You wrote:
> When you are in the race make her stay in the gait you have her in. Be
> very firm about it. Do not put up with prancing or misbehavior in any way.
> She has taught good disipline with the dressage training so do not let her
> become undisiplined and spoiled.
I agree with being firm about not misbehaving and not allowing the
horse to start to develop annoying vices (jigging, kicking, etc.). I
am afraid that I do not agree with making the horse stay in the gait
you have her in. I am pretty sure I understand what you are trying
to say - but it may be misconstrued.
A horse covering 50 - 100 miles cannot maintain one gait. He needs
to change gaits to allow him to rest various muscle groups if he is
to complete happy & sound! There are novices on the list that may
not realize that & think that the horse MUST trot or MUST gallop for
extended periods.
Perhaps better advice is to choose a speed & allow the horse to
choose the gait. If his method is a slow trot instead of a fast
walk, that's ok. (Jigging is NOT ok!) If he'd rather lope than trot
fast, let him.
The horse is the best judge of how tired he is & what gait is
appropriate to the terrain. We need to encourage the horse to
develop the sense to choose appropriately.
Linda Flemmer
ABF Challenger ("Rocket") & Eternal Point ("Major")
Blue Wolf Equestrian Supplies/ Blue Wolf Ranch
Chesapeake, VA
"In case of emergency - Fur side up, steel side down!"