>>>> With a horse which is "just" running away, proper training (of the horse or the rider, whichever is necessary), or resolving other issues such as pain, nappiness, over-enthusiasm, running home, catching up with other horses or whatever is the cause, will sort the problem out.
But, what about the typical Icelandic bolting scenario we hear about so often, where a relatively novice horseperson buys the horse after trying him out and then he gets to his new home and bolts with his rider. Why do we hear about this scenario so much more often with Icelandic's than with other calm breeds? In this case, it's basically a done-deal, she/he owns the horse, and if there was a 30-day suitability guarantee, it may be over. The situation has to be coped with, and hopefully, the horse isn't going to just be passed on, getting more and more confused with each change of ownership. This is most unfortunate to get to that point, but once at that point, would a beginner rider/beginner horse owner have the perspective/experience to isolate the cause? I don't think so. So...what then? I don't think it's helpful to argue whether the horse is running away or bolting. Both situations - IF they are different, and I tend to what you describe are only degrees of difference of the same problem - are dangerous. How does a person in this situation break the cycle? That's the relevant question, or so it seems to me. Mic, you've admitted you've had some fear. But you have been riding -what? Twenty plus years? And you just admitted that you can feel out of control and you were talking about horses that you've owned for years - what about someone who suddenly and unexpectedly finds themselves on a horse they may own but don't have a long history with, and suppose the person has been riding only maybe a year or so...? You wrote: "I can ride gallop competently over most terrain. Most places I ride the footing is good and the horse I'm riding is sure-footed anyway. My horses are not usually spooky, and not usually that fit that they would be able to gallop for miles. Yet if I get on the beach or the airfield and feel out of control (or even as if I might get out of control) I go completely to pieces. It's not the fear of falling off - it's the whole being out of control thing. Horrid. But I do know, that 99.9% of the time, if I really really have to, and I don't panic, I CAN stop the horse at least long enough for me to get off it. If I was on a genuine bolting horse that would not be the case." I think you hit a huge part of the issue with the Icelandic bolting issue in what you said. I'd ask you: WHY are you galloping if you know you have fear issues? I think that would seem pretty peculiar to a lot of mature riders in the USA, even those not particularly fearful, at least those outside the Icelandic influences. A heck of a lot of riders I know don't gallop - ever. Some do, yes, if they are comfortable doing so. And canter, yes, I know MANY more riders who canter, but not gallop. But within the Icelandic circles, most horses are taught to gallop from the get-go, and if a rider doesn't want to gallop, or is afraid to, he/she is is branded a sissy... And that speed-is-everything attitude is at the core of what little basic training WAY too many Icelandic horses ever get. Maybe THAT'S where the problem begins... Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.31/1129 - Release Date: 11/13/2007 9:22 PM IceHorses Community for Photos and Videos: http://kickapps.com/icehorses "The greatest enemy of the truth very often is not the lie- deliberate, contrived and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive and unrealistic." "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." ~ Arthur Schopenhauer [] Lee Ziegler http://leeziegler.com [] Liz Graves http://lizgraves.com [] Lee's Book Easy Gaited Horses http://tinyurl.com/7vyjo [] IceHorses Map http://www.frappr.com/IceHorses Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
