Nose in the air horse

[Deanna German <dgerman@earthlink.net>]

Hi!

Could anyone replying to Carla about her nose in the air horse reply to
ridecamp? Or at least cc: me since I'm very interested in the subject.

Isn't getting the horse to carry its head properly necessary before
engaging the hind end? As in, if the horse is travelling nose in the air
and all strung out, there's no way to achieve collection. Wouldn't
travelling that way be very fatiguing to the horse and thus a concern
for a distance rider? The fact that the horse can't see what's ahead
would also seem to be a concern....

I've heard/read/been told that collection cannot be achieved from front
to back. But I just can't fathom how collection would be achieved at all
unless you have at least the beginnings of a good head set (which to me
means flexing at the poll and no ewe neck). 

Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?

One other thing: somehow I managed to take lessons and learn to ride
without ever learning to do a good sitting trot (bouncy horses is my
excuse). I guess I probably did it long enough to appease the trainer,
then started posting the instant the trainer looked away since I never
got "cited" for it. Does a sitting trot accomplish anything a posting or
standing trot doesn't? I just can't get the idea out of my head that it
can't be good for the horse's back.

Deanna


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