Re: kicking

[Truman Prevatt <truman.prevatt@netsrq.com>]

At 04:48 PM 4/30/98 -0700, you wrote:
>
>
>--
>Rancho Occhialini
>"Where the fat guy lumbers"
>
>Short of actually running into a horse at speed and surprising it, there
>is no reason for an endurance horse to be kicking out because he is
>bumped.  

I am very conscience of where my horse is and where the other horses are
and I ride so that if the horse in front of me dropped dead I would be able
to avoid it. On a single track trail this means being able to stop with
sufficient distance between my horse and the horse in fornt.  On a two
track trail or road this means being able to pass the horse without incident.

Several years ago two of us were on the last two miles of the ride.  We
were  first.  It was on a dirt road so we were side by side at a gallop.
The other rider's horse tripped and went down and the rider fell in the
middle of the road toward my horse.  Because of the way we were riding -
respecting each other space - I was able to avoid a turning a serious
accident into a fatal accident.  

It was my responsibility to ride in such a manner that I could avoid
turning this accident into a much more serious accident.  I expect the
riders behind me to ride the same way - even in a group on a single track
trail.

Truman