Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Pre-Ride VC Issues and a few others

> This is a training issue and while I feel that part of every
> conditioning ride should be practice trotting out and trotting in
> circles - that's a personal opinion and nothing more. My horse will trot
> out, even when he is  dead tired, on queue without any external help. If
> he would not trot out at a check I would pull.  He is been trained to
> trot on voice command. He's not very animated about it but he will trot
> out, stop turn around and trot back - usually trying to snatch a bit of
> grass along the way.  While some horses need the be hazed - it should
> not be disallowed, but I do think the fact that it has to be hazed is a
> piece of information that should be used in the vet's evaluation. We
> don't  need a rule.

I agree, Truman, and while I am not particularly pleased to have to watch
horses that aren't properly trained to trot out, it is not difficult to tell
which ones are simply uneducated, and which ones are too tired to move out
of their tracks.

I have to admit to doing a rather poor presentation myself at the post-ride
check at Fort Howes--my horse was neither particularly tired nor untrained,
but tubby, tired rider was pooped and was not paying attention and didn't
cue him worth a darn going away from the vet, so it appeared that I was
dragging him, and he was kind of startled by it and hung back.  On the way
back, though, I cued him properly and positioned my own body correctly, and
he came flying.  So there can be "operator error" as well.   <g>

Heidi


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