re snoozing pony

["jo" <fltofan@molalla.net>]

hi carol,

my name is jo calver-obrien and  i've been endurance riding for 20 years. 
in that time i have had 3 or 

4 different endurance horses and fortunately or unfortunately i had a horse
that did similar things

that you describe. the yawning i'm not sure about, he didnt do that but as
for the falling down

part, my horse would do it with unexpected regularity.  he flat would not
lock his knee.  now we

went to great pains (my riding buddies) to disect what he was doing.  very
relaxed, doing his work

as asked and down to the knees in a split second and back upwith effortless
ease.  i got tothe

point were i would tap him on the shoulder every so often just to make sure
we were both on

the same page.  nothing was physically wrong with him, we got his medalion
in distance riding in

1988 and was retired at 18.  you just never could completely relax on him,
always readyto grab

a hold of reins to balance his recovery.  he would also resent sweat on his
head, but an occasional

squirt from a water bottle keep the sweat moving and not so irritating.  it
did take awhile to get 

him useto that.  locking your knee seems pretty basic, like breathing, but
not to him.  take heart,

this is what makes endurance riding a challenge.


good luck    jo in oregon

p.s. hope you use a helmet.