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[RC] travelling wide - k s swigartAngie said: Con: If I'm working him on a really great hill that happens to be the shoulder of the road with a good slope, it seems to me that the extra width makes the slope more extreme so one rear foot is hitting about 5" lower. I can slow down and bring the rear end in some or canter where he can sort of line everything up. While I am willing to concede the possiblity that there are some horses that conformationally travel "wide behind" because that is just the way their legs are made, if a horse travels wide behind at the extended trot but tracks up straight at other gaits, this is not a conformational thing to do with the way their legs are made. If a horse's hind legs are set on in such a way and it has such a wide barrel that it can't get the hind feet forward without spreading them out and its stifles make the legs point outwards, etc. it will travel wide behind ALL the time. So....if your horse tracks straight at the walk and the canter but is wide behind at the trot, expecially if it is a big extended trot....then the most likely cause of this is that the horse has hollowed out its back and is heavy on the forehand. As evidenced by what Angie added: Kaboot travels as wide as they come. ... I will admit Kaboot's a bit heavy on the forehand. and... Ben, who also travels wide is a bit hollow when he trots, avoids the bit (feather touch) and a tad parky. But she also said: He's never had back trouble... He's been competing 10 years, 2,950 miles...7 100's hills & flat, lots of top 10's, two jackets, one win, one BC so I don't think traveling wide has hurt him any. I'd love to see my next prospect travel wide. So, while the dressage riders are probably right, your horse that is travelling wide behind is doing so because it doesn't have the strength in the back to round it up, but rather is hollowing the back and is heavy on the forehand. It is up to you to decide if you think this is a flaw or an advantage for an endurance horse. I certainly know plenty of endurance horses that have gone for thousands of miles down the trail with their backs hollowed out (whether they are wide behind or not) and heavy on the forehand. Just one thing to note though. A horse that travels in this way is not most likely to develop back problems (after all, the reason for it is because the horse is hollowing out its back and not using the back very much), but rather front end problems. Because "heavy on the forehand" means that the front legs will be subjected to more concussion. Where you want your horse to carry the majority of its weight while it is travelling down the trail depends upon the "strong points" of that particular horse. If you have a horse that has great hind end conformation and a short loin, getting the back and the HQ to do the majority of the work is the best choice. However, if the horse has a weak back and/or poor HQ conformation, but well conformed front legs, transferring the work to the front end is a good idea, wanting the back and the hind legs to do the work would be counter productive (to say the least). The arab breed as a whole, is not noted for is good HQ conformation and the "standard" that they are selecting for in today's show ring is actually selecting AGAINST a good HQ and a good back. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't individuals with well built hind ends and backs....and you are likely to find quite a few of them at endurance rides. Very few of the arabian horses I see at endurance rides have what I would call a "typey" back and hind end :) All that said, you won't catch me wanting my horses to travel wide behind. But endurance isn't the only thing I do with my horses AND I almost never ask my horses to do an extended trot. If I want to go faster than a working trot, I let my horses canter. :) (since there isn't a horse on the planet with a back strong enough to perform and extended trot for miles and miles without hollowing out the back and travelling heavy on the forehand :). kat Orange County, Calif. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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