Hi Karen >>>I understand that our conversations morph quickly, but when I started this subject line, I wasn't talking about cutting horses. That's a whole 'nuther ball of wax, from the way I've heard the warnings against the use of legs on Icelandics.
While the topic did morph, I started the morphing with the reining horse analogy; I don't think it entirely different. I have know quite a few people who buy and ride cutting horses who are not great or experienced riders but have the trainer work the horse and they get on and do their best to stay out of the way. One of the reasons that they keep their legs off the horse is, yes so the horse can show he is doing the job, however, if a leg does go on the horse it means that the horse needs to move NOW. There are different ways of achieving this but a common one is the use of spurs used rather clearly. So if a leg touches the horse they move. With riding Icelandics trained in Iceland I think it also depends on what type of riding a person comes from. If a person is used to a sensitive horse I didn't find they had so much trouble - but if they came from either really dead sided horses that they were taught to kick or they came from a hunter background where they were taught to hang on with the calf then that could be a problem. Having horses understand the use of a light leg, but not be afraid of accidental bumping, is something we have worked on with many imported Icelandics. It was something that we stressed when buying horses and sometimes the horses were quite fine and sometimes not. We have imported about 400 Icelandics over 30 years and ridden that many more in Iceland while trying horses. The leg sensitivity issue did get better as we went along. I definitely rode some horses in Iceland that were WAY more sensitive (actually I would say nervous and uneducated about the leg) than I would ever consider for resell but I also rode some great horses that were really suitable. If I don't know how a rider is trained or used to riding I will often advise riders to be sure not to kick the horses (I think it rude to any horse) and start out by giving light signals. I think many of the Icelanders might do the same thing as a precaution if they don't know what the rider will do. For those of you who have gone trekking in Iceland what were you told? Have you ridden many imported horses? If so did you find them all overly reactive to your leg? I would guess that from how you ride most of them would not be a problem for you but I don't know your experiences. Robyn Icelandic Horse Farm Robyn Hood & Phil Pretty Vernon BC Canada www.icefarm.com
