ridecamp@endurance.net: Re: [endurance] Allowing a horse to choose his own gait

Re: [endurance] Allowing a horse to choose his own gait

Nikki Ward (u913558@student.canberra.edu.au)
Thu, 16 May 1996 13:23:05 +1000 (EST)

> I have tried letting my horse chose his own gait and his own pace and it
> has't worked out for me. Now I also make all the executive decisions!
> Betsy O'Shea and Afterglow

i think this very much depends on the particular horse, and rider. some
horses may need more direction than others, some may travel better if
left alone to do it. personally *i* don't like to have to tell my horse
what to do all the time, so i choose horses who like to think for
themselves, and i train horses to think for themselves - which is NOT to
say they do not follow my direction when i choose to give it. i'm very
lucky, dippy, my endurance horse, is a very cool character, and i don't
have to tell him not to race or whatever. left to himself he travels a
very consistent pace - (which includes changing gaits as the terrain and
his energy levels dictate). my job is to steer. having said that, dippy
also has a hock/stifle problem which causes him to trip. with time i have
learnt to recognise when it's about to happen, and immediately start
giving commands to avoid a fall. i have about a split second to go from
dippy totally in control, to me regulating stride length, collection,
speed etc etc. not once has dippy resisted my sudden resumption of
control, and once he is balanced again i usually relinquish control and
let him continue on. in really bad terrain i do take charge for longer
periods of time, which dippy willingly accepts. perhaps i should ride the
whole ride regulating his every move, but i personally believe we would
both tire alot quicker if i did. this is what works for us. saki, my
baby, on the other hand, will need much less direction on where to put
his feet, but much more control of his speed. he is the hotter of the
two, and has more "heart" - he'll run himself into the ground for me if
he thinks that's what i want. he doesn't pull or bolt, but if i let him
choose his pace, it'll be FAST. so my job on him will be to choose the
pace, and let him worry about the footing etc. but i still don't expect
to spend the whole ride telling him what to do - just giving him the odd
reminder should be enough.

as in everything, it's a balance, and the scales will weight differently
with every horse and every rider. so long as the two of you can come to
an agreement then you're doing the "right thing".

nik & the gang (taaj,saki, dippy & sabe) in australia