From: "Judy Ryder" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> What do you see in the picture? What gait do you >> think he is doing? > > I think he's doing a stepping pace, bordering on hard pace. > I agree. > Stepping pace has a wide range, and I would place his, in this picture, > far to the lateral side. > I agree. I think if he were going straight, not on a large circle, he would probably doing a hard pace. > >> We seem to be coming from different perspectives, >> mine from a dressage >> background, the rest of the list from a gaited horse >> background. Does that >> make one way right and the other wrong? Does it >> create problems with a >> gaited horse? > > No, one is not right and the other wrong; I think the > basic principles are the same. > Yes, I think so, too, but the focus is different. I am concerned for Stormur's long term soundness, being such a pacey horse. So, I invested a lot of time teaching him to relax through his body and elevate his back. I think if he had been trained by a gaited horse expert, that he would look, and probably move very differently. I am not experienced with other gaited breeds, and the iceys I have met are, for the most part, stiffer and more hollow than Stormur. At 15, he is very sound, (at least, between laminitis bouts!) and his back is beautiful, so I'm pretty happy with the way things have worked out. He is my main riding horse, so gets lots of miles on him. > I'm not sure what you mean by "does it create problems > with a gaited horse?" > What I mean is: how does it affect the easy gaits? Does it change them, for better or for worse? > > OK. Back to your question about which image he looks > like on page 34. Not *exactly* like any of them, but > more like "hollow" than the others. > I agree that he doesn't look exactly like any of them. We'll have to agree to disagree, as I think he's closer to round. I suspect you are looking from the rear end forward and I am looking from the front end back! > I don't see "round" in this picture. > What do you see in his head and neck? > The reason I asked for other pictures, is to be able > to show you what I see. I'll do it with this picture, > but a picture from the side would be better. > I'll need some time to get the other photos out and scanned. I have some family here today and can only do it on my husband's computer, which he takes to work. > First, I think that looking at the topline is only a > little part of whether the frame is round, neutral, or > hollow. > I agree. But Lee talks about pacey horses ALWAYS having hollow backs, not just hollow frames, so does it make sense to talk about whether the topline is round, neutral or hollow? > I'm on my laptop at the moment (in bed, doing contrast > therapy on my elevated leg) and I'd like to mark up > his picture which I need to do on my desk computer, to > go along with additional comments. > I appreciate your input, Judy. Take your time. I hope your leg is getting better! Thanks, Mary
