>> Collection is not present in the easy gaits. Collection has an upward >> vector, and the easy gaits have an earth-bound vector... opposite, and >> that's what makes them "easy" gaits :-). If we collect them, they'll be >> trotting! > > Judy, do you mean ALL soft gaits, or just the racking family of gaits? > Because I was under the impression the running walk could have the > beginnings of collection, and the foxtrot could be collected to some > degree. > Is that incorrect?
All soft gaits... because the "beginnings of collection" aren't collection. Lee tried very hard to get a fox trot collected, but never succeeded and no one else has as far as we know. It is easier for us to use other words and not let "collection" seep into the verbage for gaited horses as it gets taken out of context. Interesting, because there has been a recent discussion on the classical dressage list about gaited horses (it pops up every so often) which reminds me that it's not really a subject that's up for argument with the icelandic-style trainers. The dressage-ists are aware that easy gaits aren't collected and are able to see it. Judy http://iceryder.net http://clickryder.com
