RC: Re: A picture is worth a thousand words

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

>I have heard that it is the exceptional horse that can
> sustain canter for very long distances over varying terrain with sometimes
> extreme elevation gains and losses

Hi Pat
Its not my (European) experience that it takes an exceptional horse to
sustain canter for a long time.  I surely depends on you adapt your
training.  If you canter for long periods in training then your horse will
be able to canter for long periods on the trail.
You only need to work a little while with a heart monitor to see a) which
pace suits your particular horse and b) if sustained canter is wearing him
out.
I don't think anyone's suggesting that they necessarily canter up and down
hills but sometimes I find that its easier for my horse to canter up a
steady incline as he gains momentum with the speed and so the climb is less
tiring for him.
I'm not training for any prestigeous event and the Olympics don't figure for
us endurance riders yet anyway, but I am interested in adapting my methods
of training to cater for the way the discipline is evolving.
I'm beginning to think that my horses are capable of a lot more than I
believed them to be and Tom made a comment a while back about shortening the
distances & increasing the speed in training and I'm sure this is the way to
go.  I'm talking obviously about a mature conditioned horse with the LSD
behind him.  Obviously with the younger horses there's no short cut to this
point.
I don't
Heather & Darrar, Pearl, Nayla & Syruss who just LUURVE to canter
SW France