On Fri, 7 Dec 2007 08:33:04 -0800, you wrote: >The icelandic-style training would be one color, and have variations, going >to each side on the color line.
It's a good analogy. I think you also have to take into account that in Iceland, there are only Icelandics..... so you don't have Warmbloods for dressage, Arabs for endurance, QHs for reining, and all our other vast array of breeds. While any horse can of course do almost any discipline, there are specialist breeds within each discipline who seem to "define" that discipline. And in Iceland, for many years, the only thing that has really mattered has been the gaits. It's been decades since the Icelandic in Iceland has really been a true working horse, so the training method has come to concentrate on the gaits, redefining them so that the riders get the highest marks in competition..... ie, so they have a clear beat, high action and speed from the horse. Lately (in the past 50 years or so) Icelandic-style trainers have been cherry picking from lots of different methods, but many are still only really after training methods which will get better gaits. That said, there are many, many more "ordinary people" in Iceland who are working hard at other aspects of horsemanship who also deserve recognition, and not to be tarred with that negative "Icelandic-style training" brush. Mic Mic (Michelle) Rushen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solva Icelandic Horses and DeMeulenkamp Sweet Itch Rugs: www.solva-icelandics.co.uk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
