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[RC] teaching a horse to trot at vet checks - k s swigartIt is interesting to me to note that given this dicussion it should be apparent to most people that the "impulsion" of a horse trotting out at a vet check is much more a function of a horse's training than it is of the actual condition of the horse. Given that, it makes me wonder just how reliable of a measure this is for determining a horse's condition at vet check. _I_ have a horse that, before I got her, was trained as an arab halter horse (i.e. whipped into a frenzy to get her to trot out like a lunatic). It doesn't matter how tired she is, when asked to trot out in hand at a vet check, I had better get out of her way if I don't want to get trampled. I am convinced she would do this even if she were dead; she DID do it when she was tying up. As a way of evaluating her condition it is meaningless. If you want to be able to use a willingness to trot out with impulsion as a way of evaluating the physical condition of your horse, you would do well not to "teach" it too well, because if you teach it too well, the horse will do it no matter what (e.g. Amy Tryon's horse had been taught to jump so well that he jumped a huge fixed obstacle because he was pointed at it despite the fact that he had a ruptured suspensory). kat Orange County, Calif. :) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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