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Re: [RC] Gaitin' and Trottin' - Bruce Weary DCI would have to agree with Sue Walz regarding a gaiting horse performing various gaits. I'm leary of terms like "always" and "never". Especially when it comes to horses. In the show world, I would guess that since the horse is being judged in his gaits, those folks would be very unforgiving of anything that would distract the horse from performing his desired gaits. I ride foxtrotters in endurance, and I can tell you that they will change their gaits to either suit the terrain or their level of fatigue at any given time. My mare will runwalk, rack, trot and canter when each suits her or when I ask her for them. Other horses may have stronger or weaker genetic inclination to gait, and may be predisdosed to trotting, pacing, or whatever. The fact that there exists measures such as weighted shoes and strategies to encourage, improve and sustain the different gaits implies that gaiting is sometimes, for some horses, not entirely natural for that horse, at least not to the degree we would like the horse to do it. So, I guess I feel that insisting on gaiting at all times, even when some degree of that gait is "induced" or enhanced by human influence or device, may not "always" be in the best interest of the horse, at least in the arena of extreme athletic endeavor, like endurance riding.I remain, Bruce Weary, often wrong, but never in doubt. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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