Re: RC: Jumping to Conclusions?

[Jasmine Cave <toppere@siu.edu>]

If you are cantering down hill and the horse is collected he will have his
wieght on his hindquarters and rear legs only then all of that weight and
momentom will "fall" onto the front end. In the trot the horse is able to
shift much of his weight onto the rear because the trot is a two beat gait
so there is always one hind leg on the ground. This is why it is usually
better to trot or walk down hill. The canter and gallop is more difficult
because alot of stress will be put on the front legs and there is not a
whole lot the rider can do about it. In the canter one hind leg will carry
all of the weight, than one hind and the opposite front will carry all of
the weight, now one front leg will carry all of the weight. In the gallop
it is one hind, the opposite hind , the opposite front than the other
front, so the front end is carrying the most weight in this gait. This is
why when the horse canters or gallops downhill that his back will look
parralel to the hill. The trot is a bit different. The horse's back will
still look like it is parralel to the hill because the horse must let his
front feet touch the ground or fall. The difference is in the apearence of
the hindquarters. The hindquarters will "round" and let the hind legs reach
farther under his body thus carrying most of the horses weight. If you have
ever seen a greyhound go down some stairs this concept is easy to see. The
greyhound will have his back paralel to the stairs because his front feet
must touch the ground(he is not bipedal). His hindquarters will be vary
round to allow for his hind legs to come up under his body to support this
new center of balence. His body has moved back so that his but is almost
touching the stair behind him causing the load on his front legs to reduce
and moving it to the hind legs.
The original question was if the ride should go up the hill or down. I
think it should be up because this is easier for riders to do who don't
have many hills where they train or if they are on a green horse. 
jasmine
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