Re: Tripping

[Fadaar@aol.com]

I think part of the problem I am seeing in the responses is that a lot of
people rely on the reins to keep their balance while their horse is falling.
If this is what it takes to stay on then go for it.  Of course there is no way
to study if the same horse with the same rider tripped the same way twice
which one will help the horse more.  However, I look at it this way - if I'm
walking on a sidewalk and trip on a crack, the last thing I want is for
someone to be pulling on me in any direction while I'm trying to regain my
balance.  As much as we would like to believe that our horses always have our
best interest at hart as we always have their best interests at heart, the
simple fact is they don't want to hurt themselves and they are going to take
every effort to accomplish that by not falling down.  Unfortunately, horses
are not always able to keep themselves upright as evidenced by the scar on my
head from brain surgery.  I took a corner too fast at a gallop and her feet
sliped out from under her.  There was nothing either of us could have done to
prevent this except to slow down.

Rita Mason and Fadaar