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Re: [RC] Slow walking horse - Barbara McCraryI have a system that seems to work for me. With my heels I ask the horse to walk faster and check him up if he breaks into a trot. I just keep repeating this until he gets the point. I also alternate pressing one heel, then the other, as the horse walks. I think I press my left heel as the horse steps forward with his left hind, press my right heel to move his right hind forward. I keep rhythm with the horse's walk but also urge him to move forward faster. I have a favorite road I use to train for the walk. It is slightly downhill with a steady grade. It is also going toward home. The horses usually want to get home, so I use the combination of the gravity advantage with the "going home" advantage. It has worked very well for many horses over many years. I also insist upon a fast walk. I trained one of our horses to walk fast, but when my husband rides him, he is slower. My husband doesn't insist the horse move faster, he just rides without any cues. I do a lot of cueing, perhaps too much sometimes. My heels and hands seem to move a lot when I ride. Probably not the best idea, but the horses I ride seem to become adjusted to me and we work well together. I hate a slow walk so much that I either have to find a horse that walks fast naturally, or I have to determine whether the horse is capable of walking faster and willing to learn.Barbara ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kristi Schaaf" <iluvdez@xxxxxxxxx> To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, February 17, 2006 10:27 AM Subject: [RC] Slow walking horse I'm finally hoping to start my 8 yoa Arab in distance this year, after a few years of getting sidetracked. He's the second horse I've started and I will say that I miss my first horse's naturally fast walk!!! This guy walks so sloowwwww. That said, he could care less if horses leave him, which I see as 'a good thing'. I'm familiar with the mechanics of how to get a horse to walk faster, but I wonder if there's a link between his slow walking and his 'don't care if I get left' attitude. I know that there are many horses that can walk fast while keeping their emotions 'slow', but I wonder if they are usually naturally that way? In other words, is there a good chance I'll discover that I have to simutaneously slow his mind as I speed up his feet? What say you, those of you who have sped up a slow walking horse? Of course, the simple answer is "just try it and see", but it's fun to ponder it as I sit here on a very cold winter day, feeling like ride season is eons away. Kristi iluvdez at yahoo dot com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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