Judy wrote: >>Here's the deal on the one-rein stop, my opinion: I think that if the horse is trained differently, with partnership and communication in mind, which keeps the horse's focus on the rider, and creates in the horse, the desire to be part of the partnership and invest in the communication, the resultant horse will be one that the one-rein stop will not be necessary. ... The horse won't be of the mind to take off, uncaring and disregarding of his rider.... It's a whole 'nother paradigm; one that we can't consider or even imagine unless we step outside of the box :-) <<
Mic wrote: >> I think that's a wonderful ideal, but at the end of the day, horses are horses, not people, and while under most circumstances they will keep their focus on the rider, there will inevitably come a day when, for whatever reason, that focus will be lost.... and that's when horse and rider knowing the one rein stop may mean the difference between life and death (if you're riding on the road, for instance)... Reasons for total loss of focus? Here's a couple I've had to deal with in the past: Riding round a corner and meeting up with the entire New Forest Hunt (60 riders, 30 or so hounds) in full gallop... and Riding past a gate in a huge hedge and having an extremely large Friesian cow jump to her feet in shock, at the same time clanging said gate with her foot so it breaks the string it's tied with, flies open and whacks my horse in the flank I don't know Mic... I think Judy is on to something. Sure, maybe it's pretty idealistic for most of us to achieve to absolute perfection, but if we don't set goals, we certainly never reach them. I've found that every time I raise my expectations for my horses, they rise to the occasion much more than I ever expected. Gosh, life is far from perfect here on our farm, and I'm certainly no master horseman, but I still keep striving... and my horses continue to surprise me. I don't yet think I live in the "'nother paradigm" Judy spoke of, but it's worth thinking of and aiming for - even if I never truly get there. :) I honestly DO believe a calmly and sensibly trained Icelandic horse shouldn't be putting a rider in danger by any of the things you mentioned - certainly not in any "life or death" sense...not if they trust their rider. I'm not saying that one will never SPOOK, but that if/when they do, they should come back to reality pretty quickly. (Key words: calmly and sensibly trained. I wouldn't say that for horses with serious prior baggage, certainly not for most riders, myself included.) Don't get me wrong - my horses DO understand the old "circle to stop" cue. I teach them that. But honestly, it's been a while since I felt I needed to use it in any real way - although I will occasionally circle my horse or ask him/her to bend to get his focus, but I'm usually talking to them, to reassure them while I do it. Now, this said, I'm not talking about a surprise face-to-face encounter with a snarling cougar or bear - nothing where a REAL predator is involved. Gosh, I HOPE my horses will bolt in such a situation, and take me with them! But a horse shouldn't put me in a "life or death" situation just because a COW surprised them! If they do, then shame on me for not exposing them to more situations, and for not having their trust. It's one thing to teach a one-rein stop, but another thing to DEPEND on it for the mundane, garden-variety trail surprises. Honestly, I hope never to have a face-to-face encounter with a REAL predator, but I try to be prepared for those "momentary-pseudo-predators" - like a cow, or a klutzy squirrel falling from a tree. :) Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.20.6/1282 - Release Date: 2/15/2008 7:08 PM
