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Icelandic Horse Information and Resources
Notes on Training Thoughts to Keep In Mind Natural Horse Supply and Training Natural Horsemanship with Natural Gaited Horses Leslie Desmond and Bill Dorrance
Why Does Your Horse Kick Out Preview of Bill Dorrance's Book
Monty Roberts Review
A while ago I saw an article in Pegasus, an excellent Austrian horse magazine that covers a lot of very useful information on Icelandics, about rough riding in the Icelandic horse world. The writer commented on how a number of riders place the saddle too far back, which also places the girth too far back and is uncomfortable and unhealthy for the horse. At the World Championships in Holland one rider got a warning for placing the saddle too far back, but wasn't disqualified. The article also talked about rough riding, riders training their horses for Tolt 2 (where you have to tolt on a loose rein) by holding the hand very far forward near the horse's headstall and at home jerking on the headstall to keep the head up and the horse tolting. When in competition the hand comes close to the headstall the horse knows what to expect next. The Icelandic bit, as well as using it in Tolt 2 with a tight curbchain was also mentioned in the article, as well as a mention that some riders are too heavy with their hands, too quick with their whips and too short with their temper. A Note from Brigit from the Netherlands I just wanted to share a lesson I learnt last weekend... Two young girls, well-trained classical dressage riders both, came up to a friend of mine; having spotted the Icelandic mare Fluga he was tölting around on. They'd never ridden (or even seen from close up) an Icelandic and were dying to try the tölt. One after the other, they had their ride -- and BOTH rode a better, more relaxed, less lateral tölt than either my friend or myself got from Fluga. Without any gaited training whatsoever in their lives. They just sat beautifully, had wonderful hands, and collected the horse gently. I'll be honest with you: I for one was *flabbergasted* :-}! Perhaps rather than concentrate on the gaits so much, it would pay to go back to basics and practise that stuff that all too easily gets overlooked when we're out having fun with our Iceys?
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