RE: [IceHorses] Re: Gait Adjustment??
I think this is like saying "Let me sell you a naturally gaited Icelandic Horse; and then let me tell you (sell you) how to "fix" him to be able to gait. What does this say about naturally gaited Icelandic Horses? I'm not so sure it tells us so much about the naturally gaited Icelandic Horse, but more about the "Would you like fries with that burger" mentality we have had shoved at us with re: Icelandic horses. Thank goodness there are enough of "us" now that it doesn't come up on THIS list much any more, but many of us remember the way it's been - you couldn't just buy the Icelandic horse, but you were expected to buy the Icelandic saddle, the Icelandic bridle, your bit had to come from Iceland, and of course, you could only train with folks from Iceland, and only Icelanders knew how to trim and shoe Icelandic feet. Yeah...sort of reminds me of the computer printer industry - I swear they make the bulk of their money on the printer ink and toner, while they virtually give their printers away. Same with the cell phone business - ever notice how they keep changing the adapters for your phone charger so you have to buy all new accessories when you get a new phone? They don't HAVE to do that, you know...they do it because they can. I DO think there are a good number of naturally gaited Icelandic horses...but of course, there are a noticeable number that aren't either. And, as long as we have farriers who are willing to manipulate gait, naïve people won't know what they're breeding, and that sure doesn't help the FUTURE of the naturally gaited Icelandic horse. It DOES make for a bright future for the "gaited horse" farriers - at least as long as new owners keep falling for their hype. Shame on Cornell for falling for the hype. Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.32/1131 - Release Date: 11/14/2007 4:54 PM
Re: [IceHorses] Re: Gait Adjustment??
On Wed, Nov 14, 2007 at 08:47:46PM -, Judy Ryder wrote: > > Rider Siggy, farrier Sigurdur Sigurdsson, and Cornell's Michael > > Wildenstein pose with a furry Icelandic horse (don't call them > > ponies!) after an in-depth seminar on shoeing and "gait adjustment" on > > the Icelandic horse. > > http://tinyurl.com/2jqgbf > > > I think this is like saying "Let me sell you a naturally gaited > Icelandic Horse; and then let me tell you (sell you) how to "fix" him > to be able to gait. i confess i am currently on the end of a narrow bandwith pipe, and have not read the url referred to. that said, i've been dealing with farriery issues with stjarni for much of the past few months (he threw a shoe, i canned my farrier, we've been transitioning to bare in front as well as back, long story short). every little change wrt his feet has made a BIG difference in his way of going. not his tolt so much as his trot. but i can hardly imagine that shoeing differently *doesn't* have an effect on (all) gait(s). heck, i walk differently in my different pairs of shoes, and they're not even nailed on... --vicka
[IceHorses] Re: Gait Adjustment??
> Rider Siggy, farrier Sigurdur Sigurdsson, and Cornell's Michael > Wildenstein pose with a furry Icelandic horse (don't call them > ponies!) after an in-depth seminar on shoeing and "gait adjustment" on > the Icelandic horse. > http://tinyurl.com/2jqgbf I think this is like saying "Let me sell you a naturally gaited Icelandic Horse; and then let me tell you (sell you) how to "fix" him to be able to gait. What does this say about naturally gaited Icelandic Horses? And what does this say about the breeding goals? Should the direction be to "fix" what's been bred, or to breed naturally gaited horses in the first place? Does the focus on how to "fix", "nail on", or "mechanize" a gait, overshadow concentrating on how to breed a naturally gaited horse? (Of course, they are ponies.) Judy
