Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Kathy said:

> I agree with all that, but still think "it depends" on many factors,
including how fast the horse is traveling to keep up. 

It does depend on a lot of things. My horse has slow gaits across the board,
and sometimes canters as slow as 8 mph, and he's certainly in a canter by 10
mph. We have other horses that are still easily in a trot at that speed.
He's 14, has 2400 endurance miles over 9 seasons, so it isn't because he's
young. If I try to make him trot faster, he uses more energy, and gets
annoyed. Better overall to let him go where he feels comfortable. He also
likes to mix it up, which is a little weird - 5-10 strides at a trot, the
same number at a canter. Makes some people nuts, but in over 2000 miles, I'm
used to it.

The thing I'd pay more attention to than gait is whether this is a
comfortable speed. If he's getting pulled by the other horses, is going too
fast for the terrain, then you need to find other horses to trail with, or
ask the riders to take it easier on you. Whether you're under control is
another issue - I used to ride a mare where canter was just a whisper away
from gallop, and away you'd go. My horse goes in a nice, calm, easy lope,
and that's fine.

I've been told that those big trots might be more prone to injury, so it
might not always be a good thing. 





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