her in the round pen, I noticed our friends' Icelandic moves more stiffly than mine do, but the Mom in the family couldn't even get her to turn to the right. I suspect this is more a resistance than an inate physical thing. I could get her to turn by being sure she was moving actively forward when I asked, but she felt stiff and inflexible. Gait (whatever it was) was very easy. Nancy
