> The young horse evaluation started with mares and foals. Several > comments from the judges were "lack of energy'. Well, I watched 3 > mothers and > young 1-2 week old foals be chased for 30-45 minutes before being caught > and > hauled to the arena. They had lots of energy then. The mares were led > around > and then turned loose so they could be chased to watch the mother and > babies > gaits. The mother was then taken away and the foal was chased to watch > it > gait. Most of the foals were not happy. The judges did take note the > ones that > seemed to get the most upset and let the mothers back in quickly.
What a bummer! I think that is barbaric. Personally, I do not have much faith in the knowledge or the training and education of the judges. The gait of the breed is based on mechanical aids, so I don't know how they could learn about what makes a good natural gait. > It was really interesting to see how different some foals were in gait > and build. Yes, there is not much consistency in the breed in conformation or gait, and I think it has something to do with the lack of knowledge of anatomy, conformation, and natural gaits by the breeders, judges, teachers, and clinicians. This breed does not gait, for the most part, at liberty, and if it does, it's more than likely not a tolt.... so... how does the horse get the tolt as a signature gait? Mechanical aids! > I do not agree that "correctness of legs" is not really important. Maybe > I just don't know > enough to understand but being a physician I know that incorrect > joints/back > etc. will effect development of arthritis in humans. Maybe your eyes are more open than the judges and breeders. Maybe you know more than they do. >>>> I also learned the maximum boot weight is 120 grams. And we should be asking: why boots? why not natural? If the horse needs boots to protect his legs from getting cut by other legs, maybe he shouldn't be ridden; maybe he shouldn't be bred. Let's breed the boot out of this breed! Let's breed the boot out of this breed by breeding horses that don't cut their own legs off when they move. >>>People did really > seem to try to take care of their horses that were there for riding > evaluation. There was a lady watching that does therapeutic riding with > 10 > Icelandics in S.C. that made the comment "I have never seen a show where > the focus is > on the welfare of the horse like it is here." I think that people genuinely love their horses, but they don't have the depth of knowledge to know that the saddle that they just bought "made specially for icelandics" is painful to the horse, and the noseband imported from Iceland, told by a certified professional FEIF Holar trainer to tighten it real snug will make their horse have ulcers, and the pounding of the feet with shoes AND boots, is not too comfortable for the horse. I think they don't have the experience or knowledge to know when the fluff stops and when the hurt to the horse starts. I think that the people really want to see that things are nice and welfare-y for the horse, but if they look a little deeper, it isn't. It's very barbaric. Judy http://iceryder.net http://clickryder.com
