Re: RC: Reply to rearing

[Lif Strand <fasterhorses@gilanet.com>]

At 06:08 PM 6/26/01, Jim wrote:
>I have had numerous horses rear when teaching trailer loading. They will
>rear to avoid the "go forward" into the trailer.  When that happens, you
>go with them and just tear up their front legs below the knee with the
>dressage whip.

Whooee, Jim.  Do that in front of me and I'll probably launch myself at 
you, rip the whip out of your hand, throw you down on the ground and have 
the horse sit on you for three beers worth of time.  And maybe when it gets 
off of you, I'll look the other way if it steps on your foot.

Besides the fact that I don't believe whipping solves anything in any 
*humane* manner, I can't exactly see how whipping a horse on the front legs 
would  1) encourage it to go forward or 2) discourage it from rearing to 
escape the pain.  All I see it as is gratuitous punishment which doesn't 
even acknowledge that the horse has got some *issue* with loading, or that 
the guilty party is actually the human who didn't properly trailer train 
the horse in the first place.


Lif Strand
Quemado NM  USA
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