OK, along the lines of trot vs. canter I'd like to throw in this thought. I, finally, do have a horse whose heart rate is actually lower in the canter than it is in his version of an extended trot. Until I got this horse (American Spirit) and a heart monitor I thought ya'll were making this stuff up or lived in some sort of mountain terrain where every thing is topsy-turvy from what I'm used to dealing with down here in Florida. Anyway, my thought is that even though the heart rate is lower in the canter, the respiration rate is not. The rate of respiration is higher in the canter than it is with the trot, as it is with all my other horses, and though I don't have a monitor to show the numbers I do believe they are significantly different. So, my question is: How important is the respiration rate, compared to the heart rate? Are they equal, or is the respiration rate not near as important as the rate of the heart? And, if it is a given that the respiration rate will be higher in the canter than in the trot (even an extended one) wouldn't the trot be more efficient for the horse, overall? I told ya'll Leonard was a cool dude. I'm still pondering on that "cheap horse in an expensive trailer" comparison (sounds like me in a tux at my daughter's wedding), or, my favorite, "the heavy weight rider in the States vs. all those lightweight jockeys in Europe." I must say the Germans I used to drink beer with, when I was stationed over there, never quite qualified as jockeys, weight wise, but, then again, they didn't ride horses either. I would just love to hear an American rider describe a European endurance ride sometime. Talk about a fish out of water. I'm so glad Leonard came over here and told it "like it is." Too cool, dude! cya, Howard (who no longer does French jokes! And, yes, I know Leonard's from Belgium) ----- Original Message ----- From: Dot Wiggins Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2002 2:22 AM To: ridecamp Subject: [RC] canter? trot? I have found that some horses, seasoned ones, there is no difference in heart rate between trot and canter unless they change speed or the terrain changes. Others just do better at one or the other gait. Horses seem to be more athletic with a long forearm and short cannon (and the good QHs have this too) but a more upright arm, elbow to point of shoulder, often has a better trot. Need to find out which is best for each horse and use it, but still change off part of the time. I find the trot safer and steadier in rougher ground. The horse can stay balanced better. Over rougher footing I don't post, just stay still over the stirrups. Horse can adapt to ground only, doesn't have any extra motion from me. I will ask younger horses to keep to an easy trot, they are less apt to get race fever than at a canter. When we are further along I want a canter when the footing is good, and try to get both leads alternately. My seasoned horses will trot, canter left, trot, canter right, pretty much on their own, but have been known to keep sneaking in bigger strides with the speed creeping up. <bg> We're not talking about "walk" here but a big, busness like ground covering walk is the hardest to teach and also very useful. And all horses can do it better than we think.
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