Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I had a feeling that I'd be opening a can of worms by saying that!  :p  Keep in
mind that my comment was specifically regarding the rack... which is one of the
ventroflexed gaits.

Asking a horse to maintain top speed (especially in a ventroflexed position)
over many miles is, in many experts' opinions, asking for trouble.  Read this
for more info: http://www.lizgraves.com/intergait.html

And YES, the same principles DO apply to non-gaited animals.  It's bad to trot a
horse at 15+ miles an hour for hours on end, no matter whether his back is
rounded or ventroflexed.  It's bad to trot a horse with his head in the sky for
hours on end, regardless of his ground speed.  (EGADS, now I've opened another
can!)

-SK





Quoting Mel Copeland <brio_gal@xxxxxxxxxxx>:

> How could something that comes natural to an animal be bad for it?  I can
> see extreme speed for a long time taxing the animal, but wouldn't the same
> principles apply to non-gaited horses?  You would not want to canter or even
> trot (in some cases) a horse over broken terrain.  IMHO, the same common
> sense rules of riding apply to all horses gaited or not.  You know what the
> horse can and cannot do and you don't push them beyond their limits or put
> them in unsafe situations.
>
> I have ridden a gaited horse that had a very fast gait in place of a canter.
>   In my mind riding that horse in that fast gait is no different than
> cantering a non gaited horse.  It is not a stunt, just what that horse does
> naturally.  If you pushed that horse into a canter it would become very
> discombobulated (sp?) and was much happier in a fast gait.
>
> OK-that is my 2 cents :-)
>
> Mel
>
> > From: sharon1359@xxxxxxxxxxx
> > To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Subject: Re: [RC]   [RC] those VERY fast gaits
> > Date: Wed,  1 Sep 2004 10:52:13 -0400
> >
> > Not only is it unsafe in broken terrain, it's not good for the horse's body
> > to
> > do it for extended periods.  It can, in fact, be VERY BAD for them.
> > "Rackers'
> > bumps" are just one of the many possible results.
> >
> > -SK
> >
> >
> >
> > Please Reply to: Ray O'Donohue rno2m@xxxxxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > ==========================================
> >
> >   Anything up there above about 8mph is probably something in the "rack"
> > category,altho all sorts of different terminology for it may be used
> > correctly
> > or incorrectly,etc.The "speed racking" 20mph type thing is in my view
> > something
> > of a stunt,rather than a practical gait.Such a gait MIGHT be useful on a
> > trail,but looks like it would be unsafe in open country/broken terrain.
> >
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