Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Barbara, How DO you teach a horse to lengthen in the walk.  I have an Anglo-arab, walks slower than molasses.  Can't stand it!  We almost never walk cause its too damn slow.  He just mosies along, other horses pass, then he trots to catch up.  Should mention he has about 8 different speeds in the trot, from relaxed jog to full out extended, 'you can't catch me' trot.  I've ignored the walk for the most part, but have always wondered if it could be improved upon.  Thanks, Jennifer.

 Barbara McCrary <bigcreekranch@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I have to agree with Heidi.  To me, the walk is a most important gait, and I hate, hate, hate riding a slow-walking horse.  If I'm lucky to have bought a fast walker......yippee!  If not, then I set about to encourage the fastest walk a horse can deliver.  There are ways of training a fast walk, if the horse has the capability of doing so.  I also love a horse that has the strength and will to do a running walk uphill.  We train on HILLS, always, and we have two horse that can just power uphill, at a sort of running walk.  It surely leaves the other horses breathless......

 

Barbara McCrary

 

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Heidi Smith

To: Truman Prevatt

Cc: Bonnie Davis ; bekosso@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ; greymare@xxxxxxx ; ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sent: Monday, February 03, 2003 6:56 AM

Subject: Re: [RC] pacing anglo

>Gaited horses - especially the walking horses and five gaited horses - can walk out. If they don't they won't gait. The orverstird seems to come with the package and as they get stronger the walk gets faster and more powerful with more over stride.

 

Have found this true with the "gaited" Arabs as well.

>The old time walking horse trainers - when they used to spend time on them instead of trying to get the two minute maricle for the show ring - used to have a rider take the horse out day after day and just walk and walk and walk. They would say once they can walk everything else falls into place.

 

One of my cornerstone bits of advice has always been that the walk is the most ignored gait in endurance horses as well, and if one spends time developing the walk early on, everything else benefits as well.

>When I was riding the mare (TWH) she had a walk that would require others to trot to keep up. I measured it one time - 6 miles in one hour.  This is the plan old easy flat footed walk - no running walk, no gait. The one thing about it is the thrust that comes from the hind end on every stride. You can really feel if you're not loose in the hips it can get to you.

 

Yep on all counts.  The stallion I previously mentioned likewise would walk at about 5.5 mph pretty consistently.  The final 12 miles of the Santiam 100 that I mentioned was done with an average well over 5 mph--and I've sat at enough finish lines in the night to be able to tell you that the average speed of a walking endurance horse at night is between 2 and 3 mph.  Definitely an area where many horses could use some work.... 

>With non gaited horses that will gait and have a big walk, I suspect if you looked hard you'd find there are two components. One is clearly wiring that gives them the tendency to gait and also conformation that gives them the big walk.

I agree on both counts.

 

Heidi

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