ridecamp@endurance.net: [endurance] twh and distance riding

[endurance] twh and distance riding

videoman (videoman@netcom.com)
Sat, 20 Apr 1996 12:47:25 -0700

"I've been training my horse for an endurance ride the first of June. I
purchased Chance, currently a six-year-old, in the spring of '95. He has a
wonderful fast walk, smooth as ice, and he's so fast that all the other
horses with us, even the TWs we've ridden with on the trails, have broken
into canters to keep up. I know one isn't suppose to canter a TW, but I
plead guilty that a couple times (not several, only two or three times) last
year I allowed him to break into a canter (curiosity, I guess, as to how he
would move.) I gave him a break from riding most of the winter. Now, when
I ride him, I'm playing hell to try to get him into his running walk. He's
pacey. I'm blaming it on the fact that I had cantered him. I tried the
recommendation of John Lyons mentioned in his book (when a horse isn't moving
the way you want him to, bounce hard up and down in the saddle. The idea is
that the horse will find it uncomfortable and will learn to move into the
proper gait--you quit bouncing when he's doing it right.) Well, I'm popping
up and down like popcorn atop my saddle, and Chance is just cruising along
like nothing's bothering him. Thinking it was the vosal I'd been using on
him (perhaps didn't set his head right, although he seemed a "natural" at
walking out without any need to conciously properly set his head), I went
back to the pelham bit (he hates bits). I've been getting a little bit
better response from him to walk out, but he still gets pacey often enough to
get me aggravated. Any recommendations on how to encourage the "walk out"
and discourage the "pacing"?
(Note: I will never canter him again.) "

response:

I am conditioning my TWH for distance rides. We plan on competing in June -
are we aiming for the same ride I wonder - Mt. Laguna, CA?

Anyways. You are having many of the same problems I have. However, canter
is OK!! He hasn't been real big on cantering until recently, when I changed
saddle pads - when I bought him he hadn't been trained to canter and I think
it was hurting his back. Now though, he loves cantering and as he's
learning balance is getting very smooth. Also, he lost his running walk
altogether for awhile, but it is coming back now to some extent. I have no
idea what I did or what happened to cause him to lose it. Probably just
because we are riding for the trail and not the show ring. The horse knows
to pick the gait that suits the footing and speed the best. On trail he
walks, running walk, pace, trot, canters and gallops. He's also racked, fox
trotted and tried to do the paso largo :g: Silly walking horse. As I've
heard many others state. I chose the speed, he picks the gait. I get the
smoothest running walks going up hill on uneven terrain...

I do work him in the arene once a week, working on specific cues for his
gaits, bending, etc. Also his ground work.

I have had a number of walking horse professionsla look at him, though I
haven't put him in "training" due to money. None have had a probblem with
his cantering.

Just my 2 cents.

Also, feel free to write me directly and we can comiserate :g:

- Carrie and Graham (TWH)
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