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Re: [RC] Man vs. Horse speeds & Shermans Gap at the OD - heidiPlease Reply to: mkornwolf mkornwolf@xxxxxxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== For those of you who haven't done a ride involving steep ascents and descents, like the infamous Sherman's Gap at the Old Dominion, take my word that you go down steep hills much faster if you dismount and lead your horse. 2 legs are nimbler than 4, I guess. I get off anyway because it makes me feel sick to ride a horse downhill. And I usually get off on long steep uphills because "if your horse can only manage a walk, so should you" (time to feed carrots!) Having grown up in this sort of terrain, one of the first things I like to teach horses (once they have trail basics down) is how to round and go downhill gracefully. If it makes you sick to ride your horse downhill, I would submit that perhaps he isn't doing it correctly. But if he is, and you still feel queasy about it, then by all means it pays to get off! But I've found over the years that unless it is durn near vertical, 4-leg drive beats heck out of 2-leg drive any day! I was fortunate to start out with a whole family of horses that went downhill like greased eels--they taught ME what it felt like when it was done right, and in turn helped me to teach other horses less gifted. I personally hate to "waste" a downhill--that's one place where the horse doesn't have to waste energy to carry my weight (since gravity is working in his favor), and I've found that I can make time on a lot of timid riders going downhill without any extra strain on my horse. Years ago, Cliff Lewis wrote an article called "The Fat Man's Secret Weapons"--they were rocks, downhill, and darkness. It takes a pretty tough horse to make time through the rocks, but most horses with decent balance and athleticism can become downright good at downhill, and darkness is mostly a rider hangup anyway... :-) Just my nickel's worth... Heidi PS: Gene Nance used to put on a ride in central Oregon years ago called "The Dam Ride." It had a steep sandy downhill on it, and he used to brag that no rider would go down it mounted. I told him I'd be happy to take the bet, but it was about three years before I was able to actually attend the ride. When I got there and asked him if the bet was still on, he said, "Nope! I've SEEN your horse go downhill!" Sure enough, we jogged down it easily and passed a dozen or more riders off leading their horses, struggling... ============================================================ Just because someone tells you that your horse isn't "fit" for endurance...doesn't mean it isn't, it just means your horse isn't fit to be "their" endurance horse! Go for it, you never know what you'll accomplish with that "saddle horse" or "trail horse" of YOURS! ~ Darlene Anderson - DPD Endurance ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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