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The Jbird is a trotting machine. He canters in sand but on hard pack he 
has a very nice ground covering trot - almost think it is a little on 
the lateral side, i.e. gaiting since it is so smooth. He can canter at 
this speed, however, his heart rate is lower at the tort. He will 
literally trot past cantering horse. When we canter is when we crank up 
the speed a notch or in the sand where he knows how to get up out of it.

The one I have started is going to end up preferring the canter. There 
so many variables involved in which is the best for a particular horse. 
He has a nice little rolling canter at liberty and he canters everywhere 
so I figure once he gets some dressage training under his belt the 
canter will be the gait of choice for him.

The hard and fast rule is - well it depends.

Truman

Linda Hedgpeth wrote:

> her daughter, a slighter build and taking more after the sire on the 
> other hand is a cantering horse...  the kind you feel must have 
> carried the sheiks across the desert, easy riding long reaching 
> rolling ground covering gallop. and her pulse goes down when she's in 
> it compared to her trot.
>
> *******
>
> I can relate to that.  I once had a Halynov gelding who was the best 
> canter-er I've *ever* ridden.   Everything else being equal (terrain, 
> temps, etc.), he would canter at a lower working heart rate than at a 
> trot.   I would love to hear more about cantering vs trot, because 
> I've always wondered about that as a gait choice in endurance.   It 
> seems more people (that I have seen) at rides trot, but if one has a 
> talented, efficient canterer......why not that choice as a gait?
>
> I used to marvel over this gelding's yummy rolling canter, and on 
> occasion would canter him very long distances to see what his heart 
> rate would do. It would actually drop from what it had been at a trot 
> and stay there.   He could do that nice easy canter while my riding 
> buddy's horses would be doing a med-fast working trot.   I would 
> always change his leads regularly so he could use his muscles on both 
> sides equally.   Lordy, it was heaven on horseback!
>
> I've got his six year old half-brother I think will be a primo 
> canterer as well.  He is still green, but as such, his canter is 
> wonderful.   I can't imagine how sweet it will be when he is 
> conditioned, and his canter is cultivated.  I would enjoy hearing more 
> about the pros and cons of the canter in endurance.......not as a 
> means for going fast, but as a gait choice over the trot.
>
> Linda

>



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