I think havaklu and SM are both on track, I dont’ see a disagreement. I see using lunging for a horse who is running through the rider, when the rider is doing everything right. The horse’s altleticsm is increased, and he feels better able or fitter to be able to sit and wait, then rock off his hocks. Often a horse will rush the distance, not because of poor riding, but the percieved notion that he has to in order to get over. Gymnastics can help the rider who “allows” the rushing. We make the distinction between ‘chasing’ which is moving up at the last second, and ‘moving up’ as the smoother regulatoin of stride flow.
LOL!!!
I think the next thing on the aganda shoud be, what to do when a horse “sucks back”???
[This message was edited by Silly Mommy on Mar. 21, 2001 at 06:29 PM.]
MargaretF - Would you be test driving this method at Columbia by any chance?
Oooh Ooooh - That actually made sense to me, Kachoom!! Thanks! 
If you are approaching a fence at a pace and stride length which puts you at “n and a half” stides from the fence, there are two valid ways to correct it (and an infinity of ways to do it wrong).
If you “move up to the fence” you lengthen each stride by 1/(2n) per stride, so you get there in n strides instead of “n and a half”. (Of course, if you overdo it you can end with “n minus a half” which is just as bad.)
The other valid approach (“adding a stride”) is to shorten each stride by 1/(2n) per stride, so you get there in “n plus one” strides. (And again, if you overdo it you can end up with “n plus one plus a half”.)
