I ride a very TB-y looking QH, who originally had
only two gaits -- a verrry slow walk and a nice rolling canter. His walk
is now faster, though still slow by arab standards. But, he now has
an 'okay' working trot and a very nice extended trot where his head bobs
slightly from side to side and he can just book along for miles on the
flat. For a long time, I wouldn't let him canter, forcing him to develop
his trot. Now we've added the canter back into the mix.
Cindy
----- Original Message -----
I compete with a quarter horse and basically I put
him into his quarter horse shuffle(slow steady trot) which is about 6-7
mph and that is where he stays for the entire ride. I also had to teach
him not to ride with other horses. Most Arabs trot too fast for him
then he gets stressed out. He did a year in competitive learning to
pace himself and get conditioned. In Ld he has started doing some
cantering (lymph-which is still slow compared to Arabians) but he is a
much fitter horse. Bottom line is a quarter horse will never go like an
Arabian and they need to be ridden differently due to their mass and
cooling issues. I would suggest some competitive rides before
heading to endurance. My two cents.
