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Re: [RC] Conditioning help - Julie Fuller

Thanks to you all.... I was looking for a general idea, and now I have one.

My last mare (that I rode many miles in five years, was an arab/appy cross with an amazingly fast walk, especially for a small horse. (She was 14 hands) She kept up with TWH's, so I was especially curious about them (Thank you Truman!)

The only time I actually timed her to my satisfaction at a walk, she averaged 7 mph. How I wish I had that mare still!!!! The horses I have now seem so sloooow at a walk!

I think most people simply don't work enough on building speed at the walk. It certainly can be done, like any other gait. It's one of my pet peeves with horses... I abhor a pokey walk. And if you pay attention, most horses are decidedly faster walking toward home, (or the trailer, or camp) than they are leaving. In my opinion, if they can walk faster home, they can certainly do it heading the other direction! So, I ask it of my horses, a lot. It may be that MY legs get more sore than theirs in the beginning (from constantly asking for more speed) but in the end, these horses will walk faster. (A riding buddy of mine used to call me "The Borg" trainer.... Resistance is futile! *grin*

Riding always in the hills, I have become an advocate for developing different speeds in every gait. You have to when you are riding up down and sideways. And developing different speeds helps the horses pick the best one for any given terrain. Granted, this takes a lot of time, but isn't that why we do endurance? So we can spend hours and hours in the saddle? *grin* That's why I do it, anyway.

Thanks again for the input guys..... And when I get to know my new trails and horses better, I'll let you know how they measure up!

Julie

PS.... The crocuses are blooming! And I had a fly in the house a couple days ago!

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The two best drugs to have in your kit are Tincture of Time and a Dose of
Common Sense. These two will carry you through 99.999% of the problems
associated with horses and endurance competition.
~ Robert Morris

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Replies
Re: [RC] Conditioning help, heidi