Otherwise, I believe the horse must acquiesce to the gait that the rider
selects, given the balance amongst a whole host of factors: terrain,
horse's way of going, rider's ability to balance re the former two items,
horse and/or rider fatique, and most importantly the rider's assessment
of how well the horse can handle a given speed at a given gait.
Case in point: Mr T & Miss B travel at a racing trot with ease and
efficiency, high safety factor, resonable comfort for rider, at 9-11
mph. Above that, when T hits 16-18 mph, you'd better stand in the
stirrups and be darn sure you're on a road or level terrain. He trots
better and faster than most horses canter/gallop. Miss B doesn't like
the canter despite having a wonderfully balanced canter gait, she does
best trotting up to 14 mph on good going. Kasey does a dinky trot up to
8 mph, with good control & efficiency. Above that, he trips, gets
uncoordinated and royally uncomfortable. So we canter, 10 mph all
day--above that pace he again loses control so we SIMPLY DON'T DO IT!!!
And you'll hear Kevin & I going down the trail saying loud & clear to
whomever we are riding, "I DON'T CARE...!!!" WE CHOOSE THE GAIT...and
we darn well do whatever it takes to get the gait we want! And we do it
for however long it takes!
REMEMBER: You must have more time than the horse!
If you don't know speeds, get a friend with a car and measure the gaits.
If you don't understand collection...get lessons!
This doesn't mean you NEVER let the horse choose--what you do is allow
the horse to select within carefully defined parameters after YOU have done
your homework and understand speed/gaits/collection/safety.
I admit I'm conservative...and it's always gotten me home in one piece on
a sound horse.
Diane @ Safe Haven (a bit adamant on this point! sorry!)