From: "Karen Thomas" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >>>> I'm referring to Lee's statement in the section, How Does a Horse Do a > Pace or Stepping Pace, on page 157: "Horses that pace always do so with > "hollow" or slightly swayed backs." I don't think Stormur's back is > always > hollow or slightly swayed when he paces. > > I don't think anyone will fault Stormur's back for not being somewhat > lifted, and you've done a good job with that. But, he DOES still show > some > elements of hollowness, like the trailing rear legs. > That's all I'm saying, Karen. His back is not hollow. His one hind leg is certainly trailing, the other is well under him. > Which brings up something I'm curious about that you said earlier. You > said > you trained him from front to back, and you also told Judy to look at his > head and neck earlier. I've always been taught to get a horse going > "towards" roundness/collection/whatever degree you're aiming for, that you > should work from back-to-front, and that's certainly what I do. If you > mean > what I think you mean, then I wonder if he couldn't benefit from some work > that would not only lift his back, but would also encourage him to drive > his > rear legs more under him. I don't believe you can achieve that correctly > by > riding front to back. > I agree with you. However, in training, you never start with your goal. You have to go through a teaching process to teach the horse to move from back to front. In fact, you want to put as many steps between your beginning point and your goal as you can think of. It actually ends up allowing the horse to be more successful and progress faster in the training. I started Stormur using John Lyon's single rein riding, give to the bit, work, with a full cheek snaffle bit, no noseband. I did not use JL's round pen work with Stormur in his early training, though I have played with it a bit to learn how to do it correctly. I started from front to back with Stormur. It's not the only way to do it, but I believe that it builds in less braceyness, than starting at the rear, when you haven't taught the horse to be relaxed through his body. That said, there are some horses that I would definitely start with the rear end. > I'm also curious: what kind of saddle do you use on him? > I use a Sensation saddle. Mary
