> Perhaps this kind of thing is OK for endurance horses. Perhaps stride
> efficiency is not so important and concussion is not of a magnitude that it
> will affect the hocks and stifles. This is out of my realm of experience.
Stride efficiency and reduction of conncussion are ALL important in and
endurance horse. Endurance horses (unlike race horses) have to go all
day over the roughest and sometimes hardest terrain: paved roads,
cobblestones (in the WEG in Sweden), slick rock (actually sand stone, but
still hard), boulders, stones, clay roads, ice (for those of you planning
to go to Death Valley).
In fact, I would say that icreasig stride efficiency and decreasing
concussion should be one of the major goals of your training program.
kat
Orange County, Calif.
p.s. Of course, race horses don't have to worry about whether they forge
at the trot (what do they do for trotters? Cheryl?)