>>>> When I got into TWH back in the 70's that was exactly the way I was taught to ride by a walking horse trainer. I was taught to lean back
And that's exactly how I was shown to get gait in the one and only Icelander-led clinic I attended, in 2003 I believe it was. I have it on video, and a good many people on the list have seen it. A year or two later, one of the two male "clinicians" won some tolt title at the World Championships in Europe. I was stunned that his kind of riding would win at the international level. >>> and if I wanted a left lead canter then I just tapped the left shoulder with my left foot. Oh...one exception from that Icelander clinic, to how Laree said she was taught... canter cue? There wasn't any. The "clinician" just ran the horses into the canter, accepting whatever lead the horse gave. When I asked him how the show judges treated a wrong lead, one of his long-time American students (7+ years, I think) sweetly asked, "What's a lead?" She was planning to show one or two of her horses the following week in five-gaited classes, and didn't have a clue what a lead was. Sigh. At least YOUR rednecks knew what a lead is, Laree! :) Karen Karen Thomas Wingate, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.18/1104 - Release Date: 11/1/2007 6:47 PM
