--- In IceHorses@yahoogroups.com, "Karen Thomas" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Do you know if George has been open to treeless saddles for a while, > or if he's just accepting of them because there aren't many treed options > for some horses, like our short-backed, wide ponies?
George mentioned that he made some treeless saddles in the past and that they did not work out so he bought them back. I think that is in one of videos, but he might have said it off camera. My impression is that he wants to protect the spinal process as much as possible with a wide channel, tree or not, and he was concerned about some of the Icelandic "pads" that he saw as bearing down too much along the spine. He is very pragmatic and not fixed on only one approach. For example, he showed me a saddle with an air system within the padding and he felt that was "first class" and what he uses on his 47 year old pony he talked about. Judy asked whether I could put the noseband sequence on YouTube. It is a good idea, but the horse that was used is jet black and the tack is also black. I'm afraid that the tack would disappear in YouTube's compression! One of the main points was to show on this horse how any noseband, unless it is a properly flash, can impinge on the soft tissue of the nasal passage of the horse and can restrict the air flow. There is a further point that I'm just going to toss out to the list. I have found that a considerable amount of natural horsemanship is discounted unless it is seen on some kind of high performance horse. Now that's just my observation and remember, I have not been in this all that long! But from people I have talked with, particularly in the Icelandic horse world, they really believe that various methods are needed in order to get the horse to perform. Why they need the horse to perform that way is another issue! The dressage lessons I have been filming are at the highest levels, FEI and international. When one shows something on a Grand Prix horse, no matter what it is, it commands respect or at least grabs attention! There are, of course, un-natural horsemanship aspects required in competitive dressage such as the full bridle, etc. But I was very impressed with the care used by this particular trainer with no sacrifice in performance. So when we see these horses dancing around and actually witness the exercises and training that went into it all, I think there is much more credibility to the points she makes about horse care. At the end of the sequence she comes down pretty hard on the Icelandic shank bit the way she has seen it used with nosebands. I just thought it best to keep it intact for the sake of credibility. Sorry to be so tantalizing about footage that is not up yet, but I have hours and hours of material to edit. Not all of it, of course, will deal with Icelandics, but it is all relevant. A lot of tough decisions so it does not become boring. I'm thinking of posting some alternative versions though for those who want to see paint dry. Stan Stan Hirson http://hestakaup.com
