>>>Another thing to consider for those for whom NH works is to > get PAST the tiny circles at any gait as fast as possible. Those are > very bad for the horse's muscluture and long-term soundness.
Yes, that is definitely something that we do not use or support, and that has been known in the gaited horse world for a long time. I don't think many people on our list "lunge" their horses per se, or round pen them. We have a round pen, but it's more of a "play pen"; it's not for running the horses around. In PNH, if you circle a horse, you do it just a couple of times, twice around, end. The more we all get educated in equine biomechanics and anatomy, the better and easier things will be for us and the horses. It helps to understand; knowing the information makes it easier to realize the negative aspects of icetolts. Judy http://iceryder.net http://clickryder.com