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[RC] Heavy on the forehand - Kristi SchaafSince recent posts have been about how endurance horses carry themselves, I have a question. I believe it was Kat who said there are horses who have done thousands of miles while heavy on the forehand. I know it's an undesirable trait, but I'm curious how common it is in distance horses. I've got a 5 yoa Arab gelding that I bought as a very green horse because I thought I saw the potential (ha - like I even knew what to look for - I saw those perfect hooves and straight solid legs and started drooling, and didn't look any farther). I started him with LSD this summer, and as soon as we started doing some trotting, I was disapointed in how choppy his gait was. I also noticed that he moved 'heavy' even while at liberty in the pasture. I posted to ridecamp this summer asking for suggestions, and Linda T-Jones/Bobby Lieberman emailed me some tips. I quit riding him and started handwalking him with a Tteam bit and a figure-8 ace bandage, just trying to get him to have better body awareness. After awhile, it seemed like he started moving better while at liberty. Then, a few weeks ago I had access to a researcher with a force plate, so we ran some tests. Well, my concerns were confirmed. The researcher told me that a 'normal' trotting horse puts 90% of his weight on each forefoot when he lands. My horse puts 110% (while being trotted in hand). That's like 200 extra pounds on every front foot landing! My debate is whether I should spend the time (mine) and/or money (for a trainer - know any in the upper midwest?) to see if this horse can be taught to carry himself well enough to stay sound for distance riding. Have any of you had any luck 'curing' a horse who didn't even carry himself well at liberty? Or am I tackling a doomed project? I really love this guy, but I don't know if I'm being realistic about changing him. Would he be better off as someone's 'plod down the trail' pleasure horse? Kristi (who will buy future horses with a much longer list of requirements) iluvdez at yahoo dot com __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Find out what made the Top Yahoo! Searches of 2003 http://search.yahoo.com/top2003 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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