A
horse that needs to be hit to work to its capacity is counterpart of the horse
that needs to be slowed down because it will run until it goes down. Competence
at distance riding requires that the rider judge the horse's fitness, as the
horse's opinion is quite often not reliable.
That
said, like Rojas said of the vaqueros, I'd rather have a wild horse than an
unwilling one.
-----Original Message----- From: Jessica Spoone-Raines
[mailto:jspoone@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2007
9:53 AM To: mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; Ridecamp
(E-mail) Subject: Re: [RC] Mariposa abuse
If a horse won't work to its physical capabilities
without being hit then its time to re-evaluate that horse/rider combo or the
training the horse has received. Just because a horse can run doesnt mean it
should. The only thing I have ever used a crop for is to tap my horses on the
shoulder to get their attention when they are spazzing. Kinda of like tapping a
person on the shoulder but with a bigger finger. My gelding will run his heart
out for me, I know this quite well. Thats why I am always doubly sure to not ask
him to. He is my friend and well you just dont hurt your friends, you try and
look out for them.
