Posted on 06/09/2004 9:16:00 PM PDT by pettifogger
I think that allowing him to get away with it would just encourage more of the same.
When I used to ride a very restive and fidgety T'bred mare, she HATED to wait in line in class for her turn to run a jumping course. To avoid arguments, I would allow her to walk in little circles, but I gradually trained her out of that because I could not let her do it in a flat class! It took months, but she finally would stand still.
Probably a little. But I think the dignity of the situation perhaps is more interrupted by the handler trying to correct him than the horse being a little fractious. The handler acted like a walking post the horse is tied to. He never moved, never reacted to the horse at all, not during the procession or waiting at attention at the end.
I understand that you can't do any obvious corrections during the ceremony, especially since with a fractious horse it just tends to snowball . . . my mare is more likely to start nudging my elbow out of boredom or rubbing her itchy places on my side or searching my pockets for possible treats . . . if she were a caparisoned horse (she is black after all) the poor handler's uniform would be covered with foamy green smudges all down his right side . . . yuck!
Maybe that's why they hold them so short ;~D
No corrections, but no comfort either. A lot of it was nervous fidgeting.
I wonder how much voice you could get away with. Some horses respond very well to a soft calming voice or a hum. I talk to my mare and she seems to like it. Of course, I'm always massaging her neck, tickling her chest, or pulling her ears. She gets a thorough massage all down her spine while I'm bathing her after class. I'm a "touchy-feely" horse person!
Thank you! The pictures are wonderful.
Great Pictures.
Did you notice if the cadets were from VMI, Va. Tech or the Citadel?
Thanks!
Sad to day, I don't know! There was a USAFA squadron that was not pictured, but I guessed the cadets in the grey were West Point. Didn't even consider VMI or Citadel (thousand pardons to current cadets and alum).
We asked those questions as they passed by. I immediately thought VMI but the consensus among our group was West Point. They were all sharp as tacks especially considering the heat.
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