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RE: [RC] Gaited horses/sore back - heidiI know I will get major flames from this, but I just have to say something here -- people who ride gaited horses say that it's such a smooth ride, but observing them going down the trail, I can see a lot of movement in the riders - no, it's not like riding a trot or a canter, but when I watch your bodies, you are moving quite a bit. I rode a gaited horse one time, a TWH, and quite honestly, for me -- I did not like the movement. We are all built a little different. I'm a bit like Carla here--I don't find gaited horses to be "comfortable" for long periods of time. I do get the "stagnant back" that Bruce talks about--while others are right that there IS some motion to riding a gaited horse, it is not the right direction of motion to keep my back flexible and limber. And Mike brought up another point--the "feedback" from the flesh over the seat bones. It bothers me to "sit" in the saddle in that manner. A horse with a nice, smooth trot will do all the work of posting if you just keep in rhythm with him, and that gets my seat out of the saddle. I've ridden Arabs that gait to some degree, and while I enjoy it as a brief change of pace from time to time, I'm sure glad they don't do it all the time. There is a side-to-side motiion to it that indeed provides a back "massage" for a short time, but after while becomes (to me, at least) more like Chinese water torture. I do agree that a smooth horse is a blessing for those of us with back pathology. I do ride one that isn't so smooth--he is an honest old coot and absolutely reliable, but I've ridden many that are far more comfortable. But I've ridden enough really comfortable traditionally-gaited horses to know that he is an exception, not the rule. Again, it's nice that we're all different, and that the sport accommodates those differences, not only in competition styles, but also in being open to all breeds. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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