Extended Trot

["hn.heather" <hn.heather@wanadoo.fr>]

Have given this some thought (ie engage brain before opening mouth) and perhaps there is a danger in confusing fast trot with extended trot as they're not the same at all, as anyone who has ridden dressage will know.

 

In a fast trot the horse will generally but not always be bowling along as fast as possible with his weight on his forehand.  There is speed involved.

 

In extended trot "the outlined is lengthened to maximum without loss of balance" to quote Jennie Loriston Clarke in her Complete Guide to Dressage.  She makes no mention of speed.  In fact the horse covers more ground because of the lengthened stride in extended trot but theoretically goes little faster than a horse in medium or working trot.  In fact one of the classic ways to try and cover up the fact that a horse in supposedly extended trot which is not engaging its hocks correctly is to speed up the movement a bit, although most good dressage judges can see the difference.

 

Whats known as the "Russian trot" in arabians of these blood-lines could be more likened to a collected trot (I know I'm going to contradict myself here) with a lot of suspension but not a lot of forward movement.  It looks impressive in halter but is very difficult to sit in to.  Perhaps this what Donna Snyder Smith meant when she was comparing Bette's stallion's movement to a warmblood's.

 

With my russian mare when she was in her "big" trot she was actually going nowhere.  When she extended she lengthened her outline, flattened, and became more comfortable to post to and she started going forward.

 

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that extended trot is perhaps less useful in endurance than a fast trot because of the speed angle, but both will still long-term tire the joints.

 

Heather

SW France