>Ok guys, keep your shorts on. No one's making a personal attack. Joe, did I
>ever a say that horses are physiologically incapable of being ridden. Tell
me,
>please, where I said that. Bob, I don't have a clue to what your talking
about,
>but the last time I checked my horse had bony projections called rib
>cages and inside
>those rib-cages lies the lungs, intestines, etc... Guess where the rib
cage is
>connected to--the veterbra. Yes, that's it. No, the belly isn't above the
>spine, or floating isolated in space.....it's supported by the veterbra of
the
>horses back. It is an amazing concept, I know.
>Guys, next time let's try not to skrew-up peoples words or put words in their
>mouth. Okay? End of conversation, I'm sure everyone else is as sick of
this as I
>am. If you continue to have problems with this, you can email me
privately if
>you like.
Lauren, Kelly ... chill, folks. I wasn't putting anybody down. I pointed
out a flaw in the analogy between a horse skeleton and a suspension
bridge.* And although I never claimed the horse was "designed" to carry
us, I pointed out that the horse does carry us quite well. As those 10,000
mile endurance horses with no skeletal damage demonstrate.
A few weeks ago some people complained that they were afraid to post
because someone would jump all over them. Well, this is a forum where we
exchange information, ideas, and opinions. We do not all agree (isn't that
what makes horse races?). If no one is to ever post anything that
disagrees with what someone else has said, this forum would become a "warm
fuzzy place" largely devoid of useful information.
If I write something you disagree with, I expect you to say so. It won't
hurt my feelings. What would hurt my feelings would be if you answered
something like "You stupid pea-brained numbskull, how could you say
something so idiotic?" But I believe we can disagree with the content of
people's posts without getting personal, or taking it personally.
I put this at the bottom, so those who don't care can skip it. To the
extent a horse's spine resembles a suspension bridge, it is a
weight-supporting structure suspended between the withers and the hips
(from which the ribs and soft-tissue supporting material is in turn
suspended). Somewhat as the road surface of a highway bridge is supended
from the piers. It is IMO well capable of supporting weight either above
or below, as long as the weight is properly coupled to the spine (good
saddle fit).
And, Kelly, I know you didn't say it wasn't -- but other people have used
the "supension bridge" analogy to make that claim. I first heard it 20
years ago.
--Joe Long <jlong@mti.net> Business: http://www.mti.net Personal: http://www.rnbw.com