Sunday, July 10, 2011

professional pics from the fun show

I really like this first one.  Nina looks very balanced, her striding is rhythmic and even and her neck is coming UP out of her shoulders instead of that stiff and down posture that she adopts.  Maybe we are getting somewhere.
The others Nina looks good but I got into a shadow, just as well :-)
You can tell how bright the sun was by the shadows, this was around 9am, but it was a couple of days after the Solstice.  It doesn't get brighter than this!



5 comments:

  1. You know I don't know anything about horses, but it looks like Nina's reins are straight as can be? I am just curious--how can she pull her head up much higher? Wouldn't she have to pull against the reins? If she happens to have a sensitive mouth wouldn't she just lower her head to avoid pulling against the reins? Or do you let the reins slide through your hands if she needs more room? Sorry to ask such a dumb question.

    I can't get over how different she looks in the summer! She just shines and is so dark. Beautiful!!

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  2. They are all nice pictures, but I particularly like the second one. Too bad your face is in shadows! :-)

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  3. What a pretty girl. She looks very content with it all :)

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  4. Rita, the reins are straight because English horses are ridden 'on contact' which means a direct line of communication from the rider's hands to the horses mouth. Unlike a western horse that is ridden with a loop in the reins.
    The reins are not tight, I am not pulling on her and she is not pulling on me, it's just a connection. I CAN pull on her and she CAN pull on me - that goes away as training advances. A well trained horse who trusts the rider's hands will follow the rider's hands, up or down. An old adage is 'the hands belong to the horses mouth.'
    Nina was taught NOT to accept that contact and did not trust my hands for a long time. She curled her head down close to her front legs to try to prevent me from pulling on her. As she has built some trust that I am not going to yank on her mouth her head has come up to a natural position and her neck has relaxed. Did that explain it?

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  5. Yes, and the video you posted was great! I learn a lot from you!! Thanks, Barb. :)

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